Naga Conflict Explained
The Naga conflict, also known as the Naga Insurgency, is an ongoing conflict fought between the ethnic Nagas and the governments of India in northeastern India. Nagaland, inhabited by the Nagas, is located at the tri-junction border of India on the West and South, north and Myanmar on the East.
"National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang)", which wants an independent "greater Nagaland" to also include territory now in Myanmar, based on ethnicity; and the "Naga National Council (Adino)".[6]
The question of "Naga Sovereignty" was put to a plebiscite on 16 May 1951. To defend themselves, the Naga, after much deliberation, formed the armed wing of the NNC and came to be known as the NSG (Naga Safe Guards) under Kaito Sukhai.[7]
History
1946 saw the creation of the Naga National Council (NNC) under Phizo's leadership. The NNC leaders and the Governor of Assam, Sir Akbar Hydari, signed a nine-point agreement which granted Nagas rights over their lands and legislative and executive powers. The judicial capacity of Naga courts was empowered, and no law from the provincial or central legislatures could affect this agreement. Very significantly, the agreement included a clause demanding that the Nagas be brought into the same administrative unit at the earliest. However, one clause stipulates:[8]
The Governor of Assam as the agent of the Government of India will have a special responsibility for a period of ten years to ensure that due observance of this agreement to be extended for a further period, or a new agreement regarding the future of the Naga people to be arrived at.
The interpretation of this clause has been contested between the Nagas and the Indian Government. To Nagas, this clause meant independence from India at the end of the ten years. To the Indian Government, this clause meant making a new agreement after ten years if the present agreement did not address Naga issues sufficiently. Phizo rejected the nine-point agreement because the agreement fell short of dealing with the issue of Naga sovereignty.[9] Under Phizo's leadership, the NNC declared Naga independence on 14 August 1947, and, with success, propagated the idea of Naga sovereignty throughout the Naga tribes. A Naga plebiscite was organised on 16 May 1951.[10] The Naga struggle remained peaceful in the 1940s and early 1950s.[9]
The Naga insurgency, climaxing in 1956, was an armed ethnic conflict led by the Naga National Council (NNC), which aimed for the secession of Naga territories from India. The more radical sectors of the NNC created the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN), which also included an underground Naga Army.[11]
The insurgency witnessed a new spark in 2021 when fourteen innocent citizens of Nagaland, returning to their homes after a day of work in the coal mines, were ambushed and killed by the Indian Army soldiers of the 21 Para Special Forces army unit.[12] The killings led to wide-ranging protests to hold the soldiers accountable and to ask for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The Act, commonly known as AFSPA, was enacted in the state in 1958 by the central government of India, which authorises soldiers of the armed forces to shoot any suspected individual without formal orders from any superior civilian authority.
Rebel groups
Several rebel groups have operated in Nagaland since the mid-twentieth century, including the following:
- Naga National Council: a political organisation active in the late 1940s and early 1950s, which became separatist under Angami Zapu Phizo
- Naga National Council (Adino) – NNC (Adino): the oldest political Naga organisation, now led by the daughter of Naga rebel A.Z. Phizo.
- National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah): formed on 31 January 1980 by Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and S. S. Khaplang ADAMANT. They want to establish a ‘Greater Nagaland’ (‘Nagalim’ or the People’s Republic of Nagaland) based on Mao Tse Tung’s model.
- National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang): formed on 30 April 1988, its goal is to establish a ‘greater Nagaland’ based on ethnicity, comprising the Naga-dominated areas within India, and contiguous areas in Myanmar.
- Naga Federal Government: separatist movement active in Nagaland during the 1970s. After its leader was captured and the headquarters destroyed, NFG's activities decreased.[13]
- Naga Federal Army: separatist guerrilla organisation active in the 1970s. Several hundred members of NFA reportedly have received training in China.[13]
See also
External links
- Baptist Agenda for Peace in Nagalim, India
- "A remote land of jungle, Jesus – and religious war", Daily Herald, 5 May 2003
- "Peace talks an insult to Nagas", The Week, 9 February 2003.
- "Religious Fervor May Dominate Emerging Indian State of Nagalim", The Washington Diplomat, October 2003
- "The most Baptist state in the world—Nagaland—is vying to become a powerhouse for cross-cultural missions", Christianity Today, 20 February.
- "We want t penetrate China, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam and Laos and Nepal with the Gospel", Christian Today (India), 29 August 2003.
- "Nagas want solution, not election", Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, February 1998
- "Church Backs Terrorism in the North-East", Ind Pride
- "Role of the Church – Charity or...?", Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad
- "Nagaland 1954", On War
Notes and References
- News: Government signs landmark Nagaland peace treaty with NSCN(I-M) in presence of PM Narendra Modi . India . The Economic Times . 3 August 2015 . 18 December 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170822042254/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/government-signs-landmark-nagaland-peace-treaty-with-nscni-m-in-presence-of-pm-narendra-modi/articleshow/48332059.cms . 22 August 2017 . live . dmy-all .
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120121112118/http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~ksg/data/eacd_notes.pdf Uppsala conflict data expansion. Non-state actor information. Codebook
- Web site: April 26th, 2017 . Morung Express . 26 April 2017 .
- Web site: National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Khaplang . 18 December 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170225052936/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/nagaland/terrorist_outfits/nscn_k.htm . 25 February 2017 . live .
- News: Yearly Fatalities . SATP . 12 May 2024.
- "Encyclopaedia of Scheduled Tribes in India: In Five Volume", p. 253, by P. K. Mohanty.
- Web site: Comdt Jassal (Retd). 31 October 2002. The Truth And Naga Issue. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20041215190948/http://www.manipuronline.com/Features/October2002/nagaissue31_1.htm. 15 December 2004.
- Book: Namrata Goswami. Indian National Security and Counter-Insurgency: The Use of Force Vs Non-violent Response. 27 November 2014. Routledge. 978-1-134-51431-1. 47.
- Book: Namrata Goswami. Indian National Security and Counter-Insurgency: The Use of Force Vs Non-violent Response. 27 November 2014. Routledge. 978-1-134-51431-1. 48.
- Book: Namrata Goswami. Indian National Security and Counter-Insurgency: The Use of Force Vs Non-violent Response. 27 November 2014. Routledge. 978-1-134-51431-1. 45.
- Book: Namrata Goswami. Indian National Security and Counter-Insurgency: The Use of Force Vs Non-violent Response. 27 November 2014. Routledge. 978-1-134-51431-1. 43–.
- Web site: 8 December 2021. India: Army Kills 14 Civilians in Nagaland. 4 January 2022. Human Rights Watch. en.
- Book: Political Terrorism: A New Guide To Actors, Authors, Concepts, Data Bases, Theories, And Literature. Schmid, A.P.. Jongman, A.J.. 2005. Transaction Publishers. 9781412804691. 572. 14 December 2014.
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