
There would be less discrepancy in developmental activity as opposed to the present imbalance of economic activities in various constituencies. It aims to cater to the needs of people’s welfare more realistically as the voters and their leaders come closer to one another…. Delimitation is now very much a question of when and not if.
Atomi K Zhimomi
Political Analyst
In a large country like India with its manifold diversity in culture, religion, language, ethnic and racial variations, with its historical, geographical, and political divergence makes it indeed a functioning democracy with all its complexities. It is not for no reason that India is known as the world’s largest democracy. Size does matter and matters do get out of proportion, therefore at times the best remedy is to cut down the size. At least that is exactly what the Delimitation Commission of India has in mind. Delimitation exercise of Assembly and Parliamentary seats throughout the country is currently been undertaken since July 2002. Delimitation of Constituencies is not a new phenomenon. In most democracies, periodically the size and number of constituencies of the legislature are reviewed in order to cope with the increase in population and the demographic changes in them. In India, the need for periodic delimitation of constituencies is imperative because the country’s total population of over one billion is increasing at the rate of 23 million a year.
Western democracies from the US to UK and from Nigeria to Nepal have undertaken this exercise over the recent years and times. Indeed, in advanced democratic countries it is revised every decade or so, as part and parcel of a healthy democratic system. As the word itself explains the meaning, the purpose of delimitation is to readjust the electoral constituencies in order to correct the population distortion without actually increasing any additional segment. In India and with respect to Nagaland State the main criterion for the readjustment of these seats would be based on the total population and not the registered voters of the constituency only. Although in United Kingdom, the population of the registered voters alone is the main figure required for readjusting of electoral constituencies. Back home in Nagaland, the present demarcation of constituencies is taken from the population figure from 1971 census. Times have changes since then and the latest 2001 population census speaks for itself. The official population figure for Nagaland State show 19, 88, 636. This is three times more than the 1971 census figures. Under the constitutional amendment of 1976, delimitation was suspended until after the census of 2001, as to not allow the respective State’s family-planning programs to affect their political representation. This has resulted in wide discrepancies in the size of constituencies.
Today, all the sixty Assembly Constituencies in Nagaland have non-uniform or unequal population, the difference of margin ranging from five thousand to fifty thousand from one constituency to another. Over a period of two or three decades, uneven growth of population has taken place in many areas/region within the state. Some of the reasons include, migration of people from rural to urban areas, natural disasters/calamity causing mass migration, the influx of Non-locals from neighboring states, higher fertility rate, which have resulted in strikingly different sizes of electoral constituencies in the State. The present demarcation of legislative assembly constituencies in Nagaland is based on mainly the Area Demography, Tribal factor and Administrative conveniences but not taking into account the population data/ graph of the state. However under the new guidelines as per the Delimitation Commission of India the following features will be accounted for while demarcating fresh assembly segments: a) Equality of population b) tribal/linguistic zone, c) Conformity with local jurisdiction, d) respecting natural barriers, e) Geographic size of district. It is imminent that many of the districts will lose one or more of their present Legislative Assembly constituencies so that other new districts can have their Legislative assembly constituencies. The new set up would be as follows; Districts to lose out are, Mon –1, Tuensang –1, Mokokchung –3, Zunheboto –2, Kohima –1, Phek –1 and the districts to gain seats are Wokha +1, Dimapur +4, Peren +1, Longleng +2, Kiphire +1 and Pughoboto with one seat.
The immediate impact of the new demarcation of boundaries will be that many of the legislators will lose their vote banks or if not find that their constituencies have been erased altogether. Therefore, they may be compelled to re-cultivate a fresh constituency, which may or may not rekindle their political fortunes. Another adverse effect would be that a fraction of some tribes/ sub tribes and villages might be displaced in the process to some extent. Of course, it is next to impossible to expect a tailor made finishing at the end of the day. However, from a broader perspective the newly created constituencies would be proportional in size and population, which means that the legislators would have a limited number of voter and territorial size to represent more effectively and efficiently. In some over-sized constituencies, many of the voters have never met their elected representatives in their lifetime because of the large size of the population and territory. Delimitation aims to cater to the needs of people’s welfare more realistically as the voters and their leaders come closer to one another. As the population becomes optimum it would allow the elected representatives to reach out to their voters and vice versa. The draft plan of Delimitation Commission has presently recommended an equal population of thirty thousand (approx.) for each of the sixty constituencies in the State.
To start with, there would be balance in distribution of funds. Case in point is in the annual allocation of the Local Area Development Fund (LADF) Scheme of Rs 60 lakhs to all the sixty constituencies in Nagaland. Since the population of a constituency is consistent to the other there would be less discrepancy in developmental activity as opposed to the present imbalance of economic activities in various constituencies. In other words, every Legislator would be accountable to the same amount of population in their respective constituency, which put in practice means that all the legislators would carry the same amount of workload/responsibility unlike today’s condition where for some it is a cakewalk and for others it is a scramble for the last pie. Some of the smaller districts/tribes, whose population has ballooned over the years, would finally have their fair share of representation in the legislature/government. Hence, with that amount of representation they can male use of this political platform in order to achieve what they have long been deprived of which is attention, which in turn is bound to convert into development and advancement in their districts.
It is of course acknowledged that in any delimitation exercise, there will inevitably be those who are affected positively and others negatively. Nevertheless, if closer examination of the impact is assessed the Naga Public in general stands to gain in the end but for that to happen, it is a pre- requisite that politicians of the day must rise above mere tribalism and other narrow-minded aspects. Then only the Naga population at large can expect simultaneous progress in every nook and corner of the state.
While on one hand the pros and cons of the debate may continue, on the other side it is now very much a question of when and not if, the delimitation is arriving. As and when the latest constitutional mandate is imposed upon the nail-biting legislators, all we can hope and say is that may the best man win.
Delimitation Bill is a Devil in Disguise.
India does not understand the
complexity of our social fabric, plus the fact that every inch of Nagaland is
owned by an individual, village or tribe, therefore re-demarcation of
constituencies will only invite tribal feuds and more bloodshed.
Kedi Haralu
Press Secretary to Lok Sabha MP
Delimitation has become more of a catchword then a phenomenon, especially in the rural areas as well as the Congress circle, since it will benefit them no doubt, for the more the MLA’s, the more the headache for the Chief Minister. As for me, although it will benefit my constituency, i.e. Peren District and Dimapur I A/C, I am rather skeptical on the delimitation bill, which is to be taken up in the Parliament very soon.
Assembly seats in the Nagaland Legislature were badly distributed and it was done by a certain individual for a certain tribe, the affects of which, we are still feeling today, thus the need for delimitation. For example, if we look at a constituency from Mokokchung town, the electorates are much smaller to a ward in Dimapur, whereas if we look at Tening or Peren A/C’s or Ghaspani- I A/C, the electorates are so large in volume that two to three constituencies can be easily accommodated. Therefore, the inequality in the distribution of assembly seats which has brought Nagaland into the purview of delimitation.
The crux of matter is not delimitation but downsizing, for now with just 12 Cabinet posts and a few Parliamentary Secretary posts, how can the Government accommodate the extra MLA’s? It will only increase the number of dissidents plus the added advantage of the opposition for having the numbers and thus creating the instability of Government, be it the DAN or the Congress. Nagas should be careful on what they wish for. What I feel is that Nagaland should first take up the case of downsizing with the Centre and only if they agree to give certain concessions, then delimitation can be implemented by the Nagaland Government, for without that we will have only more mouths to feed, for fighting in an election in Nagaland means playing with money and that too a lot of money. So as a public citizen of Nagaland, I think delimitation at this crucial juncture should not be imposed, but infact kept in abeyance.
Unfortunately many Nagas do not know the pros and cons of delimitation but have blindly gone all out for it. Therefore the public would have to be enlightened on the fact that delimitation, will only invite problems and dissension and instability of whatever Government that comes to power. These is a perfect tool for Government of India, for if there is instability then Presidents Rule can be imposed on us and then derail the peace process plus the addition of more troops from the Centre.
As per the Chief Minister’s decision that the Delimitation Commission as having serious consequences, is very true and there should be some reservations under Article 371 A, for if Jammu & Kashmir can be given special privileges, why not Nagaland. As for having communal disharmony, it is no doubt that our boundaries were created according to the locals of the various tribes, therefore India does not understand the complexity of our social fabric, plus the fact that every inch of Nagaland is owned by an individual, village or tribe, therefore re-demarcation of constituencies will only invite tribal feuds and more bloodshed. On the other hand we need to have more Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats, since in the actual context; the ratio of electorates to an MP is 10 lakhs or less. But our MP’s constituency has more then 16 lakhs, therefore even the MP fund is not enough to take care of one constituency, leave aside a State. While on this subject, the 33% reservation for women must be imposed, both in the Assembly as well as the Municipal, for being a society proud of being non chauvinist and treatment of women and men equal, one should not dilly dally on this issue. We have very capable women as bureaucrats, in the police and many other fields, but as politicians we have no one to boast of. Even if we look at our academic results, women do much better then the men “and even if a politician is the most powerful man on earth, he still has to face his wife at night”.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio in the recently concluded Monsoon Session had called for exemption of Nagaland from the Delimitation Act 2002 while urging the Union Government to pay heed to the voice of Naga people. The State Legislature had also passed a similar resolution on earlier occasions. It is also imperative to address the issue for a fresh Census for the entire State of Nagaland or at least in those areas where higher growth rates than the State’s average had been detected.
As the government has already taken its position demanding a moratorium on all delimitation exercise by suitably exempting Nagaland from the constitutional provision relating to delimitation till this fresh census is concluded and until a political solution acceptable to the Nagas is arrived at. It is a sound argument that any attempt to stir up inter-tribal relations by reorganizing the assembly constituencies would gravely affect the ongoing peace efforts.
Besides, as mentioned there are serious anomalies in the population figures for Nagaland as projected in 2001 census reports, which has been detected, in particular the steep growth rates in several areas, which was more than the State average thus rendering the 2001 census of Nagaland as completely “unreliable for any constitutional exercises including the delimitation of Assembly Constituencies in Nagaland”.
The government also observed that any delimitation of assembly constituencies in Nagaland on the basis of this faulty census of 2001 would lead to aggravation of the existing anomalies. The government also argued that Nagaland also enjoyed special status under article 371-A of the Constitution of India qualifying for the same exemption as had been granted to t Jammu & Kashmir.
Taking all this into consideration, the State of Nagaland must be excused from the purview of delimitation, plus the Centre must give certain concessions on the downsizing issue, for it will not only strengthen our Government, but there will be more stability, otherwise who is going to spend crores of rupees in an election just to be an MLA? It will only increase corruption from the lowest level to the highest. Nagas need to be less selfish in their outlook and think of the future and betterment of the society and not give in to issues which will only create more division in the already problem infested state of ours. Public opinion needs to be the determining factor.