Itanagar: Claiming that many Tibetan refugees settled in Arunachal Pradesh have obtained Scheduled Tribes certificates, the Arunachal Civil Society (ACS) has demanded the state government to cancel all those certificates.
In a memorandum to the Chief Minister yesterday, the ACS alleged infiltration of Tibetan nationals in the guise of businessmen, who permanently settle down in different parts of the state.
“It is difficult to identify these refugees because of their religious and ethnic similarities with the local Monpas, Membas or Sherdukpens,” the ACS said, and urged the chief minister to look into the matter seriously.
“The state government should immediately constitute an expert committee to study and find out the whole gamut of Tibetan refugee issue,” the organisation said.
ACS further demanded to initiate immediate steps to abrogate ‘Any Naga Tribe’ used for the tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh in the Constitution and the State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986.
“Even after 30 years of attaining statehood, the numbers and names of tribal communities have not been exactly identified.
The Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986, has listed only 12 tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh.
Moreover, the tribes, like Tangsa, Nocte, Wanchoos, Tutsa have been clubbed together under ‘Any Naga Tribe’.
“The insertion of ‘Any Naga Tribe’ has provided an ample opportunity to our neighbour Nagaland and NSCN to include eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh within the ambit of the so-called Greater Nagalim,” the ACS said in the memorandum.
PTI
