
Nagaland tribes demand review, reallocation of job quotas
Organizations protested in Kohima, Nagaland, urging a review of the state's job reservation policy, which has been in place since 1977. The 5-Tribes Committee on Review of Reservation Policy demanded either the policy's abolishment or the reallocation of unfilled reserved positions to the Ao, Angami, Lotha, Rengma, and Sumi tribes.
Agencies Several organisations staged a protest outside the Nagaland Civil Secretariat in Kohima demanding a review of the state's job reservation policy.Under the banner of the 5-Tribes Committee on Review of Reservation Policy (CoRRP), the demonstrators demanded that the existing job reservation policy which has been in effect since 1977 either be scrapped, or the unfilled reserved positions be reallocated specifically to the five major tribes.
The CoRRP comprises five Naga tribe organisations -- the Angami Public Organisation, the Ao Senden, the Lotha Hoha, the Rengma Hoho, and the Sumi Hohoon -- representing the five major tribal communities of Ao, Angami, Lotha, Rengma and Sumi.CoRRP convenor Tesinlo Semy said they had, in September 2024, submitted a memorandum to the state government demanding either a complete scrapping of the 48-year-old policy or the reallocation of the unreserved quota to these tribes.
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Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Scrap or modify? Debate grows over Nagaland internal ST quota policy
With an agitation pushing for ending reservations for 'backward tribes' on one side and a demand to increase the quantum of this quota on the other, Nagaland's nearly five-decade old reservation policy has become the centre of a debate in the state. This week, the Committee on Review of Reservation Policy (CORRP), a grouping of five tribes in Nagaland, resumed its protest to push for a review of the reservation policy, which provides for an internal quota within the broader ST category for 'Indigenous Scheduled Tribes of Nagaland' in government jobs and reserves 37% of posts for tribes identified as 'backward tribes'. The CORRP comprises representatives from the apex bodies of five groups that have come to be called 'advanced tribes': Ao, Angami, Sumi, Lotha and Rengma. In response to pressure from the CORRP, which has been building up since September last year, the Nagaland government had in March convened a meeting with different stakeholders. Following this, Cabinet minister Neiba Kronu said the government has decided to review the policy. Two months later, Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton met with the CORRP and said the Cabinet would deliberate on whether a commission on this matter would be set up. However, there is a roadblock. The stand of the government, which was expressed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio in the state Assembly last year and in a statement last week, is that a review of the reservation policy is only possible after the long-pending national Census is completed. Saying that the government wants to avoid 'temporary arrangements' in connection with reservations, Rio told reporters last week: 'For any reform in administration or backward reservation or delimitation, it should come after the conduct of the Census.' There are 14 recognized Naga tribes in Nagaland, and the Scheduled Tribes in the state also include 'Indigenous' Garo, Mikir, Kuki and Kachari groups. The Nagaland government had first introduced reservation for STs of the state in the Nagaland State Services in 1967. The quantum for this was fixed at 80% of vacancies in the Nagaland State Services and 100% of non-technical Grade-III and IV posts. The element of internal reservations within this reservation was introduced in 1977. Through an order then, 25% of these reserved vacancies were reserved for seven tribes – Konyak, Chakhesang, Sangtam, Phom, Chang, Yimchunger and Khiamunuingan – citing economic backwardness and 'insignificant representation in the services'. The 1977 order had laid down a timeline of 10 years for these additional reservations. However, in 1989, through another order, the Nagaland government directed that the reservation policy would continue 'until further orders'. After several changes in the quantum of the reservations for 'backward tribes' and the list of tribes entitled to it, the present reservation stands at 25% of all posts under the Government of Nagaland for six tribes from Eastern Nagaland districts – Konyak, Phom, Sangtam, Yimchunger, Chang and Khiamniungan – and another 12% for the Chakhesang, Pochury, Zeliang tribes and the Sumis from Kiphire district. Now, the other tribes are saying that the reservation policy for backward tribes be entirely scrapped or that the remaining posts be reserved exclusively for them. 'This policy was supposed to be there for 10 years, but it has been there for 48 years. In the past 48 years, there have been six review committees that made various recommendations, one of which was that Chakhesang and Zeliang tribes be removed from the backward tribes list as they have made considerable advancement. But neither were these implemented nor were the other tribes ever included in these discussions,' said G K Zhimomi, the member secretary of CORRP. Zhimomi said the disparity in Nagaland was 'economic' — not because of a rigid social system like the caste system — and called for a policy better suited for Nagaland. He also pitched for a 'creamy layer' system as it exists for OBC reservation. Creamy layer is a concept that sets a threshold within which OBC reservation benefits are applicable. While there is a 27% quota for OBCs in government jobs and higher educational institutions, those falling within the 'creamy layer' cannot get the benefits of this quota. Not just the CORRP, calls for a review of the reservation policy have come from different quarters including the Naga Students' Federation and its lone Lok Sabha MP Congress leader Supongmeren Jamir. There is also a demand from another quarter: organisations representing tribes from Eastern Nagaland, which have for years been demanding that the backward tribes reservation for the seven tribes from the region be increased to 45%. The six eastern districts of the state have historically lagged behind in development indices, a regional disparity that was also flagged in the 2016 Nagaland State Human Development Report. 'We are waiting for the government to take a call on this issue but we believe it should be reviewed and that there should be an enhancement (of ST internal quota) for Eastern Nagaland areas. The current policy is not doing justice. Even though it has been in place for so many years, it has been on paper. It does not reflect in the offices where these figures are not being met,' said Eastern Naga Students Federation President Nuheymong.


Deccan Herald
2 days ago
- Deccan Herald
Family planning: The future is in gender justice
In June 2025, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) released a comprehensive report reframing global demographic concerns by shifting the narrative from population control to reproductive autonomy. The report emphasised that demographic debates must now prioritise individuals' access to reproductive health services, bodily autonomy, and informed choice, particularly in countries like India, where fertility patterns reveal stark regional contrasts. Northern states such as Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh continue to register fertility rates above replacement level, reflecting persistent disparities in access to healthcare, quality education, and entrenched patriarchal norms. Meanwhile, urbanised and southern states such as Delhi, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have sustained fertility rates below replacement levels for several years, raising concerns about future labour shortages and ageing dual demographic reality has begun to influence state-level policy decisions. In November 2024, the Government of Andhra Pradesh repealed a three-decade-old law that barred individuals with more than two children from contesting urban local body elections. Originally enacted to discourage high fertility, the law was rendered obsolete by the state's current Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 1.6, significantly below the national average of 2.1. The legislative amendment aims to arrest further demographic decline and recalibrate the population policy in line with emerging socio-economic needs. This development reflects a broader national trend: while some states are still grappling with high fertility, others are confronting the economic and social implications of declining birth contextualise India's current demographic crossroads, we must revisit the foundational trajectory of its population policies. The National Programme for Family Planning, launched in 1952, was the first state-led population control programme in the world, introduced to stabilise population growth and improve reproductive health. In its early years, the programme relied heavily on male sterilisation (vasectomy) as a central strategy. However, the momentum shifted dramatically following the Emergency period of the mid-1970s, during which millions of men were estimated to have been subjected to forced sterilisations under coercive state-led campaigns. The socio-political backlash from this period was profound and enduring, embedding a deep mistrust of vasectomy that persists across 1966 and 1970, vasectomies accounted for 80.5% of all sterilisations performed in India. However, by 1981-85, this figure had fallen to 14.8%, and according to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), vasectomy now comprises merely 0.3% of modern contraceptive use. Data from the Health Management Information System (HMIS) reveal that in 2019-20, only 55,324 male sterilisations were conducted nationwide, compared to over 34 lakh female sterilisations. The disparity is particularly significant given that vasectomy is a safer, simpler, more cost-effective, and more easily reversible procedure than female sterilisation (tubectomy), a more complex surgical intervention involving general or spinal anaesthesia, longer recovery periods, and a significantly higher risk of vasectomy can often be reversed successfully within a specific time frame, tubectomy is generally considered irreversible, placing a permanent burden of contraceptive responsibility on women. According to data released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2017, 33 women in Mumbai died after undergoing tubectomy procedures over ten years. Such outcomes highlight the urgent need to reassess the gendered division of sterilisation in India's public health these disparities, female sterilisation continues to dominate India's contraceptive landscape, driven not by clinical efficacy but by a convergence of patriarchal social norms, systemic neglect of male involvement, and the enduring historical trauma associated with male sterilisation campaigns during the imbalance reflects a broader societal failure to promote equitable reproductive responsibility and to prioritise the safer and more sustainable one-third of Indian men believe contraception is a woman's responsibility. NFHS-5 further shows that 20% of men suspect contraceptive use may make women promiscuous, amplifying stigma and reducing male accountability. These beliefs are intensified in child marriage settings, where women married young have limited autonomy and are often subject to controlling and even violent behaviour from their spouses. This power imbalance reinforces tubectomy as the default choice. Ironically, while socio-cultural resistance persists, the government offers greater financial incentives for vasectomy (Rs 1,500) than for tubectomy (Rs 1,000)..Informed choice is 2015-16 and 2019-21, modern contraceptive use by married women rose from 48% to 56%, with sterilisation leading the trend. Still, large unmet needs for contraception persist, especially in rural and marginalised communities where poor transport and inadequate facilities worsen maternal now the most populous country in the world, stands at a critical demographic juncture. This population scale offers both potential and peril. While the youth demographic is often hailed as a growth engine, it risks becoming a demographic burden if reproductive responsibilities remain unequally shouldered and access to informed, voluntary family planning continues to be Indian states have already recorded total fertility rates (TFR) below the replacement level of 2.1, signalling an impending shift towards a shrinking workforce and an ageing population. In the absence of strong social security systems, this trend could severely strain public resources. A contraceptive policy that disproportionately places the burden on women is not only unjust but economically myopic, undermining the long-term sustainability of health and welfare systems. Addressing these imbalances requires strengthening grassroots health systems. ASHA workers, as the backbone of India's reproductive health outreach, play a pivotal role in educating communities, countering misinformation, and promoting male participation in family planning. However, challenges such as inadequate training, overwhelming workloads, and delayed remuneration limit their effectiveness in shifting entrenched gender we observe World Population Day today, the imperative is clear: the focus must shift from population control to a rights-based, gender-equitable reproductive health framework. Policy measures must prioritise informed choice, shared responsibility, and regional parity, drawing from international models that have successfully promoted male involvement and community future of the world's largest population will not be determined by its size, but by how fairly and effectively its people are empowered to decide their reproductive lives..(Pavithra is a UG student and Maya is an assistant professor at the Department of Economics, CHRIST Deemed to be University, Bengaluru)


Economic Times
2 days ago
- Economic Times
Nagaland tribes demand review, reallocation of job quotas
Synopsis Organizations protested in Kohima, Nagaland, urging a review of the state's job reservation policy, which has been in place since 1977. The 5-Tribes Committee on Review of Reservation Policy demanded either the policy's abolishment or the reallocation of unfilled reserved positions to the Ao, Angami, Lotha, Rengma, and Sumi tribes. Agencies Several organisations staged a protest outside the Nagaland Civil Secretariat in Kohima demanding a review of the state's job reservation the banner of the 5-Tribes Committee on Review of Reservation Policy (CoRRP), the demonstrators demanded that the existing job reservation policy which has been in effect since 1977 either be scrapped, or the unfilled reserved positions be reallocated specifically to the five major tribes. The CoRRP comprises five Naga tribe organisations -- the Angami Public Organisation, the Ao Senden, the Lotha Hoha, the Rengma Hoho, and the Sumi Hohoon -- representing the five major tribal communities of Ao, Angami, Lotha, Rengma and convenor Tesinlo Semy said they had, in September 2024, submitted a memorandum to the state government demanding either a complete scrapping of the 48-year-old policy or the reallocation of the unreserved quota to these tribes.