Nagaland: Normal life hit in shutdown, 6 hour bandh called by NSF

Schools and colleges were closed, markets were shut and vehicles remained largely off roads in parts of Nagaland on Saturday(December 14) amid a six-hour shutdown call given by the Naga Students Federation (NSF), protesting against the amended Citizenship Act, officials said.

No untoward incident has been reported so far from the Naga inhabited areas where the shutdown began at 6 am, they said. The sudden shutdown, announced by the NSF on Friday(December 13) to express resentment of the Naga population against the law continued till 12 pm.

“Pursuant to the resolution adopted in the Emergency Executive Council Meeting of NSF, held on Friday at the Federations Headquarter, it was unanimously decided to call for a six-hour total bandh in all the Naga inhabited areas, starting from 6 am to 12 noon on December 14,” a NSF statement said.

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NSF vice president Dievi Yano condemned the amended Citizenship Act, saying it did not take into account the sentiments of the indigenous people of the Northeast.

“The NSF totally resents the injustice done by the central government and we will never support the amended Citizenship Act, which is the latest weapon of the Centre to divide the Northeastern people on concessional lines,” he said.

“The NSF does not believe in classification of illegal immigrants on religious lines as the NSF regards all illegal immigrants as criminals and they must be treated accordingly,” he said.

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Further, the NSF condemned three Naga MPs – Tokheho Yepthomi (Lok Sabha) and K G Kenye (Rajya Sabha) from Nagaland and Lorho S Pfoze (Lok Sabha) from Manipur for
voting in favour of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (now Act).

The NSF said that along with the North East Students Organisation (NESO), it would take all necessary measures to ensure that the law does not take effect in the region.

The NSF directed all its federating units and subordinate bodies in Manipur, Assam and Nagaland to take up all necessary measures to ensure that the total bandh is carried out successfully in their respective jurisdictions. However, NSF said students appearing for examination, healthcare professionals on duty, media personnel and marriage parties, provided the wedding card is produced, will be exempted from the total bandh.