“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend...”
We saw this happen when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a Peace Accord with the rebel Naga Group, the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) aka NSCN (IM)... Modi government deserves all of the praise for this accord with the one of the most notorious groups in the North East region... The implication of this accord, if Nagas stick to their commitment, will be a game changer for this region... Bcz most of the development projects in NE region were hampered by such rebel unions, a peaceful NE will rapidly inch towards growth and development...
Initially, NSCN’s demands were far from reality... Demand was for a sovereign “Greater Nagalim” with all Naga inhabited areas of Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and even some area of Myanmar... NSCN’s way to achieve it wz rebel and insurgency...
The Naga insurgency is not a recent issue... It is there since Independence... Under the leadership of Angami Zapu Phizo, the Naga National Council(NNC) declared Nagaland an independent state on August 14, 1947... The rebellion group grew among the Naga people... Even Phizo formed an army to fight for the sovereign Naga state...
To address the problem of growing insurgency in the NE, Indian Govt. passed Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958... Since then, hundreds have lost their lives in armed conflicts... After passing AFSPA, the Govt. always kept a door open for peace talks with rebellions... Shillong Accord of 1975 was an outcome of such initiative... The NNC agreed leave the path of armed rebel and accepted the Indian Constitution... However a faction of NNC led by Thuingaleng Muivah, was not happy with the idea of giving up the demand for a sovereign Naga State... He along with Isak Chishi Swu and S S Khaplang formed National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in 1980... Internal conflict among the leaders of NSCN resulted in splitting of the outfit into :
[A] NSCN-IM (Isak-Muivah), led by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah...
[B] NSCN-K led by S S Khaplang...
If we look at the last two decades, we can see NSCN-IM being associated with almost all major rebellion incidents in the region...
Apart from the Indian Government, the Nagas are also in conflict with other ethnic groups... Conflict with the Kukis is the major example... The Kukis demand a Kuki majority district in Sadar Hills which is also inhabited by Nagas... Nagas claim that Kukis are later migrants to the Sadar Hills and hence it’s a part of “Greater Nagalim”...
PM Modi while addressing at the event on August 3, 2015 said that the Naga problem “is a legacy of the British rule”... It indeed is... The British had settled Kukis in the Sadar Hills during mid-eighteenth century to counter the Nagas... The fire of hatred hasn’t died since then... And There have been incidents of violent conflicts between the Kukis and the Nagas claiming many innocent lives...
( How true was Mr. Shashi Tharoor in his recent speech saying "Maintenance and even creation of religious, ethnic and communal tension in many of the coutries was a result of British Colonization...!!!!" )
The India Govt had taken numerous attampts to bring NSCN-IM to the table for a peace talk... Past Prime Ministers did their bit to restore peace to the NE India... But nothing concrete could be achieved... P V Narasimha Rao met Muivah in Paris in 1995... Three years later, PM AB Vajpayee met him in the same city... Mr. Vajpayee visited Kohima in 2003...
During that time, NSCN-IM gave up the demand for sovereign “Greater Nagalim”... In 2003, they settled for a special status within the constitution of India, which gave them more socio-political scopes... Point to note here is that Nagaland already enjoys special status under Article 371-A, which ensures that “Acts of Parliament shall not apply to Nagaland unless so decided by the Nagaland Legislature with regard to:- (i) religious or social practices of the Nagas; (ii) Naga Customary Law and procedure; (iii) administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga Customary Law; (iv) ownership and transfer of land and its resources”....
(Ref. OpIndia.com)
NSCN-IM now wants the enlargement of this special status... Apart from that, there were two other issues need to be addressed... First the rehabilitation of the rebellion Nagas and pending criminal case against their leaders... There was a proposal to rehabilitate Naga fighting cadre in the Indian army, paramilitary forces or state police... Dropping criminal cases against Naga leaders will not be a bad deal... It will be interesting to see if the Modi, the government has agreed to this...
On the national level, this whole episode will encourage various Naxalite groups of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar etc to leave the path of violence and join the mainstream....
Jai Hind...
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