Dimapur, Jan. 20 (EMN): Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio on Thursday informed that the state will soon get a separate High Court based in Kohima and judges in all the districts.
Rio was speaking at the 21st triennial conference-cum-60th anniversary of Nagaland Dobashis Association, held on January 19 and 20 at Town Hall in Zunheboto.
The chief minister also said that a committee had been formed after consulting with the tribal councils to compile the codification and customary practices of the Nagas, an update from DPRO Zunheboto informed.
He added that a book, which will be published by the committee, will be distributed to all the districts and later translate into different dialects for ‘easy understanding’.
Rio shared that ‘every tribe has a chapter of its own, and together all the culture of Nagas will be documented’.
He added that with Dobashis, tribal councils and GBs working together, ‘they would preserve our traditions, culture and customary laws for the benefit of the Nagas as a whole’.
Commissioner and Secretary of Nagaland, Rovilato Mor, who was the chieftain of the celebrations, said that Dobashis were the backbone of the district administration.
While asserting that it was the responsibility of the Dobashis to ‘keep the customary law strong’, he said that appointing Dobashis in all areas has been beneficial for the district administration. He added that they should ‘shoulder the responsibility of the administration by disseminating the current happenings of the areas under their jurisdictions.’
Mor went on to say that the Dobashis were intermingled with the community and they should ‘take decisions without being partial in times of disputes, based on facts’.
Advisor of School Education, KT Sukhalu, the event’s guest of honour, shared that he was also a son of a Dobashi and there were not many Dobashis in Nagaland ‘during the early days’.
The Dobashis were appointed in the capacity of interpreters, he said, while adding that they were appointed by the British after ‘seeing their honesty, integrity and trustworthiness’.
He also lauded Bloomfield Hill School for not only imparting formal education but also traditional knowledge and practices to students, the update said.