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Dimapur, May 26 (EMN): The Nagaland Garo Tribal Council (NGTC) has expressed displeasure and resentment over not being invited to the recent “Consultative meeting on documentation of Naga traditional attires and motifs” in Kohima, where tribal hohos (recognised tribes) and stakeholders of Nagaland were invited.
In a press release, the apex tribal body of the Garo community said that it was “very disheartening and painful” that a recognised tribe of Nagaland was not invited to such an important state-level meeting.
It alleged that a reminder letter was mailed to the Commissioner and Secretary to include the Garo tribe for the May 19th event and the same was copied to the MLA of their constituency and the CMO but their prayers fell on deaf ears with no response till date.
‘Despite that, our leaders chose to attend the meeting uninvited, hoping of some positive outcome, but we were surprised only to face more embarrassment. All the sitting arrangements were done according to the tribe wise, where our tribe was not allotted any seat,’ read the press release.
“Such kind of treatment really hurts our sentiment, which we didn’t expect. This is an act of total injustice and discrimination. We are utterly dismayed and felt rejected by this ignorance and negligence, where a recognised tribe like the Garo was left out and sidelined from this crucial meeting,” it added.
The NGTC said that they were deeply hurt and felt alienated in their own land. Stating the Garos are often neglected on many occasions, it said the tribe name is “not found in many government websites and portals, which is unacceptable”.
“The concern departments should do the needful in giving us our due rights, by giving us equal opportunity to participate, prosper and progress, along with all the tribes in our benevolent state of Nagaland,” it stated.
“The Garo Tribe is no doubt a minority tribe, and one of the most backward tribes in the state; we don’t have any representative of our own to voice our grievances but there is no minority and majority in the eyes God; being a Christian state, we believe that the Lord Almighty will give sense of wisdom to our leaders to love one another and live equally in a true Christian spirit,” it added.
It went on to say that ‘the Garos of Nagaland have been living in Dimapur since times immemorial and their forefathers were part of the ancient kingdom of Dimapur’.
Recounting its migration to the state, the NGTC said the majority of Garos settled in and around the foothills of Samaguting (present Chumoukedima) before some of them shifted to the present day Darogapathar in 1811.
“The present day Dimapur Airport was earlier a paddy field of our forefathers under a Garovillage namely ‘Ikranigaon’ but during the Second World War, it was given to the allied forces for building Airport,” it stated.
It added that Garo existing villages Darogapathar (1811), Eralibill (1910), Dubagaon (1910), Ekranipathar (1942) and Samaguri (1951) were established much before Nagaland got statehood.
Maintaining the Garo community had been co-operating with the government of Nagaland and civil societies, and even helped the Naga National Movement, it said it used to enjoy equal rights like any other recognised tribes in the state but “as the time passed our tribe slowly began to lose prominence and started to lose status”.
While claiming that government departments had began to question their indigenous and scheduled tribe status, it said “we will continue to stand for our rights and future generation” though a small tribe.