The Naga Students’ Federation observed Black Day in Kohima, joining NESO and AAPSU to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act and defend indigenous rights.
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KOHIMA — The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), under the aegis of North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), joined the rest of the Northeast on Thursday in observing Black Day against the imposition of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The programme was held at Naga Solidarity Park, Kohima, and attended by NSF officials, senior members and representatives of All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU).
Addressing the gathering, NESO Secretary General Mutsikhoyo Yhobu said that the Northeast people have been observing Black Day every year on December 11, the date on which the government of India passed the CAA in 2019.
He said that NESO had opposed the Act from the very beginning, stating that it should not be imposed on the Northeast.
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However, despite objections from student bodies and indigenous communities, the Act was passed in the Rajya Sabha. For this reason, NESO declared December 11 as Black Day across the region.
Yhobu reiterated that although states under the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime are exempted from the Act, several other states in the Northeast remain affected.
He stressed that ILP or not, the region is home to indigenous peoples whose rights must be protected.
“For that reason, we demanded that the CAA should not be implemented in the Northeast to safeguard indigenous communities. But our voice was not heard,” he said.
NSF president Mteisuding said that the federation stands firmly for the rights of indigenous people.
He informed that NSF had hoisted black flags early in the morning to register its resentment against the CAA, which he said threatens to erode the identity and rights of indigenous communities.
He asserted that NSF will continue to oppose the Act until it is scrapped and urged the people to unite to protect the region’s future generations. He also thanked AAPSU leaders for joining the observation in Kohima.
AAPSU vice president (Protocol), Nabam Gandhi, criticised the Centre for failing to assess the social and economic impact of the Act on different regions before implementing it.
He said that the CAA has adversely affected the Northeast and reaffirmed AAPSU’s commitment to oppose it until it is repealed.
The observation featured the hoisting of black flags and the symbolic burning of CAA documents.