Progress made?
8 Nov 2016 10:10 PM GMT
The ongoing Naga peace talks have made real progress, and the decade-long insurgency issue will be resolved to the greatest satisfaction of all, said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Addressing the annual event of the Naga Students Union, Delhi (NSUD) in New Delhi, Singh said the Central government was confident that enduring peace in Naga areas is not far away.
A "Framework Agreement" was signed on August 3, 2015, by NSCN-IM General Secretary T Muivah and the Centre’s interlocutor for Naga talks R N Ravi. The pact settled the political parameters of the final solution. Since the agreement was signed NSCN (IM) General Secretary T Muivah has rejected “rumours” that the outfit was backtracking on integration and sovereignty, saying they were the “core issues” and there could be “no solution whatsoever” without fulfilling the two subjects. It is the question of integration, which may prove to be a major stumbling block in the negotiation process. The NSCN (IM)’s primary demand has been for the creation of a “Greater Nagalim”, comprising of “all contiguous Naga-inhabited areas”, along with the state of Nagaland.
The state of “Greater Nagalim” will include districts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur, as also a large tract of Myanmar. With only a framework agreement in place, the Government of India will have to walk a tight-rope in dealing with both the separatist group and various state governments. Muivah’s controversial statements do assume a serious proportion in Manipur, where four districts have been demanded to be included in the proposed Greater Nagalim.
Voices of protest also emanate from various state governments in the region. They claim that nobody should transgress the territorial integrity of their respective states. Meanwhile, the Indian government has maintained its line of attack against the splinter Naga insurgent group called the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang faction).
Certain sections have argued that without bringing the NSCN (K) to the negotiating table, the Government of India is in danger of repeating the mistake of signing a pact with one influential group while ignoring the other. They argue that such an approach would only exacerbate the violence attributed these insurgencies, citing the 2003 peace accord with the Bodo Liberation Tiger Force, which has failed to prevent further insurgencies in Assam.
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