Change the nomenclature: Kyndiah to Khandu

Itanagar, Nov 5: Union Tribal Affairs Minister P R Kyndiah has assured Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu that he would ensure the introduction of the necessary Bill in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament for substituting ''Dafla'' with ''Nyishi''.

Official sources said here today that Mr Kyndiah gave this assurance when a delegation of ministers and MLAs, led by Mr Khandu, called on him at New Delhi yesterday.

The Chief Minister said the proposed amendment of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, for changing the nomenclature was his ministry's top priority agenda.

''It is a long-pending demand of the Nyishi community and the state government to set the error right,'' Mr Khandu said, adding that to address a Nyishi as ''Dafla'' was not only pejorative but also derogatory.

However, Mr Kyndiah informed the delegation that the initial research had already been completed and the approval of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes received.

Honouring the decades-old demand of the Nyishis, the state Assembly had unanimously adopted a resolution in support of change of nomenclature and had been pursuing it with the Centre.

Union Tribal Affairs Secretary G B Mukherjee, along with Joint Director Dr N N Ghatak had toured Seppa, Koloriang, Palin, Sangram, Yazali and Ziro in the state in September to elicit the people's opinion on the issue.

UNI