Letters to The EDITOR

The Vexed ‘Nagalim’ Issue

It is known to everyone that all the eight States in Northeast India are rich in mineral and water resources. The worrying reality is that most of the States in the region, if not all, are still backward economically – an abundance of industry-spurring resources notwithstanding. One of the major aspects impeding economic growth in these States is an inordinate delay on the part of the successive governments in resolving problems.

Take up, for instance, the case of Assam. Incidentally, the most productive State in the region, Assam, like Meghalaya, Manipur or Nagaland, is plagued by a host of intractable problems such as rising unemployment, porous India-Bangladesh border in the Dhubri and Karimganj sectors encouraging illegal immigration, endemic flood and erosion, inter-State boundary disputes etc. Initially, these issues could have easily been resolved because at that time they were not at all complicated as they are now. The alleged go-slow or rather a casual approach by the authorities has complicated the problems now. But why do the Opposition parties, instead of exerting pressure on the government for early solutions to these problems, bedevil the State for a pretty long time in resolving them? The reason is to exploit these issues or make some of them poll planks during electioneering to gain votes.

Indeed, the Government of India was very keen on resolving one of the most complex issues of sections of Naga people which is the demand for a sovereign State concerning the people in the region, especially Assam and Manipur, for decades. In other words, it has been straining every nerve ever since the demand for an independent State gained momentum in due course of time, given that in the event of the issue being kept on hold for an indefinite period, it may result in Naga insurgency.

Historically speaking, they had raised the demand even before India won independence. In 1918 the Naga Club was formed to resist any attempt by the colonial rulers for breaking the back of their movement for an independent State. In 1946 the Naga Club was renamed the Naga National Council (NNC) which, under the stewardship of Angami Zapu Phizo, declared Nagaland as an independent State. In 1951 a referendum was conduced in which more than a major chunk of Naga people, irrespective of their tribal affiliation, voted in support of a sovereign State. In 1956 Phizo declared the underground Naga Federal Government (NFG) and the Naga Federal Army (NFA). Following the crackdown by the Indian government, Phizo escaped to England. But the insurgency began especially in the Naga areas. So in order to appease some of the insurgent groups involved in it, the Naga Hills and Tuensang Area (NHTA) – then an autonomous territory was accorded the status of a full-fledged State in December 1963. But this positive gesture could not end the insurgency.

Thereafter, on November 11, 1975, the government impressed upon a section of NNC leaders to sign the historic Shillong Accord. Under this, a section of NNC and NFG agreed to give up arms. But Thuingaleng Muivah and about 140 members refused to accept the terms and conditions of the Accord. They formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in1980. At that time, Isak Chisi Swu and SS Khaplang were with Muivah. But in 1988, the NSCN split into NSCN(IM) and NSCN(K) following the massacre of the Muivah group.

In the early 1990s, Muivah, Swu and several other NSCN(IM) leaders escaped to Thailand. This development, rather than dimming the prospect of continuing negotiation with this potent group, facilitated it on foreign soil. And, notably, peace talks resumed with Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao meeting Muivah, Swu and others in Paris on June 15, 1995. Subsequently, PM HD Deve Gowda met them in Zurich in February 1997. The following year, there was a meeting even between PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and these leaders in Paris on September 30, 1998. Later, there were as many as about 90 rounds of talks between the two sides. The irony is that all these discussions years after years finally ended in smoke.

However, one gratifying aspect in this otherwise gloomy scenario is that soon after the Modi government took over, it continued negotiations with some of the Naga insurgent groups which gained momentum following the appointment of a former special director of Intelligence Bureau RN Ravi as the Centre’s interlocutor for peace talks. Finally, in 2015 there was a framework agreement in 2015 with the NSCN(IM). Though it was hailed by all well-meaning persons as being a welcome development, there remain some hurdles to the way to the final solution to the decades-old Naga political problem, one being their insistence for ‘greater Nagalim’ comprising all Naga-inhabited contiguous areas of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. Indeed it will be illogical to expect these States concerned will settle for the demand for integration of these territories.

A few days ago, a news report appeared in an English daily. It said the Naga rebel leaders have agreed to drop the demand for greater Nagalim and reached a common understanding with the Government of India that the boundaries of the neighbouring States will not be touched. The report also said instead some special arrangement would be made for the Naga people. If what was published is construed to be true and authentic, this has been a sensible move on the part of both the sides. Of course, the sooner they reach an agreement on these vital issues and make public, the better for all in the region.

Dwaipayan Dasgupta