- KOHIMA — Nagaland's lone Lok Sabha MP S Supongmeren Jamir on Thursday voiced his
support for a review of the state's job reservation policy, calling for equal
opportunities for all communities.
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- Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of launching the
'Clean & Green Nagaland' campaign through his MPLADS funds on the occasion
of World Environment Day here, Jamir acknowledged the concerns raised by five
major tribal bodies of the state regarding the "outdated" nature of
the current reservation framework.
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- "The five tribes stated that the policy has not been
reviewed for more than 40 years. So now it is a policy matter," Jamir,
also the state Congress president, said.
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- He expressed confidence that the state government holds a
"good intention of giving equal opportunities to all the citizens of the
state" and hoped for positive reforms.
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- Initially, 25 per cent reservation in non-technical and
non-gazetted posts in the state government was allocated to seven tribes for a
period of 10 years.
Participants at the protest organised by the Angami Public Organisation in Kohima on Thursday. (EM Images)
- These tribes were designated as 'backward' based on their
educational and economic disadvantages and limited representation in state
services. This reservation has since been increased to 37 per cent, of which 25
per cent is for seven eastern Nagaland backward tribes and 12 per cent for four
other backward tribes.
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- The push to review Nagaland's reservation policy intensified
after five apex bodies of non-backward tribes – Angami Public Organisation, Ao
Senden, Lotha Hoho, Rengma Hoho and Sumi Hoho – under the banner of the
'Five-Tribe Committee on Review of Reservation Policy', submitted a joint
memorandum to the state government.
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- They argued that the reservation policy, which has been in
place since 1977, no longer reflects the current socio-economic and educational
realities of the various communities in the state.
