While appreciating the reservation for the backward tribes of Nagaland in various fields such as reservations of seats for further studies in technical courses, reservation of posts in the Nagaland Public Services Commission (EAC, Dy SP, other posts which are advertised from time to time),Technical posts say, Doctors, Engineers, etc, the backwardness in economical aspects are also taken into consideration for the backward tribes, it must be mentioned that much attention has been given and there has been tremendous changes in this area of people with which the aims of the policy has been implemented and it is always appreciated that some ones life has been assisted and lifted.
There are a few questions that comes to the mind of the concerned persons as to whether the classification and the purpose of uplifting the backwardness has been done with justification or not, for instance, a person who hails from the backward tribe has become an EAC and by the virtue of his/her seniority attains the position of a very high profile administrator say Secretary/Commissioner, will his/her child still deserve the backward quota? Also a person from the same background are also privileged to become a Minister of the Government of Nagaland, will his/her child still deserve to avail the backward quota? . This is a point to ponder as the persons mentioned are no longer backward rather they are more forward than the advanced tribes. Now the forward group of the backward tribes are depriving the real backward people of their tribe, since the sons and daughters of the “advance backward” people have all the advantage to study in all good institutes and advance places, where as the real backward people are still studying in the most remote places and so they are the real deserving backward students. Some of the people from the advanced tribes also live very far from the advanced places denying them of proper education and exposure that are deemed to them, but since their tribe is classified under the advanced tribe they are barred from availing the reservation quotas, examples of this effect can be seen in each of the advanced tribes where their people live far from the advanced areas, Kohima the Capital of the state has its own share of its people living in the Manipur borders who are not being able to get proper education and other basic amenities, Mokokchung also has its people living in the extremely backward area along the Assam border where there is no access to the afore cited amenities, Wokha has its people living in the extreme borders and where there is no assistance which can be reached to them,Zunheboto has a bit more complicated situation where its people are dwelling in the district of Kiphire and Tuensang districts sharing the same village with the other friendly tribe as part and parcel from an untraceable time, now the people of Zunheboto are classified as forward and the people sharing the same village breathing the same air, drinking the same water, studying in the same school, going to the same fields for cultivation are classified as backward. What about the backward tribes who have settled in Kohima, Dimapur or any other advance places and have been brought up from these advance places, will they still be called backward? Now do the people of the divine state now think that this is fair enough or is there anybody who think that there should be restructuring or rather accessing the real class of backwardness and deliver the justice which according to me has been thwarted for quite some time.
If I could help it I would classify backwardness according to the geographical aspect, village aspect, and if possible family aspect, which according to me would bring about an entire new facet of the backwardness to the full view for implementing the true aims and spirit of reservation for the educationally and economically backward people of Nagaland, so that everyone gets a chance to uplift their backwardness through this valuable policy of the Government of Nagaland. This is an individual view with no intention to deprive anybody of their rights but to streamline the policy if the opinion is justified.
Dr. K. David Sema
