Relevance: GS-3: Challenges to internal security through communication networks.

Key Phrases: National Socialist Council of Nagaland, excluded area, Armed Forces Special Powers Act, People's Republic of Nagaland, NNPGs, high-handedness.

Why in News?

• The annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released recently said that the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) was involved in 44% of insurgency-related incidents in Nagaland in 2020.
• The Union government had signed a framework agreement with the NSCN-IM in 2015 to find a solution to the Naga political issue. The negotiations are yet to be concluded, 24 years on.

History Of Naga Insurgency:

• Residing in the Naga Hills of Assam during the advent of the British and the annexation of Assam in 1820, living in isolation and wanting no interference in their cultural ways and customs, 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 to a large extent, their traditional ways of life, customs, and laws while putting British administrators at the top.
• Finding this approach favourable, the colonial government later declared the Naga hills an “excluded area” in the Assam province in 1935.
• 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, which was accompanied by the fear of the entry of ‘plains people’ or ‘outsiders’ into their territory.
• These gave rise to the formation of the Naga Hills District Tribal Council in 1945, which was renamed the Naga National Council (NNC) in 1946.
• Amid uncertainties over the post-independence future of the Nagas, a section of the NNC, led by Naga leader A.Z. Phizo declared the independence of the Nagas on August 14, 1947, a day before India’s.
• The underground insurgency began in the early 1950s when Mr. Phizo founded the Naga Federal Government (NFG) and its armed wing, the Naga Federal Army (NFA).
• The Central Government sent the armed forces into Naga areas to curb the insurgency and imposed the contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which is still in place in parts of Nagaland.
• The Nagas, led by Mr. Phizo, demanding an independent state outside of India, boycotted the 1952 and 1957 general elections and armed clashes grew.
• Unlike multiple other areas in the North East, where groups were accepting some form of autonomy by forming the district and hill councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, Nagas rejected this in favour of sovereignty.
• Some leaders among the NNC formed their own group to hold discussions with the government, leading to the formation of the state of Nagaland in 1963 as 16th State.
• This, however, did not satisfy many in the NNC and NFG, who, following years of negotiations with the government, eventually signed the Shillong Accord of 1975, agreeing to surrender arms and accept the Constitution.

The Challenges:

• The abrogation of Article 370 has not gone well with the Naga peace process and threatens to destabilize the entire northeast.
• Unlike Kashmir which has a few hundred militants, the NSCN(IM) has nearly 7000 soldiers who are heavily armed.
• The NSCN(IM)has refused to give up on its key demands and is ready to hold back the agreement.
• Meeting the demands would also provoke other ethnic tribes who have also guarded their identities and culture for centuries.

Where do The Peace Talks Stand Now?

• Many rounds of talks: After the 1997 ceasefire with NSCN-IM, 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.
• The NSCN-K which initially refused to take part in any ceasefire agreement or talks with the Centre later agreed to a two-month ceasefire in 1998, which was followed by countless ceasefire extensions over the years. In 2015, the NSCN-K violated its ceasefire agreement, later signing an extension.
• Holding peace parleys: New Delhi has been holding peace parleys simultaneously with the NSCN-IM, and the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) comprising at least seven other extremist groups, including the NSCN (K).
• First step towards an actual Peace Accord: In 2015, it signed a Framework Agreement with the NSCN (I-M), the first step towards an actual Peace Accord.
• Removal of Mr. Ravi as interlocutor: The negotiations hit an impasse in 2020, with the NSCN-IM demanding the removal of Mr. Ravi as interlocutor, accusing him of “high-handedness” and tweaking the agreement to mislead other Naga groups.
• Demand for a separate flag: The NSCN-IM continued to demand a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas and the creation of Nagalim, which it claimed was agreed upon in the Agreement.
• Issues over the Naga flag and constitution: On April 19 this year, a government official visited the NSCN-IM’s camp in Dimapur to hold closed-door talks but issues over the Naga flag and constitution remain to be ironed out.

Conclusion:

• The Naga issue is very complex, and the NSCN(IM) is in a delicate position. For them, it is difficult to abandon the demand for a Greater Nagalim. But India cannot accept that demand, and a middle path has to be found, which may take some time.

Sources: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. Briefly discuss the history of the Naga insurgency? Suggest some suitable steps to resolve the issue.(250 words).