Editorial: Fresh hope for Naga settlement

The Centre’s latest initiative could revive the stalled Naga peace process, but a lasting settlement will require political will and compromise from both government and Naga groups

The appointment of a new interlocutor raises hopes of reviving the Naga peace process, the longest-running insurgency negotiation in India. The Centre has picked retired IPS officer Ajit Lal, former Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), as its interlocutor and also agreed to include a Union Minister or group of Union Ministers in the negotiation framework — a long-standing demand of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM). More than a quarter century after the NSCN-IM signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre in 1997, when the peace talks began, the negotiations remain deadlocked. In 2015, the Centre signed a Framework Agreement aimed at resolving the Naga political issue. The crux of the stalemate lies in the twin demands of the Naga representatives: a separate constitution and a flag. Hopefully, the peace process will get the required momentum as the Centre has, for the first time, included Union Ministers in the negotiating team. In October last year, the 92-year-old NSCN (IM) supremo Thuingaleng Muivah had threatened to revive the insurgency if their demands were not met. The Framework Agreement between the Government of India and NSCN-IM recognised the “unique history and situation” of the Nagas, but left core issues unresolved. The Centre has, however, made it clear that it cannot grant the demands for a separate constitution and a flag. As recently as last month, Muivah reiterated that sovereignty, a flag and a constitution remained the group’s key demands.

By agreeing to political-level talks and naming a senior intelligence veteran as pointsman, the Centre is signalling its willingness to give political assurances and simultaneously build popular pressure in Nagaland where patience is wearing thin. For people of Nagaland, the ceasefire, in effect since 1997, means that two generations have grown up without conflict but also without any tangible solution. The ceasefire is increasingly being described as an endless waiting room. The NSCN(I-M) has rejected all alternatives, including a cultural flag instead of a national flag and dealing with issues of a constitution after signing the final agreement. This means the issues of the flag and constitution remain unresolved. The other issues on the table include a Naga army, a separate currency, and Nagalim (integration of Naga-inhabited areas into Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur). While the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), a conglomeration of at least seven different groups, have agreed to accept a political solution and continue the dialogue, the NSCN-IM has been rigid on its demand for a separate flag and constitution. This stand is delaying a final solution to the decades-old negotiations. Central intelligence agencies fear that the residual insurgencies, mainly in Manipur, share an umbilical cord with Nagaland. Poor governance has only added to the resentment levels. Both the government and the representatives of Naga groups must adopt an accommodative approach to reach an agreement.

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