Stone pillars at the Kachari Ruins in Dimapur. The Dimasa Youth Organisation Nagaland has cited such archaeological remains as evidence of the Kachari Kingdom’s historical presence in the district, contesting Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s reported description of the community as ‘migrants’. (Photo Courtesy: Dimapur District Administration)
Says at odds with historical and official records
Dimapur, November 10 (MExN): The Dimasa Youth Organisation Nagaland (DYON) has termed Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s reported description of Kacharis as ‘migrants’ in the State as “inaccurate”, citing the community’s documented history and official records.
The remark “disregards both the community’s documented history and the State’s official records,” DYON asserted in a press release, adding that it “not only misrepresents the facts but also deliberately attempts to set a false narrative.”
The organisation stated that Dimapur was once the capital of the Kachari Kingdom, which predates the 9th–10th century and existed long before Nagaland became India’s 16th state in 1963.
Citing historical accounts, including Ahom buranjis, British official records and other historical literature, DYON said the Kachari (Dimasa) Kingdom had a history spanning many centuries in Dimapur.
Historical remains of the kingdom, including carved monoliths and other archaeological structures, can still be found in the district, it added.
The organisation also referred to successive Census records, from the British colonial period to post-Independence India, which it said had documented the presence of Kacharis in Dimapur.
Referring to State Government records, DYON stated that a Land Revenue Department memorandum dated November 7, 1979, listed Kacharis alongside Naga tribes as indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland.
A notification issued later that month also included Kacharis among the communities residing in the Dimapur Tribal Belt, it pointed out.
It further cited the Constitution (Nagaland) Scheduled Tribes Order, 1970, which lists Kachari as a Scheduled Tribe in Nagaland.
DYON also stated that the State Government had previously clarified that Kacharis were residing in Nagaland before December 1, 1963, and that eligible descendants could obtain Scheduled Tribe and Indigenous Inhabitant Certificates, subject to verification.
In view of these historical and official records, the organisation maintained that the Chief Minister’s blanket description of Kacharis as ‘migrants’ was at odds with the State’s own records and the community’s longstanding presence in the region.
