Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 27 May: Chief Minister Pema Khandu today assured that the state government would work collectively with all stakeholders to arrive at concrete and long-term solutions on issues relating to indigenous tribal rights, demographic concerns, Inner Line Permit (ILP) regulation and APST-related matters.
Addressing a high-level consultative meeting held at the State Banquet Hall, Niti Vihar, the Chief Minister described the deliberations as “historic,” with participation from all major stakeholders including community-based organisations (CBOs), student bodies, legal experts, civil society representatives, political leaders and senior government officials.
The marathon meeting, which continued for nearly seven-and-a-half hours without interruption, was attended by representatives of the Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum, All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union, ST Bachao Andolan Committee, political parties and senior officers from the Home Department, Law Department, Political Department, Directorate of Indigenous Affairs and other concerned departments.
The Chief Minister expressed gratitude to the ST Bachao Andolan Committee for drawing the Government’s attention towards what he termed as a “long-burning issue” that has remained unresolved for years despite repeated discussions in the past.
He stated that the concerns raised are not unique to Arunachal Pradesh alone, but are part of a larger national challenge linked to illegal immigration, demographic changes and threats to indigenous identity and cultural preservation.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address from the Red Fort on 15 August 2025, the Chief Minister said the union government has already recognised demographic imbalance and illegal immigration as serious concerns impacting law and order, indigenous culture and national security.
He informed the gathering that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has recently notified a national-level High-Level Committee on Demographic Change comprising a retired judge, retired IAS and IPS officers and senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, indicating that the issue is receiving serious attention at the national level.
The Chief Minister stated that the state government has, in principle, accepted the four major demands placed during the meeting, including the long-standing demand for creation of a separate department dedicated to management and regulation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR).
Announcing the government’s in-principle approval for creation of a separate ILP Department, the Chief Minister said the proposal had been consistently advocated by both AAPSU and the ST Bachao Andolan Committee.
The Chief Minister also acknowledged concerns regarding demographic change and its impact on indigenous tribal culture, traditions and identity, stating that preservation of Arunachal Pradesh’s unique cultural heritage remains a collective responsibility.
Emphasizing the need for long-term solutions, the Chief Minister strongly advocated skilling and capacity-building of local youth to reduce dependency on outside labour and workforce. Citing the example of Mizoram, he underlined the importance of dignity of labour and vocational skills development.
He shared an example of a group of tribal youths from Arunachal Pradesh who were sent to Bengaluru for specialised skill training in plumbing and electrical works. After returning to the state, the trained youths completed a project in Pasighat for Rs. 10 lakh, whereas outside contractors had quoted Rs. 18 lakh for the same work, resulting in a saving of Rs. 8 lakh while simultaneously generating local employment opportunities.
The Chief Minister called upon all apex community-based organisations to encourage skilling initiatives among tribal youths and actively participate in strengthening skill development programmes across the state.
As a concrete outcome of the meeting, the Chief Minister announced formation of a high-level committee to further deliberate on the issues discussed and recommend an appropriate way forward.
He informed that a follow-up meeting would be convened on 29 May 2026 for formal constitution of the committee. He invited seven members each from AITF, AAPSU and STBAC and at least 2-3 members from the legal fraternity to the said follow-up meeting, which would pave way for constitution of the high-level committee.
The Chief Minister stated that the government would officially notify the committee immediately after finalisation of members and assured that all recommendations submitted by the committee would be discussed transparently and collectively before any final policy decisions are taken.
ASTBAC, led by its chairman Sol Dodum and general secretary Millo Ambo, vociferously put forward its demands. These include the immediate re-verification of all APST certificates; the constitution of a high-level expert committee to study the offspring issue and identify existing loopholes related to the indirect acquisition of indigenous rights; the introduction of a robust ILP framework; a review of ILP guidelines; and the establishment of a mechanism to check illegal immigrants such as Tibetans, Bhutanese, Bangladeshis, and Nepali settlers.
The stakeholders unanimously supported the concerns raised by the ST Bachao Andolan team and demanded that the government devise a mechanism to ensure that indigenous people and their rights are protected from non-indigenous settlers. The stakeholders also raised concerns over the fraudulent acquisition of ST certificates and suggested that the government introduce a foolproof system to ensure that no one can obtain an ST certificate through fraudulent means.
Reacting to the outcome of the consultative meeting, ASTBAC chairman Sol Dodum said, “We demanded 10 days to constitute the committee. The government has surprisingly fast-tracked it to the day after tomorrow. I would appreciate the government’s move if it genuinely intends to address our demands.”
“However, it would be too early to thank the government. Let them first address our demands,” Dodum added. (With input from CMO)
