Kachari Council to Oppose Naga Name For Dimapur

Kohima, Apr 27 : The state government’s decision to rename Dimapur could have wider political ramifications as any such move is likely to evoke strong protests particularly from the Dimasa community (Kacharis) who are settled in Nagaland, Assam and Tripura.

Nagaland Speaker Kiyanilie Peseyie said a move to rename Dimapur city in a Naga language was on the cards and a series of discussions was on between the 60 Naga legislators though a consensus was yet to be reached.

The Kacharis are also recognised as one of the non-Naga indigenous tribes of Nagaland.

Peseyie said the name “Dimapur” did not originate from any Naga language and it needed a Naga name.

The Kachari Tribal Council has warned the state government that it would oppose such a move tooth and nail, stating that the Kacharis have been kept in dark about the proposed renaming of Dimapur, the commercial hub of Nagaland.

The council said it would not remain silent if the state government did not change its stand.

Dimapur has a historical significance, it said adding any attempt to change that would invite strong criticisms and opposition from the Kacharis across the Northeast. It said the Bodos, the Dimasas, Mechs, Rabhas and the Boroks are all communities of Kachari origin spread across the region.

Dimapur, once the capital city of the Dimasa kingdom up to the 13th century, has reminiscences of the Dimasa kingdom scattered around it. The Kachari Tribal Council said renaming of Dimapur would tantamount to erasing the history of the Kacharis. The council said they would resort to democratic way of protests to safeguard their history.

Among the Naga tribes, the Angamis still claim Dimapur as theirs, though mostly the Sumi Nagas inhabit in and around Dimapur.

The Dimasa outfits which are operating from Assam also claim Dimapur as theirs and that any solution with the federal government would include Dimapur.

The Nagaland government has also started renaming colonies, wards and villages in and around Dimapur which have non-Naga names.

The Naga Hoho has, however, supported the state government’s move. Its president Kevilietuo Angami said they would support the government’s move to rename Dimapur city. “That is a good move,” he added.

Everything changes, he said, and therefore there should not be a rift or disunity among the Nagas and the non-Nagas like the Kacharis.

“I do not think this will create disunity,” he said.

Angami said the state government was trying to coin a new name for Dimapur in consultation with the Naga tribes.

Sources in the Minority Forum, comprising indigenous people, said the move would have wider ramification.

[ via Telegraph India ]