Delayed ILP implementation threatens indigenous identity, says Dimapur Naga Students' Union

• DIMAPUR — The Dimapur Naga Students' Union (DNSU) has criticised Nagaland government's continued delay in implementing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Dimapur and warned of a "demographic time bomb" threatening the indigenous Naga population.
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• In a press statement issued on Thursday, the union maintained that despite the government’s “pronouncements of intent”, Dimapur remains the only district in Nagaland vulnerable to “demographic invasion and the erosion of indigenous rights.”
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• It stated that the current situation is a direct consequence of the government's failure to enforce the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, designed to protect the land and heritage of the Naga people.
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• “Dimapur, the gateway and commercial heart of Nagaland, is drowning in an unchecked influx of non-residents. This blatant disregard for the well-being of the indigenous population, hidden behind a veneer of bureaucratic inertia, is creating a demographic time bomb that threatens to obliterate our identity and marginalise us in our own land,” the statement read.

Also read: Dimapur Naga Students’ Union urges Nagaland government to form DTF on ILP enforcement

• According to the DNSU, the state government’s failure to act decisively and enforce the ILP “smacks of incompetence, if not outright complicity in the demographic assault on Dimapur.”
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• While acknowledging the concerns raised by minority communities regarding long-term residents, the union stressed that the implementation of the ILP must prioritise the protection of indigenous rights.
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• It argued that voter ID cards and Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs), while important, cannot override the need to regulate entry and “safeguard the demographic integrity of our ancestral land.”
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• The union demanded that clear and non-negotiable deadlines be issued immediately for all non-exempt individuals to obtain ILPs; establish robust and adequately staffed enforcement mechanisms, including stringent checks at all entry points such as railway stations, roadways, and other points of entry; actively involve empowered civil society organisations in monitoring and enforcing ILP regulations to ensure transparency and accountability; reject any attempts to create loopholes or exemptions; and facilitate transparent guidelines and processes for ILP application and verification, leaving no room for ambiguity or corruption.
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• The DNSU asserted that the failure to implement a strong ILP in Dimapur is not merely an administrative oversight but a direct affront to the constitutional safeguards designed to protect the Naga people.
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• “We will not stand idly by while our land and identity are eroded by your incompetence and lack of political will. The DNSU demands immediate, decisive action. DNSU asserts that if a 1971 cut-off is deemed necessary for Assam to protect its demographic integrity, then logic and historical accuracy dictate that Nagaland’s cut-off year must be no later than its formation in 1963, if not earlier.
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• “For 16 formative years, Nagaland was subjected to the same demographic flows as Assam. To arbitrarily set a later date is to wilfully ignore this crucial historical period and expose Nagaland to the consequences of unchecked immigration that occurred while it was under Assam's administrative jurisdiction,” the statement read.