By P Pius Lotha
Dimapur being a cosmopolitan town is inhabited by people from different parts of the country. It is good for inhabitants as well as visitors to know the historical background of Dimapur Township as to how it came under the state of Nagaland.
It is said that Kachari civilization Brahmaputra valley was conquered by Kacharis as early as 3000 B.C and it continued under them till lately. As per Archaeological Survey of India’s description, the Kacharis, an ancient tribe established their fortified capital on the banks of Dhansiri river around 10th century A.D at Dimapur. The remains of the Ancient Kachari capitals in Dimapur is one of the most important sites of megalithic culture which belong to the period of Kachari civilization, established before the advent of Ahom in the 13th century A.D. The site looks like chess board with rows of gigantic chess pawns some even 20ft high, Dimapur was under the dominion of Kachari King till 1531 where the Ahom kings defeated the Kacharis and penetrated as far as Kachari capital of Dimapur. All the stones are elaborately carved with representations of birds, animals, flowers, spear heads and other motifs. There are several fine tanks at Dimapur, two of which are nearly 300 yards square. This description are found in Gait’s History of Assam.
From 1531, till World War-I, the mouza of Dimapur was under the Ahom kings and in the District of Sibsagar under the British rule but somehow or other the political agent of Manipur or a D.C at Kohima got annoyed with a station master who was not very polite to him, because his seat in the First class compartment was not reserved for him or that a Telegram was not received duly and the station master was not obliging and so a representation was made out and Dimapur station was included in the Naga Hills and taken out from Golaghat Sub-Division of Sibsagar District which formed part of it for about hundred years even during British rule.
This has been mention by Shri Kuladhar Chaliha (who was then a Magistrate of Golaghat and was in-charge of sub-division of Golaghat), during the Constituent Assembly of India meeting in the Constitution Hall, New Delhi, at Nine o’ clock on 7th September 1949 under the President (The Hon’ble Dr.Rajendra Prasad) in the Chair. In the discussion it was stated that the mouza of Dimapur in Naga Hills which is inhabited by non-tribal people should be outside of the jurisdiction of Naga Hills for the above reasons. And for which Dimapur comes under Revenue paying state (cadastral area) and where Jamabandi/patta are issued for any land allotment which is within the jurisdiction of Dimapur with the approval of the Government.
The state government has surveyed the jurisdiction of Dimapur area after the state attained statehood on 1st December 1963. This categorically testifies that the Dimapur jurisdiction is a Government land which was Government reserved forest in the erstwhile Assam state. For the reason aforesaid no individual can own land unless prior approval of the Government and allotment obtained from the Government. This has been notified from time to time by the Government ever since Nagaland attained statehood.
From the historical records and findings it is evidently clear that Dimapur mouza was initially under Assam which was incidentally amalgamated under Nagaland State and for which it was kept outside the jurisdiction of Naga Hills by the Constitution Drafting Committee. This clearly states that Dimapur does not belong to any particular group. It is therefore the duty of every responsible person to bring about constructive approach for congenial atmosphere for healthy growth of all populants of Dimapur and contribute constructive ideas for the welfare and growth of Dimapur Town which is heading for a mega city in times to come.
