Nagas ramp up pressure on Centre, demand ‘solution’ to Peace Talks

Lamenting that the unresolved political issue in the state has produced "countless scoundrels and thieves in the name of political solution", Nagaland citizens on August 5, 2022, over 25 years since talks officially began, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting an "early solution" to the vexed issue.

Citizens of Dimapur, Nagaland’s main commercial town, today marched in tandem in their demand for a ‘final solution’ even as shops and other business establishments remained close in several parts of the town in solidarity.

Dashing off a missive to Prime Minister Narendra Modi via the Governor, the citizens under the banner of the Nagaland People’s Action Committee complained that "the unending political process has adversely affected the lives of each individual and family in the state of Nagaland."

"The unresolved political issue has heralded in unimaginable cycle of corruption at all levels, crippling public health care, education and overall infrastructure developments which are in shambles for obvious reasons," the Committee added.

According to the body, the educated unemployed and school dropout ‘all whose futures are now ruined’ are the "ultimate victim."

In the current political climate, the organization further alleged, government projects are siphoned off and private businesses are grossly extorted by armed groups.

"Prime Minister Sir, is it not a betrayal to our people, considering that negotiations with Naga groups have officially concluded?", asked the citizens’ body.

Urging the Prime Minister to implement the "concluded political negotiations into solution without any further delay", the body added that the people of Nagaland will welcome the political solution and uphold it under any circumstance.

So far, the Centre has signed two agreements with Naga organizations, aiming to resolve the issue that has plagued generations. The Framework Agreement which was signed between the Centre and Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isaak-Muivah) (NSCN-IM) on August 3, 2015 and the “Agreed Position” signed with the NNPGs, a conglomerate of seven different Naga groups in November 2017.

In a significant development, the Parliamentary Committee on the Naga Political Issue, led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, last month urged negotiating bodies to refer to competencies as reflected in the Framework Agreement of 2015 to arrive at a solution.

The Committee had also urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to invite the NSCN (IM), the main stakeholder, for an "early conclusion."