Dimapur, the commercial hub of Nagaland, today finds itself trapped in an ecosystem of control commonly referred to as the syndicate system. What began years ago as informal trade arrangements has gradually evolved into a deeply entrenched network of monopolies, intimidation, and illegal collections that now affects nearly every sector of economic life.
From essential commodities such as meat, fish, vegetables, and construction materials to transport and retail trade, businesses are often compelled to operate under imposed conditions. Small traders and local entrepreneurs are forced to pay arbitrary “fees” or “percentages” simply to remain operational. Prices are artificially controlled, competition is stifled, and genuine enterprise is discouraged. This is not free trade but coercion disguised as regulation.
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While underground groups are often blamed for this situation, a more uncomfortable truth must be acknowledged. There exists a class of powerful and influential overground individuals and organizations who directly or indirectly facilitate and benefit from transactions with so-called national workers. These relationships are largely transactional rather than ideological. In return for financial support or business cooperation, these actors gain protection, leverage, and the ability to use underground influence when convenient, whether to suppress competition or intimidate dissent.
Such arrangements amount to the open facilitation of coercion and fear. Funding or materially benefiting from armed intimidation, irrespective of the label used, fits the basic definition of terror financing. Any meaningful attempt to dismantle the syndicate system must therefore go beyond targeting underground operatives alone and extend scrutiny to overground facilitators who provide money, legitimacy, and social cover.
The impact on Naga youth has been devastating. Young entrepreneurs attempting to start small ventures are often pressured with “entry fees” or driven out entirely. Many migrate, while others become absorbed into the very networks that destroy their opportunities. Over time, this creates a dangerous mindset where success is no longer linked to merit or effort, but to connections and compliance, eroding dignity, innovation, and hope.
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This problem is compounded by a serious contradiction in enforcement. On 19th May 2022, the Government of Nagaland, Home Department (Political Branch), issued a clear notification ordering that all illegal collections at check gates be stopped immediately. The order explicitly directed the closure of all check gates operated by police, municipal bodies, town councils, organizations, or private individuals, except duly authorized interstate check gates, and warned of criminal prosecution under IPC Sections 188 and 384 for violations.
Despite this unambiguous directive, recent instances of toll collection by the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC), charging varying rates to different vehicles and issuing challans have raised legitimate public questions. Under what statutory authority or subsequent government approval are such collections being carried out? Have any exemptions been granted under the Home Department’s approval, as mandated by the 2022 order? In the absence of clear public clarification, these actions risk being perceived as a revival of the very practices the notification sought to eliminate.
Crucially, the notification further states that no individual or organization other than responsible government personnel shall be present at or around interstate check gates. The presence of any unauthorized person or group is to be treated as sufficient proof of collusion in illegal collection, attracting criminal prosecution under IPC Sections 188 and 384, in addition to departmental action against erring officials.
Selective enforcement weakens the rule of law. When official institutions appear to operate in contradiction to standing government orders, it undermines public trust and emboldens illegal systems elsewhere. The fight against syndicates cannot succeed if legality itself becomes ambiguous.
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True nationalism is not about control, intimidation, or extraction, it is about service, sacrifice, and the protection of one’s people. Those who exploit the language of nationalism or the authority of institutions for personal gain do lasting harm to society.
If Nagaland is serious about dismantling syndicate control, accountability must reach both the gun and the hand that pays for it. Silence has already cost the people dearly.
(The author is proprietor, Naga Xpress Transport Agency. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ukhrul Times. Ukhrul Times values and encourages diverse perspectives. The author can be reached at hopecap@rediffmail.com)