An apex body of Naga tribes has asked the Nagaland government not to be hasty with the exercise to prepare the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), seen as a variant of Assam’s National Register of Citizens.

Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN)

• The Government of Nagaland has decided to set up a Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) with the aim of preventing fake indigenous inhabitants’ certificates.
• The RIIN will be the master list of all indigenous inhabitants of the state.

How will the list be prepared?

• The RIIN list will be based on “an extensive survey”.
• It will involve official records of indigenous residents from rural and (urban) wards and would be prepared under the supervision of the district administration.
• The preparation of the list will start from July 10, 2019, and the whole process will be completed within 60 days from the start.
• Designated teams of surveyors will be formed within seven days from the date of publication of the notification, and thereafter these teams will be sent across each village and ward.
• The database will note each family’s original residence, current residence as well as the concerned Aadhaar

What is the review procedure?

• Respondents will be given an opportunity to make their case before the authorities.
• Eventually, respective Dy. Commissioners will adjudicate on the claims and objections based on official records and the evidence produced.
• This process will be completed before December 10, 2019.

Unique identity through Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate

• Based on the adjudication and verification, a list of indigenous inhabitants will be finalised and each person will be given a unique ID.
• The final list or the RIIN will be created and its copies will be placed in all villages and ward.
• Electronic copies of the list will also be stored in the State Data Centre. A mechanism or electronic and SMS-based authentication will be put in place.
• All indigenous inhabitants of the state would be issued a barcoded and numbered Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate.
• The process will be conducted across Nagaland and will be done as part of the online system of Inner Line Permit (ILP), which is already in force in Nagaland.

Back2Basics: Inner Line Permit (ILP)

• ILP is an official travel document required by Indian citizens residing outside certain “protected” states while entering them.
• The ILP is issued by the Govt. of India and is obligatory for all those who reside outside the protected states.
• With the ILP, the government aims to regulate movement to certain areas located near the international border of India.
• ILP’s origin dates back to the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, which protected the British Crown’s interest in tea, oil and elephant trade.
• It prohibited “British subjects” or Indians from entering these protected areas.
• After Independence, in 1950, the word “British subjects” was replaced by Citizens of India and the focus of the ban on free movement was explained as a bid to protect tribal cultures in northeastern India.

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