NAGA PEACE PROCESS - INTERNAL SECURITY
News: Nagaland
group to raise its bifurcation bid with Amit Shah
What's in the news?
● Leaders
of a group representing six districts seeking to break away from Nagaland are
scheduled to discuss its Statehood demand with Home Minister Amit Shah in New
Delhi on December 3.
Key takeaways:
● A
spokesperson of the Eastern Nagaland
People’s Organisation (ENPO) said Mr. Shah has invited a team to discuss
Statehood for six of Nagaland’s 16 districts. Six major tribes dominating these districts have been demanding the
creation of ‘Frontier Nagaland’ to be
free from “decades of neglect”.
● The
ENPO had earlier decided not to participate in the State’s flagship Hornbill
Festival that starts on December 1. The annual festival at Kisama near State
capital Kohima showcases the culture and tradition of all the ethnic
communities of Nagaland.
● Nagaland’s
Chief Secretary, J. Alam, said the government had requested the ENPO and all
the associated tribal leaders to reconsider their decision. The government is
awaiting a positive response from them, he added.
● Launching
its Statehood demand in August, the ENPO threatened to boycott the 2023
Assembly elections in Nagaland if its demand for the bifurcation of Nagaland
was not fulfilled.
Who are Nagas?
● The Nagas are not a
single tribe, but an ethnic community that comprises several tribes who live in
the state of Nagaland and its neighborhood.
● The
Naga tribes are accumulated in Nagaland,
Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Myanmar.
● During
the advent of the British and with the annexation of Assam in 1820, Nagas were
largely residing in Naga hills of Assam.
● Wanting
no interference in their cultural ways and customs, the Nagas did not consider
themselves a part of British India.
● The
British adopted an autonomous 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 favorable, the colonial government later declared the Naga hills an “excluded area” in the Assam
province in 1935.
NSCN:
● The
National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) was formed in the year 1980 by splitting from the NNC.
● In
the year 1988, NSCN again split into
NSCN (IM) led by Isaac and Muivah and NSCN (K) led by Khaplang.
Demands of NSCN:
● The
motto of the NSCN was to create a People’s Republic of Nagaland free of Indian
rule and based on the principle of socialism as an economic solution and
Christianity as religious affiliation.
● With
an initial cadre of 150, the NSCN soon had 3,000 recruits mainly from the
Konyak and Tangkhul Naga tribes.
● In
1988, after years of infighting and violent clashes along tribal lines and over
the main cause of the movement, the NSCN split into two factions.
● NSCN-IM
led by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah.
● NSCN-K
led by S S Khaplang.
● After
the death of Mr. Phizo in 1990 and the split of the NNC, the NSCN-IM became the
most powerful insurgent group, also playing a role in the creation of smaller
groups in other states.
● Its
armed operations intensified along with illegal activities like tax extortion,
smuggling of weapons and so on.
● The
NSCN-IM and its activities became a political roadblock for three consecutive
administrations at the Centre, with Prime Ministers P V Narasimha Rao, H D Deve
Gowda, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee holding multiple meetings with NSCN-IM leaders
Mr. Muivah and Mr. Swu in Paris, Zurich, Geneva, and Bangkok.
Demands of NSCN-IM:
● Greater Nagalim
(sovereign statehood) i.e. redrawing of boundaries to bring all Naga-inhabited
areas in the Northeast under one administrative umbrella to unite 1.2 million
Nagas. It includes various parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam and
Myanmar as well.
● Naga
Yezabo (Naga Constitution).
● Naga national flag.
Causes for Naga Insurgency:
1. Doubts over Cultural Autonomy: 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.
2. Fear of entry of Outsiders:
This insecurity was accompanied by the fear of the entry of ‘plain people’ or
‘outsiders’ into their territory, which would lead to demographic changes that
would disturb their way of life.
3. Formation of Organized Grouping:
These insecurities & fear gave rise to the formation of the Naga Hills District Tribal Council in 1945,
which was renamed the Naga National Council (NNC) in 1946.
4. Leadership under A.Z. Phizo:
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.
5. Adoption of Armed Path for demanding Independence:
● 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
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 district and hill councils under the sixth schedule of
the Constitution, Nagas rejected this in favor of sovereignty.
6. Imposition of AFSPA:
The Central Government sent the armed forces into Naga areas to curb the
insurgency and imposed the contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA),
1958 which is still in place in parts of Nagaland.
7. Separate State did not reduce insurgency: 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. This, however, did not satisfy many in the NNC and NFG, who continued armed resistance pressing for their demands.
8. Shillong Accord:
Following years of negotiations with the government, eventually signed the Shillong Accord of 1975, agreeing to
surrender arms and accept the Constitution.
9. Governance problems:
Lack of a political-administrative structure, corruption, ties between
political parties and armed opposition organizations and law and order issues.
10. Armaments availability and porous borders:
Leads to illegal immigration and the trafficking of narcotics and arms (Golden Triangle).
11. Developmental challenges:
These include issues with poverty, unemployment, poor connection, feelings of
neglect, and a lack of FDI.
Impact of insurgency:
1. Internal displacement of the population:
● Hindus
and Muslims of Bengali ancestry who have been uprooted from and within Assam
are examples of internal population displacement.
● The
eviction of Bodos and Adivasis (Tea Tribes) from and inside Western Assam, the
eviction of Paints, Kukis, and Nagas from Manipur.
2. Laws Used Arbitrarily:
● There
are strong repercussions if common-law crimes are not distinguished from
insurgency-related crimes.
● Shortcuts
exist in the criminal investigation and trial processes. Police use the
National Security Act to hold people in custody or to kill them in fictitious
confrontations.
3. Child Education Disruption:
● There
is a significant migration of school-age children from the area, which causes a
significant outflow of money from the area.
4. Sense of Insecurity:
● Frequent
incidents of kidnapping, death, threat, and extortion; frequent abuses of human
rights by both the rebels and the security forces; and fear of psychosis have
all contributed to a persistent sense of unease.
5. Politicians and rebels Nexus:
● When
elected officials stop serving as the people's representatives, they are no
longer held responsible and accountable by the electorate but rather by the
rebels who orchestrated their victory.
6. Diversion of Funds:
● Insurgents
siphon off and steal significant amounts of money intended for development
projects.
Peace process:
Shillong Accord (1975):
● A
peace accord was signed in Shillong in which the NNC leadership agreed to give
up arms.
● However,
several leaders refused to accept the agreement, which led to the split of NNC.
Ceasefire Agreement (1997):
● The
NSCN-IM signed a ceasefire agreement with the government to stop attacks on
Indian armed forces.
● In
return, the government would stop all counter-insurgency offensive operations.
Framework Agreement (2015):
● In
2015, it signed a Framework Agreement with the NSCN (I-M), the first step
towards an actual Peace Accord.
● The
then Joint Intelligence Chief R.N. Ravi was appointed the interlocutor for Naga
peace talks and signed the Framework agreement on behalf of the Centre.
● He
was later appointed as Nagaland’s Governor in 2019 to further the negotiations.
2015 Framework Agreement:
Signatories:
● Interlocutor
R.N. Ravi signed the agreement on behalf of the Centre in presence of PM Modi.
● The
other two signatories were leader of NSCN(IM) i.e. Isak Chishi Swu, who died in
2016 and Thuingaleng Muivah (86) who is leading the talks.
Recognised each other’s concerns:
● The
Government of India recognised the unique history, culture and position of the
Nagas and their sentiments and aspirations.
● The
NSCN(IM) also appreciated the Indian political system and governance. Both
sides agreed in October 2019 for concluding an accord, which would settle all
Naga issues.
Significance:
● It
shows the government's strong intent to resolve the long standing issue and
adoption of diplomatic peaceful approach by Naga Society to fulfill their
aspirations.
Shrouded in Secrecy:
● The
details of the agreement have not been made public by the government citing
security reasons.
● But
while both the government and Naga groups said the talks successfully concluded
on the government’s deadline of October 31, 2019, no accord was signed.
● The negotiations hit an impasse in 2020 with differences cropping up between NSCN-IM and interlocutor Ravi. Subsequently, NSCN-IM demanded the removal of Mr. Ravi as interlocutor.
Complexities in final agreement:
● The
Naga issue is very complex, and the
NSCN(IM) is in a delicate position. Present Naga negotiations are led by a
Tangkhul from Manipur, for whom 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.
● On
the other hand, Naga flag and Naga constitution which is one of the core
demands of NSCN(IM) cannot be accepted by Indian Government given the
abrogation of Article 370 (Special status to Jammu & Kashmir) in August
2019.
● It
is important to understand that there cannot be an accord without the NSCN(IM)
because it continues to get young recruits and wields considerable influence in
the region.
● The
idea is to slowly bring NSCN(IM) to accept what India can give.
● Some
demands that need ironing out include
○ Bicameral
Assembly with at least 40 nominated members representing different tribes.
○ Absorption
of cadres as local armed forces or in the Indian paramilitary.
○ Setting
up of autonomous councils in Naga-dominated areas of neighboring states.
○ Use
of the Naga flag for at least customary events.
WAY FORWARD:
● Any
moves to alter boundaries will intensify ethnic conflicts and insurgencies
beyond Nagaland.
● The
accord can be concluded after consultations with Assam, Manipur and Arunachal
Pradesh, all States which have a stake in the matter.
● The
Central government needs to reiterate its commitment to finalizing the Naga
accord while seeking to re-engage with the NSCN (I-M) without giving in to its
arbitrary demands.