Nagaland: 18-hr shutdown called from 6:00pm today
No restriction on vehicular movement, only businesses to be affected
DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 18 (MExN): The North East Forum for Indigenous Peoples (NEFIP) and the Joint Committee for Prevention of Illegal Immigrants (JCPI) have called for a statewide shutdown of all shops and business establishments in Nagaland as a message to the Government of India to withdraw the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB).
The shutdown will be held from 6:00pm of November 19 to 12:00 noon on November 20. The JCPI meanwhile informed that normal vehicular traffic would not be restricted. Schools undergoing exams will also not be affected. The shutdown will only affect business establishments. It asked all shops and business establishments to voluntarily shutter down as a sign of protest.
A press release from JCPI Convener, K Ghokheto Chopi and Secretary, Tia Longchar, said that once the Bill becomes an Act “it will forever change the demography of the entire North East states where the indigenous population will become minority in their own land like Tripura.”
The JCPI asked citizens of Nagaland to extend their cooperation and “bear with the inconveniences by suspending all normal activities and engagements to give a collective message to the Government of India to withdraw the CAB.”
The decision to call for the shutdown was made after a meeting of Kohima based Tribal Hohos and civil organizations held at Red Cross Complex, Kohima on November 18.
A press release from the NEFIP vice president, Theja Therie said that if passed, the Bill would “subvert our economy, identity, culture and rights as indigenous people by alien culture and the people in the region will become a minority in our own ancestral land.”
“The present religion based citizenship is against the secular principle of Indian Constitution and the illegal migrants who can prove their resident for the last 6 years stay in the state will be naturalized as legal citizen like any of us,” the NEFIP stated.
Meanwhile, a press release from the Nagaland Voluntary Consumers Organisation (NVCO) also supported the shutdown and urged all citizens to show their resentment against the CAB.
