A study of the effects of communitisation in Nagaland

Abstract

For over 50 years, Nagaland has witnessed its share of violence and turmoil. A brief review and understanding of the history of the state provides insights on how the scheme came to be. The areas under present day Nagaland existed as “sovereign lands” before the British conquest. By 1892, a majority of the Naga territories were under British control. The Naga Hills district were declared by the Government of India Act 1919 to be a “Backward Tract” and hence the Naga territories were treated as separate from the rule of British India1. The “Naga Memorandum” to the Simon Commission in 1929 stated that the “Nagas” would not like to join the Union of India2. Following Indian Independence, Nationalist activities arose among a few sections of the Nagas and soon violence gripped the state. The formation of the state of Nagaland did nothing to stymie the violence and despite numerous attempts at a ceasefire, the rebel activities continued. This continued till 1997 when a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Government of India and a major faction of the militant forces. However, sporadic incidents of violence continued throughout the state. Along with this insecurity, the state finances were in doldrums. The delivery of public services like primary education, health, power and water supply was pitiful. There was a great hue and cry for improving these services at a grassroots level. It was at this juncture that a new form of dispensing public services, called communitisation, was mooted. This political history allowed the state to have a unique constitutional and legal framework, which led to the formation of the concept of communitisation. After the initial concept was discussed in mid-2001, the proposal was adopted in March 2002. The scheme was based on the ‘triple T approach’, i.e., “Trust the community, Train the community and Transfer the power and resources to the user community”3. Thus, was born the Nagaland Communitisation of Public Institutions and Service Act, 2002.