Lok Sabha MP pushes for recognition of tribal dialects

State’s lone Lok Sabha member S Supongmeren Jamir has requested chief minister Dr Neiphiu Rio to take steps in recognising tribal dialects/languages spoken in Nagaland as a “third language”.
Highlighting the issue of engagement of non-local Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in post offices of the north-eastern region, including Nagaland, the MP in a letter to Rio stated that Grade IV staff GDS recruitment in the Postal Department was online-based with requirement of Class X pass certificate and marksheet, without any interviews or exams being conducted.
Based on the local language/dialect prescribed for Nagaland by the Department of Posts, the candidates were shortlisted based on the marks secured in English/Hindi in Class X. He alleged that this undermined the third dialect/language that candidates would have otherwise studied or were fluent in beside these two languages.
Additionally, he pointed out that this impacted the performance of local candidates when they competed nationwide. In the past two years alone, he stated that there had been three rounds of recruitment for 364 posts, including a special drive in January 2023 where 143 posts were advertised for Nagaland.
Supongmeren said the director general of GDS had written to the chief postmaster generals of Northeast circle on the 18th Lok Sabha Standing Committee on the subject “Department of Posts-Initiatives and Challenges” that it had been observed that English was an official language recognised in Nagaland, and had agreed in principle that the Northeast Circle Post Office would engage with the state government to officially identify the local dialects/language that could be considered as a medium of evaluation during the recruitment.
Accordingly, this had been communicated by the director of postal services, Nagaland to the home commissioner, Nagaland vide a letter dated April 16, 2025.
He noted that under the Constitution (Nagaland) Scheduled Tribes Order, the state home department had officially recognised 15 tribes along with Kachari, Kuki, Garo and Mikir tribes vide notification no. 28 under The Nagaland Gazette Extraordinary, in addition to recognising the Tikhir tribe as a separate Naga tribe. However, he regretted that the state government was yet to officially recognise the dialects/languages of these tribes for the purpose of a “third language/dialect”. In this regard, the home department had written to the commissioner of Nagaland and commissioner & secretary of Art & Culture to submit their views and comments.
According to the MP, Arunachal Pradesh was also facing a similar issue, wherein the language prescribed was only English and Hindi for the GDS recruitment. To solve this issue, the Arunachal Pradesh government officially recognised 23 tribal dialects/languages as “third language” and notified and informed the Director General of Postal Services.
Henceforth, the Department of Posts had made a special provision for the Arunachal Pradesh government for five years from the date of issuance, wherein 23 tribal languages/dialects had been recognised as “third language” in the state and hence also recognised by the Department of Posts as the local language for assessment during recruitment.
Supongmeren said the proficiency in tribal dialects/languages was to be issued a certification by the deputy commissioner concerned or any other officer authorised by the state government as not all these dialects had been taught up to Class X at present in schools.
Urging Rio to request to take action through the department concerned in issuing the recognition of the tribal dialects/languages spoken in the state as “third language”, the MP said he looked forward to his timely action on the matter that would create employment among the youth in the state.