• ‘Illegal immigrants a threat to Naga heritage’
• Kohima’s non-locals to go through ASU’s filter
• Communities asked to cooperate
• Nagas harboring illegal immigrants cautioned
EMN
Dimapur, June 5
The Angami Students’ Union will be conducting its first phase of what the students’ group called ‘non-local verification drive’ for the year 2015. The drive will commence from June 10 and continue till July 10. The verification will be conducted in the ASU’s office, below the AIR station, in Kohima town.
The ASU issued a press release on Friday, June 5 blaming the local population for their complacence and apathy at the growing dangers of “disproportionate presence of non-locals”. The organization stated in one good length: “Despite the regulated Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act of 1873, being enforced in the state of Nagaland meant to safeguard our identity and culture, unabated invasion of our socio-economic, moral and identity by illegal immigrants has been in the fray due to disproportionate presence of non-locals in our society, coupled with the apathetic attitude of locals impeding the situation wherefore our survival as an idiosyncratic race is endangered with their anti-activities detrimental to our society”.
In its commitment to “thump the unabated and alarming inflow of illegal migrants” in the state of Nagaland, the Angami students said it ‘senses’ the “impediment and threat” posed to the Naga people’s ethnicity and heritage by the menace of “uncurbed immigrations from the bordering states and countries particularly Bangladesh”.
The ASU has been initiating various activities to check the overwhelming influx of illegal immigrants and Inner Line Permit defaulters in form of ‘non-local verification drives, the press release stated. “This initiative is also necessitated to ascertain the actual populace of non-locals inhabiting in our ancestral land. The Angami Students’ Union upon reaffirming its stand to tackle the demographic threats both socially, economically or otherwise, will be coordinating the verification drive again,” the ASU said.
The organization has urged the denizens of Kohima district to actively partake and support the cause, to preserve and protect the Naga society from the looming threat.
“The Union welcomes any constructive contributions and also strongly discourage any individual(s) sheltering/protecting the immigrants in any form/manner,” the ASU said.
Even non-Naga person in Kohima are directed to “physically bring all relevant proof documents” such as photocopies of their Inner Line Permit cards, identity proof, two passport-size photos, workplace permit, and for the members of the business communities, their trade-licenses.
