[ Tadak Nalo ]
This is the reason why I started the movement for scrapping the 80:20 ratio criterion:
Back in 2021, a non-APST, Anmol Singh, who had no idea about Arunachal Pradesh, came to Arunachal and became the topper of APPSCCE 2021.
That was first time I questioned the 80:20 ratio criterion.
Prior to that, nobody raised this issue. The majority of the people did not know about this issue and the people who knew didn’t have the will and courage to take up this issue.
I am not anti non-APST, but I am against the idea where merely 15 lakh population of Arunachal compete against 1.5 billion population of India. Moreover, we Arunachalis cannot participate in the state examinations of other states.
In 2021, our team reached out to the AAPSU headed by president Hawa Bagang, general secretary Tobom Dai and vice president Meje Taku. However, they didn’t respond to our issue and simply ignored us.
Then we reached out to team ANSU led by former president Nabam Dodum, general saecretary Gora Rikham and vice president Rahim Yangfo.
Unlike the AAPSU, the ANSU responded proactively and, led by former ANSU president Nabam Dodum, the 80:20 ratio issue reached the government’s table.
Thereafter, a high-level committee chaired by Taba Tedir, former education minister, was formed on 10 August, 2022 with the condition that the committee would submit its report within two months.
However, the Taba Tedir high level committee took one year and five months, ie, 17 months to submit the high level committee report on 9 January, 2024 to the chief secretary, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
After the submission of the Taba Tedir high level committee report, the tenure of the former ANSU president Nabam Dodum was over and the issue remained unresolved.
Then our team decided to take the matter into our own hands.
In September 2024, our team, the Arunachal Frontier Tribal Front (AFTF), reached out to the chief secretary to implement the Taba Tedir high level committee report, 2024 and make ST and PRC mandatory in the APPSC and the APSSB. However, they completely ignored our repeated calls.
Then in 2025 we started the scrapping of 80:20 ratio movement. We repeatedly went to the chief secretary’s office and wrote multiple representations to Chief Minister Pema Khandu.
Despite their cold response, we started the awareness-cum-signature campaigns. On 28 January, 2026, when we organised a signature-cum-awareness campaign, more than 25,000 people signed the petition to scrap the 80:20 ratio criterion.
Then finally, on 29 May, 2026, we wrote a comprehensive representation to the chief minister to scrap the 80:20 ratio criterion on or before 30 June, 2026. Also, on 17 June, 2026, our team asked for an appointment with the chief minister to discuss the issue. However, they completely ignored our repeated calls.
Then on 2 July, after the expiry of the given deadline, we decided to initiate a mega peaceful rally and asked permission from the DC-cum-magistrate of the ICR. Initially the DC assured us of permission and asked us to get NOCs from the SP and the IMC. We obtained NOCs from the SP (capital) and the IMC and declared a peaceful rally scheduled for 11 July.
However, after our declaration of the mega peaceful rally, the DC-cum-magistrate decided to decline the permission, saying that the CMO and the chief secretary’s office had asked him not to give the permission, and he also stated that, based on the demands of other organisations, our issue is being discussed.
However, we decided to continue our rally, and then the Government of Arunachal Pradesh constituted a ‘high level committee’, to be chaired by Textile and Industries Minister Nyato Dukam.
This is a similar type of committee constituted in 2022 under the chairmanship of the former education minister. The time period given is also identical, ie, two months. However, the former committee took 17 months to submit their report and god only knows how long the new committee will take.
Even after the submission of the committee report, it will go across various stages like legal vetting, Administrative Reforms Department, Finance Department, Personnel Department, the Cabinet, and then the Assembly.
That means by the time the new high level committee report is implemented, it will take a minimum of one year, and by that time all the examinations of the APPSC and the APSSB will be over.
Therefore, the new ‘high level committee’ under the chairmanship of Nyato Dukamis nothing but a complete eyewash.
Therefore, instead of repeating the whole process all over again, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh must implement the reports of the Taba Tedir high level committee report, 2022 and protect the tribal rights immediately by making ST and PRC mandatory in the APPSC and the APSSB.
Therefore, the Arunachal Frontier Tribal Front (AFTF) has given a month’s deadline (on or before 10 August, 2026) to the Government of Arunachal Pradesh to scrap the 80:20 ratio by making ST and PRC mandatory in the APPSC and the APSSB, and implementing the Taba Tedir High Level Committee Report, 2022. (The writer is chairman, AFTF. The views expressed are personal.)
