The Joint Committee on Prevention of Illegal Immigrants (JCPI) has announced to hold a “peaceful protest rally” on March 19, 2021, demanding the implementation of Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN).

The JCPI said in a statement that it had a consultative meeting with the apex tribal bodies and civil society organizations in Dimapur on March 12, 2021. “The meeting was appraised of the ultimatum given to the Chief Minister with 15/3/ 2020 as the deadline to fulfill its charter of demands on the enactment of RIIN and enforcement of Inner Line Permit (ILP) with 1-12- 1963 as effective cut- off year in the State of Nagaland,” said the JCPI. Unfortunately, with the onset of the pandemic in 2020, everything was kept in abeyance, added the JCPI.

Later, according to the JCPI, an open letter was again written to the Chief Minister to pass the Banuo’s Commission report on RIIN during the recently concluded winter session of Nagaland Assembly, but had no positive outcome.

Regarding the March 12 meeting, the JCPI said the meeting had a thorough deliberation and decided to make public representation to the Government of Nagaland to immediately act on the Commission’s report and make necessary law to implement RIIN exercise through an ordinance within March 31, 2021. The meeting further resolved that all the tribal Hohos will submit their representations to the government through their respective deputy commissioners by organizing a peaceful protest rally on March 19, 2021 in their respective jurisdictions.

The JCPI then said that each apex tribal body will chart out their own programmes as per their convenience. “The JCPI will have no other option but to resort to different democratic means of protest till we achieve the desire of the stakeholders on the issue,” it added.

NNN