By Swati Deb

Dimapur, April 19, 2020: It has hardly anything to do with coronavirus crisis. But ‘genuine’ Indian citizens are getting restive in Dimapur township – only commercial hub and gateway to Nagaland – as a new law may be enforced soon to deprive the ‘non locals’ their legitimate rights.

The development is linked to an irony perpetrated by the country’s ruling dispensation BJP.

Contrary to ‘One Nation One People’ theory as propounded by ‘nationalist forces including BJP leaders,’ thousands of non tribals including linguistic communities Bengalis, Gorkhalis, Marwaris (original inhabitants of Rajasthan) and Biharis now face the chance of being rendered ‘homeless’ in Nagaland.

The apprehension of confrontation has also led many Hindu Bengalis and other Hindi speaking people convert to Christianity, some locals say.

Therefore, there are sudden emergence of Bengali Baptist Church and Hindi Baptist Church in the township which is famous for its cosmopolitan characteristic for over eight decades and more.

As a matter of principle, Nagas never mixed relations with socio political issue even a decade back but now apparently, several non Nagas feel switchover to Christianity can give them security and no harassment from Inner Line Permit (ILP) vigilante bodies.

In fact, thousands of non Nagas are settled in Dimapur much before December 1, 1963, when Nagaland was granted full-fledged statehood.

Local residents in Dimapur say – much to the surprise of many — the state government under the BJP and its regional partner Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) has decided to introduce Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in state’s only commercial hub Dimapur.

“This issue can trigger off a major controversy as a large section of Dimapur town is inhabited by non-Nagas – belonging to Hindu and Muslim religious groups and linguistic communities such as Bengalis, Gorkhalis or Nepalis, Marwaris and Biharis,” one resident said.

Shopkeeper Jitender Gurung, a Gorkhali or Nepali and an original inhabitant from West Bengal, says: “Please do not mind my rhetoric. But it s like building ‘another Kashmir’ ….If the BJP government in the center could do away with restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, in a reversed role they are now encouraging widening of differences between Naga tribals and non-Naga plains dwellers from Bengal, Bihar and Rajasthan.”

Emphasizing his point further he says: “We were born here, my grandfather had come to Dimapur and settled in 1950s. But we are being called outsiders today. We will need ILP, it is like a temporary residential card….This is reverse intolerance.”.

His views are endorsed by many local residents. One of them said rather enthusiastically, non Nagas say even the name Dimapur is “not a Naga name” as this township was “earlier the capital of Dimasa tribal group” – now confined to some parts of Assam only.

Endorsing the view, a former Nagaland Chief Minister K L Chishi, also a prominent Christian leader, had said, “…in 1900, Dimapur was just a jungle or a forest area between Diphu forest region and Dhansiri (both falling in neighboring state of Assam).”

In more ways than one the decision of the BJP-NDPP government to extend ILP provisions is controversial. There is already a litigation in the Supreme Court vis-a-vis boundary dispute between Assam and Nagaland states and most of these issues – vis-a-vis the ‘citizenship status’ of non-Naga residents of Dimapur township are expected to be addressed in this case.

The crux of the issue, therefore, now before the law enforcing agencies and also non-Naga population is: How can the earliest settlers of Dimapur (either Bengalis, Biharis and Marwaris, Gorkhalis(Nepalis) and others) can be debarred from citizenship in the town and denied normal rights? Why should their possibility or decision to reside in Dimapur depend on a Permit?

At the state-level, the BJP leaders are divided the manner ILP is to be enforced or will be implemented. “As a Naga leader, I support ILP; no Naga worth is salt can say he is against ILP. But I am certain about one thing, if ILP is enforced in Dimapur like the rest of Nagaland, let it be implemented in true spirit and most importantly, non-tribal population should not be harassed,” says a BJP worker Hukato Sumi.

Meanwhile, citizens are getting restive over certain developments related to ILP and there have been a few incidents of ‘troubles’ between Nagas and non-Nagas along Assam-Nagaland border. Residents of Bokajan and Lahorijan in Assam also reportedly imposed ‘Nagaland blockade’ for about two hours on March 1.

Police officials in both sides later intervened and brought the situation under control but tension is palpable and the residents in both sides are blaming the Nagaland government and its Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.

“These could be work of the unscrupulous elements creating tension between Naga Christians and non-Naga mostly non-Christians – Hindus and Muslims mainly. But the Nagaland government run by BJP and its alliance partner NDPP is responsible. Assam government is also run by BJP and yet there is no effective coordination,” says businessman Sanjeev Sethi at Bokajan-Dimapur border.

ILP regulations are enforced in Nagaland’s hilly region for last several decades but Dimapur being in the plains were ‘exempted’ when the law was enacted during the erstwhile British regime.

Such relaxations helped numerous non-Nagas and ‘genuine Indian citizens’ to settle in the township from early 1950s and gradually the township has emerged as one of the fastest growing commercial towns in the eastern India.

The ILP regulations, have, however failed to stop infiltration of ‘illegal immigrants’ from Bangladesh as most Bengali Muslims (illegal ones) arrive Nagaland with certain plans and connivance of some unscrupulous elements, locals say.

Historically, this township was like a ‘no man’s land’ for decades and after 1947 periodically, non-Naga residents got settled here. It is they who organized and build up the township and made it such a dynamic city out of “no man’s jungles.”.

There is an estimated 300,000 non-Naga population in Dimapur and their stand vis-a-vis the ILP is quite unambiguous, say local residents.

“Any genuine Indian having any evidence of staying permanently in Nagaland must not be harassed at all in the name of ILP,” said a resident but cautious that he should not be identified.

Sources said a delegation of non-Naga leaders met senior BJP leader Ram Madhav in March.

“Dimapur Mouza is the only business hub not only for Nagaland but for the adjoining areas of Assam as well. Daily floating population of more than 40,000 visit Dimapur for shopping, business, jobs, tourism and other social reasons,” said the memorandum submitted for the BJP central leadership.