Phek: In a strongly worded public statement issued from its headquarters in Phek, the Chakhesang Public Organisation (CPO) has renewed its long-standing demand for a comprehensive review of Nagaland’s Backward Tribe (BT) reservation policy. The organisation criticised the current policy as outdated, arbitrary, and structurally flawed, urging the state government to commission an independent, expert-led body to reevaluate the entire reservation framework.
The CPO reiterated its original demand made on October 17, 2010, seeking a “total review” of the BT reservation notification dated January 11, 1977, which was enacted under Article 16(4) of the Indian Constitution to uplift tribes deemed economically and educationally disadvantaged. The policy was initially intended to last 10 years but has since been modified repeatedly without proper legislative scrutiny.
The organisation is now calling for a high-level commission, equipped “with maximum autonomy” and constituted by “persons of specialisation in the subject with diverse expertise and transparency.”
The review, it said, must be based on “existing statistics, latest population data in consonance with the tribe-wise employment up-to-date figures along with intensive economic survey reports to provide an authentic standard reference point to determine the up-to-date status of post-reservation and redefine the existing categories to provide fair and proportionate reservation under the policy,” and include both reserved and unreserved tribes.
The CPO accused successive governments of bypassing proper procedure by issuing “sub-classifications and piecemeal reservations within the already classified group, without going through the mandatory policy review as required by the original notification, thereby depriving some deserving tribes of equal and proportionate reservation.”
Multiple state-level committees, including the Banuo Z. Jamir Committee (2007), Khrielie Kevichusa Committee (2008), and the Temjen Toy Committee (2010), submitted reports that were never tabled in the Assembly, the statement noted.
The organisation also took issue with the state’s roster policy and its “absence of cut-off marks,” alleging that such practices have compromised the meritocratic integrity of recruitment processes.
It pointed out that technical posts are sometimes left vacant due to tribe-specific reservation criteria, creating backlogs and depriving qualified candidates of employment.
The CPO highlighted the exclusion of the Chakhesang tribe from the benefits of the Directorate of Underdeveloped Areas (DUDA) and related schemes such as the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF), despite parts of the tribe’s territory, particularly the Tizü range, being identified as among the most underdeveloped in the state.
While Chakhesangs accepted job reservation benefits, they were allegedly denied access to other developmental programs that were extended even to advanced tribes. Despite their population of approximately 154,874, Chakhesangs reportedly held only 4% of reserved jobs as of 2011—figures the CPO described as disproportionate and unjust.
“The Chakhesangs today are struggling to achieve economic sustainability and will continue to do so; yet, we still lack job parity with other privileged groups. The statistics available before us indicate that we are in serial No. 8 of the state tribe-wise job index based on population and job ratio. Despite availing job reservation for decades, the Chakhesangs are not progressing well,” the CPO stated.
Citing state government data, the organisation presented a comparative table showing the disparity between population and employment percentages across Nagaland’s major tribes. Tribes like the Ao, Sumi, Angami, and Lotha have a significantly higher representation in government jobs compared to their population share, while tribes like Chakhesang, Konyak, Khiamniungan, Chang, and others lag behind.
For example, the Ao tribe comprises 11.5% of the population but holds 20.28% of government jobs. In contrast, the Chakhesang tribe, with 8% of the population, holds just 7.46% of employment—a clear deficit, according to the data provided by the CPO.
“From the above table, the percentage of employees from the five unreserved tribes is significantly above the population percentage. The employees’ percentage of BTs trails way below the population percentage. The above chart clearly shows that the BTs are very much lagging behind the unreserved tribes, and it will take a long time to catch up with the advanced tribes to maintain the required balance of a robust society through equity and parity mechanisms,” the CPO stated.
The organisation recalled the initial 1966 notification that laid the foundation for tribal preference in recruitment. Over the decades, however, it said systemic flaws have crept into the system. The Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC), despite its mandate to ensure fair recruitment, has faced “stagnation” and “had suffered inequitable representation and had failed to maintain tribal parity,” resulting in what the CPO alleges to be “unholy alliances,” making the process questionable.
Further, it stated that the prevalence of backdoor appointments and ad hoc employment—allegedly dominated by advanced tribes—has further widened the gap between privileged and underprivileged communities in Nagaland.
“The state is popularly known for its backdoor, ad-hoc, contract, and various contingency appointments, which were eventually regularised into the permanent services of the state. All such appointments are at the disposal of the privileged authorities in the helm of state affairs, mostly belonging to the advanced communities,” it stated.
These practices, sustained over several decades, have allegedly created vast inequalities between the privileged and underprivileged sections of society in the state.
The CPO further said that the government of the day has a “humongous task” ahead to correct the wrongs and take restorative measures to deliver justice and equity to the deserving sections of society.
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