Nagaland govt. told to be cautious with its version of NRC

The apex body of Naga tribes said the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland could have ‘unforeseen and dangerous implications’ if not handled with utmost care

An apex body of Naga tribes has asked the Nagaland government not to be hasty with the exercise to prepare the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), seen as a variant of Assam’s National Register of Citizens. The Nagaland government has reportedly been trying to revive the RIIN exercise that was launched in July 2019 with the stated objective of preventing outsiders from obtaining fake indigenous certificates for seeking jobs and benefits of government schemes. The State government had formed a three-member panel headed by retired bureaucrat Banuo Z. Jamir for “studying, examining, and recommending and advising” on the implementation of the RIIN. But the exercise was suspended following protests from community-based and extremist organisations.