Why Nagaland government’s decision to modify ILP rules has angered locals

The recent decision of the Nagaland cabinet to implement the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime under Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 (BEFR Act) in three districts — Dimapur, Chümoukedima and Niuland districts — with two different cut-off years has drawn flak from local residents

The BEFR Act, which has been in force in the Naga Hills (present-day Nagaland) since 1873, requires anyone, both Indian and foreigner, who is not an indigenous inhabitant of Nagaland, to obtain a permit as prescribed by the state government to enter Nagaland for a limited period. Besides Nagaland, the ILP regime is implemented in Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India.
Nagaland’s latest cabinet decision sets three categories of residents for the Dimapur district where no ILP will be required for the first two categories. The criterion for the first category is for individuals who have settled in Dimapur before December 1, 1963, the formation of Nagaland state. The state government would seek to provide those citizens with smart cards and the option to avail Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) and Domicile Certificate (DC).
The second category relates to individuals who settled in Dimapur between December 1, 1963 and November 21, 1979, and they are to be provided PRC with the option to avail DC. The third category would include individuals who settled in Dimapur on and beyond 22nd November 1979 and they would require ILP.
A government official, who asked not to be named, said certain categories such as students, teachers, technical personnel and businessmen who are investing in the state would be provided ILP for a longer duration up to a maximum of five years.
Dimapur, a general constituency seat sharing borders with Assam and having a mixed population from different states, was exempt from the purview of ILP until 2019. Naga civil society organisations and student bodies had time and again demanded that the ILP regime be enforced in the Dimapur district, fearing the influx of illegal immigrants posing a threat to the indigenous communities. Over time, the state government constituted different panels to study the viability of bringing the cosmopolitan district under the ambit of BEFR. The last such panel constituted in 2018 was tasked to bring out a robust policy to safeguard the rights and security of the indigenous people.
Following the panel’s report, the state government in December 2019 notified to bring Dimapur district under ILP with the cut-off date based on the government’s November 1979, notification where the then Dimapur sub-division under Kohima district was declared as a tribal belt. However, challenges in implementing the ILP regime persisted because Dimapur is a transit route for inter-state travellers to and from neighbouring Manipur and Assam,
In December 2021, the Dimapur district was bifurcated into three separate districts— the existing Dimapur, Chümoukedima and Niuland.
In June 2023, the operation of ILP in the Dimapur (erstwhile) district was suspended after a cabinet sub-committee was constituted to further study the modalities of ILP in the Dimapur valley. The cabinet panel was to submit its report in three months. However, the state government delayed the re-implementation of the ILP regime in those districts.
In February, the influential Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) demanded that the state government reintroduce the regime in the three districts, fearing an influx of illegal immigrants.
More recently, against the backdrop of political unrest in Bangladesh, the demand for enforcing the ILP regime gained momentum. The NSF on September 5 served a 14-day ultimatum to the state government, demanding the implementation of the ILP regime across the districts of Dimapur, Chümoukedima, and Niuland. “Any delay in enforcing these measures will be seen as a failure to protect the Naga people and an abdication of the government’s duty,” the student body said.
The joint committee for prevention of illegal immigrants (JCPI), a group of over 20 civil society organisations in Dimapur, said the BEFR Act automatically covers the entire state since the creation of Nagaland state on December 1, 1963, and as such the Act should cover Dimapur as well, since it is part of the state.
As per the JCPI, the only cut-off date to identify local citizens should be the date on which the state was formed.
“The recent cabinet decision to extend ILP to Dimapur, Chümoukedima and Niuland is old wine in a new bottle. JCPI registers its objection and reiterates our stand that there cannot be two different cut-off years for ILP in Nagaland,” Tia Longchar, a member of the committee, said.
He said the state government should invite public opinion on the contentious cut-off year’s issue, as the policy of public governance will affect posterity.
According to the JCPI, the cut-off year for identification of indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland should be the same year of statehood as valid documentation and records are available, unlike any other cut-off year which will have no locus standi. It cited a government notification of April 4, 1977, which listed three criteria to qualify as an indigenous inhabitant of Nagaland– “…entry in the electoral roll of 5/12/1963; paying house tax prior to 1/12/1963 and; should have acquired property and patta (land deed) prior to 1/12/1963”.