The Nagaland government has initiated a move to implement its own version of citizenship register, albeit only for indigenous communities of the state. 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.

Key features of Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN)-
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 aim is to prevent fake ‘indigenous inhabitants’ certificates. The RIIN will be the master list of all indigenous inhabitants of the state.
 The list will be prepared after an extensive survey of village-wise and ward-wise list of indigenous inhabitants, based on official records, under the supervision of district administration.
 The RIIN teams will visit each house and make a list of the indigenous inhabitants actually residing there.
 The entire exercise will be monitored by the Commissioner of Nagaland. In addition, the state government will designate nodal officers of the rank of a Secretary to the state government.
 Their role will be to monitor the implementation, and will have no say in the adjudication process.

Positives of the move:
Identification of indigenous people will be easier. Illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants can be stopped and burden on the socio-economic resources can be curbed.
Better targeting of beneficiaries for government services like PDS.
Helps in preservation of Naga culture tribes from encroachment.
It would help in better internal security of the already disturbed North-East India.
It could also led to decrease in tribal clashes, Greater Nagaland demand
It would promote harmony and development of region which is gateway to ASEAN

It opens up new avenues for conflicts rather than possibilities in following ways-
1. Naga peace talks –
 The negotiators engaged in the ongoing Naga peace talks could now articulate new and hardened positions.
 The talks on the contentious issue of integration of contiguous Naga-inhabited areas (of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh) could take pace now.
 NSCN(I-M) has opposed the compilation of RIIN, saying that all Nagas, wherever they are, were indigenous in their land by virtue of their common history. So it sees the RIIN process as being contradictory to the inherent rights of the Nagas.
2. Cut-off date –:
To be eligible to obtain a certificate of indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland, a person has to fulfill either of the below conditions:
 the person must be settled permanently in Nagaland prior to December 1, 1963
 his or her parents or legitimate guardians were paying house tax prior to the cut- off date (December 1, 1963)
 the applicant, or his/her parents or legitimate guardians, acquired property and a patta (land certificate) prior to this cut-off date
 The compilation of RIIN involves the complexities of deciding on the claims of the children of non-Naga fathers as well as non-Naga children adopted by Naga parents.
 In this regard, the Nagaland government may choose to go ahead with the above cut-off date.
 In such case, all Naga people who have migrated to the State after this day will have to be excluded.
 These include migrants from the neighbouring Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and elsewhere in India.
 The public opinion is still divided on compiling RIIN without a consensus on the cut-off date.
3. ILP –
 There is a proposal to link RIIN with the ILP (Inner Line Permit) system.
 The complexity is that unless otherwise officially clarified, the RIIN proposal may require large numbers of non-indigenous inhabitants to obtain an ILP to carry out day-to-day activities, most of them are migrated ones from other States.
4. Certificates –
 There is the limitation of non-issuance of domicile certificates or permanent residence certificates to a large number of non-Naga, non-indigenous inhabitants.
 This could also make the RIIN task even more difficult for the Nagaland government.

In the complex demographies of North-Eastern States, it may prove to be difficult. In Nagaland, various local attempts have been made previously to determine non-locals, non-tribals and non-Nagas. RIIN should not become a vehicle to determine outsiders / insiders. It is expected to deepen the existing fault-lines. Emotive political issues cannot be allowed to drive the compiling of a registry of citizens. Given this, the Nagaland government should facilitate the right to appeal and a humane hearing for those who are left out.

RIIN should not become a vehicle to determine outsiders / insiders as various local attempts have been made previously to determine non-locals, non-tribals and non-Nagas. It is expected to deepen the existing fault-lines. Thus, Emotive political issues should not be allowed to drive the compiling of a registry of citizens.