Has the Naga peace process reached an impasse? A heated exchange over the last week suggests both Naga groups and the government have harde...
Has the Naga peace process reached an impasse? A heated exchange over the last week suggests both Naga groups and the government have hardened their positions.
On Sunday, August 16, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah faction), the largest Naga armed group in talks with the government, released the contents of the framework agreement signed in 2015 and kept confidential so far. The agreement, signed by NSCN(IM) leaders and the Central interlocutor, RN Ravi, was to set the term for a final peace pact between the government and armed groups that had fought for an independent Naga state for decades.
According to the documents released by NSCN(IM), the 2015 agreement laid the ground for a settlement that involved the Indian government and the Nagas “sharing the sovereign power”. The NSCN(IM) alleged that Ravi had manipulated the document in his submission to the parliamentary standing committee to suggest that any solution would be within the limits of the Indian Constitution and concerned only the state of Nagaland. On August 14, in a speech to commemorate “Naga independence day”, NSCN(IM) chief Thuingaleng Muivah declared Nagas would “co-exist” but not “merge” with India.
The next salvo came from Ravi, now governor of Nagaland as well as Central interlocutor....
