Three-day pen-down strike by Nagaland govt employees hits functioning 

Kohima, Oct 14 (IANS) The Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on Tuesday began its three-day pen-down strike, badly affecting the functioning of Nagaland government offices across the state. 

The JCC, comprising five major government employees’ associations of Nagaland, launched the strike demanding withdrawal of the move to include a non-NCS (Nagaland Civil Service) officer for induction into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre. 

The government employees’ associations have been objecting to the state government’s March 10 vacancy circular, which was reportedly issued to accommodate a non-state cadre officer for IAS induction. 

The employee bodies had earlier urged the government to adhere to its Office Memorandums of 2001 and 2016, which stated that such recruitment should be carried out through public advertisement by the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC). 

In March 2025, the Nagaland government issued a vacancy circular giving 15 days’ time for applications. Eleven applicants submitted their forms, but on the 16th day, the government recalled the circular without any satisfactory clarification, All Nagaland State Services Employees Association (CANSSEA) President Zubemo Lotha Tsanglao told the media. 

Despite a series of agitations, including black badge wearing and poster campaigns, the government, according to the JCC, has not held any talks with the associations. 

“Frustrated by the continued silence of the government, the JCC launched the third phase of agitation, a pen-down strike from Tuesday to Thursday,” Tsanglao said, adding that their protest from October 14 to 16 would be held democratically. 

Another JCC leader said that the employees were attending their respective offices across the state, including in Kohima, but had put down their pens as a symbolic protest to uphold meritocracy and protect the future of Naga youths. 

Banners were displayed in government offices reading, “Meritocracy in IAS induction – not backdoor entry.” The state government is yet to respond to the pen-down strike and the demands of the JCC. The state cabinet, in its meeting on Wednesday, is likely to discuss the issue, sources said. 

The JCC comprises the CANSSEA, Nagaland In-Service Doctors Association (NIDA), Nagaland Secretariat Service Association (NSSA), Nagaland Finance and Accounts Service Association (NF&ASA), and Federation of Nagaland State Engineering Service Association (FONSESA). 

--IANS 

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