Caution in Nagaland

The violence and arson, including setting fire to the chief minister’s residence, by rampaging mobs that were witnessed in Nagaland earlier this week, are a reminder that the authorities must tread with extreme caution when negotiating the interface between customary practices and modern sensibilities. Violence erupted when chief minister T.R. Zeliang held urban local body polls on February 1, in which women had 33 per cent seats reservation, in violation of the compact reached with the Naga tribal bodies to postpone the polls by two months. Opponents of the polls, who took to the streets, argued that reservations violated Naga tribal law and customs under which women cannot hold public office. This appears to be an oversimplification.

The local civil society, which included church groups, likely sought a two-month extension in order to align the idea of women’s reservation with the spirit of Article 371A of the Constitution meant to safeguard Naga customs. This could have been done by taking on board the political interests of different sections, including women’s bodies. But the Zeliang government, in which the BJP is a part, gave the impression that Article 243T of the Constitution was being made to override 371A at the behest of the Centre. As former CM Neiphiu Rio reminds us, his government in Nagaland in 2012 had passed an Assembly resolution to provide for 33 per cent women reservation without disturbing the spirit of 371A. This can be done with mutual accommodation within the tribal society. Trouble in a sensitive border state like Nagaland must be avoided at all cost.