NSCN-IM says "no" to Naga solution without separate flag and Constitution

With the movement for the signing of a final Agreement to resolve the vexed Naga political issue apparently gaining steam, the Chakhesang region unit of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isaak Mukvah) has taken an absolute stand that it will not accept a solution "without a flag and Constitution."

The demand for a separate flag and Constitution for Nagas has been a long-pending demand of the rebel outfit and negotiations apparently reached a deadlock with the Centre unwilling to cede the demand. The outfit had a falling out with former interlocutor R N Ravi over the same issue.

The Chakhesang region's NSCN-IM, issuing a statement, also alleged that the presumed settlement is being planned "in the same manner as how the 16 Points Agreement cheated the Nagas."

Amid talks with Naga stakeholders in 1960, the 16-point agreement was arrived at whereby the Government of India recognised the formation of Nagaland as a full-fledged state within the Union of India. The agreement is seen as "weak" by the NSCN-IM and other Naga nationalist groups for ceding too much ground to the Indian federal government.

The outfit in its communique further claimed that "Nagas were cheated repeatedly in the name of Naga political solution."

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 general consensus in Nagaland seems to be that the Centre should ink an agreement at the earliest to bring an end to the protracted talks. Citizen groups have also taken up the cause, and locals of Dimapur today held a massive demonstration urging stakeholders for an "early solution."