Dimapur, May 16 (EMN): The Chakhesang Students’ Union (CSU) has taken exception to Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton’s statement at the recently concluded Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC) convention that the Chakhesangs are more advanced than the Aos, Lothas and Sumis, and therefore should be removed from the backward tribe (BT) reservation system.
The student body, in a press release, expressed shock over Patton ‘questioning the policy of his own government’ through his “irresponsible statement”.
It said the reservation policy was formulated based on the information available before the policy makers and legislated by the Assembly with a provision for mandatory periodical review after every 10 years but the successive governments have failed to review and update it to enable the deserving communities get the full benefit.
“The state had put all the Backward Tribe Reservation Committee reports namely, ‘Banuo Committee Report – 2008’, the ‘Kevichusa Committee Report – 2010’ and the ‘Temjen Toy Committee Report – 2010’ in cold storage and their findings were never brought before the Assembly for review nor amendment, and therefore, the BT reservation policy had failed to live up to its objectives till today,” read the press release.
The CSU went on to accuse the government of “arbitrarily modifying the reservation guidelines to suit its political interest, violating all the established norms of quota distributions at the same time creating arbitrary roster policy”, instead of reviewing the outdated policy.
While acknowledging the state government for creating 33% job reservation that has immensely benefited the community for the last five decades, the CSU alleged that the Chakhesang tribe has been deprived of other benefits like Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF), which is extended to all the BTs and some advanced tribes; special grants; Border Area Development Fund; and other schemes meant for the BTs.
Chakhesang is the only tribe from the BTs to be excluded from DUDA and the community was also “segregated” in the previous teacher’s recruitment, the student body added.
‘The state government, from time to time, has been modifying the BT reservation policy without reasonable application of mind and bending on the pressure to appease sections of people through unending consultations and for political conveniences away from facts and statistics provided by the expert committee/commissions whereby generating sub-standard guidelines devoid of merit and equitable distribution as per the laid down policies,’ read the press release.
“The present Executive notifications are in total contravention to the reservation policy and violative of the Supreme Court guidelines that sub-classification of the already classified group is bad in law and there cannot be reservations within the reserved category,” it added.
The CSU also sought to know from Patton on what basis he said the Chakhesangs are more advanced than the Ao, Lotha and Sumis, inciting the CNTC constituent units.
Terming his statement as ‘an ill intent to create division on tribal line, the student body said that such moves should be condemned to avoid further cracks in the Naga society.