Status of the Naga Peace Talks

Context

The annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released a report on insurgency-related incidents in Nagaland. The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) was involved in 44% of insurgency-related incidents in 2020.

• The Union government had, in 2015, signed a framework agreement with the NSCN-IM to find a solution to the Naga political issue.

Who are the Nagas?

• The term Naga was created by the British for administrative convenience to refer to a group of tribes with similar origins but distinct cultures, dialects, and customs.
• The Naga tribes are accumulated in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Myanmar.

Why did the Naga insurgency begin?

• Residing in the Naga hills of Assam during the advent of the British and the annexation of Assam in 1820, the Nagas did not consider themselves a part of British India.
• The British adopted a way of governance over the Nagas that involved keeping in place their traditional ways of life, customs, and laws while putting British administrators at the top.
• At the time of the withdrawal of the British, insecurity grew among the Naga tribes about the future of their cultural autonomy after India’s independence.
• This was accompanied by the fear of the entry of “plains people” or “outsiders” into their territory.

When did the NSCN come into the picture?

• This signing of the Shillong Accord was not agreeable with many top leaders of the NNC and those operating from Myanmar.
• A/c to them, the agreement did not address the issue of Naga sovereignty andcoerced them to accept the Constitution.
• Three NNC rebel leaders formed the National Socialist Council Of Nagaland (NSCN) to continue the armed movement for ‘independence’.

Where do the peace talks stand now?

• In 1997, the Government of India got the NSCN-IM to sign a ceasefire agreement to begin the holding of talks with the aim of signing a Naga Peace Accord.
• After this ceasefire, there have been over a hundred rounds of talks spanning over 24 years between the Centre and the insurgent group, while a solution is still awaited.

Issues of contention

• Independence celebration: Nagas across Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh celebrate August 14 as Independence Day. According to Naga historians, Gandhi agreed that the Nagas would celebrate their independence a day ahead of India, on August 14, 1947.
• Naga flag: In the Naga narrative, passed down generations by word of mouth, the Naga flag was not designed by a mortal but is of divine origin.
• Secessionist tendencies: A large section of the Nagas still holds dear the idea of the Naga identity and their tribal roots.