The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is a Naga militant and separatist group operating mainly in northeastern part of India, with minor activities in northwest Myanmar (Burma).[2][10] The main aim of the organisation is allegedly to establish a sovereign Naga state, "Nagalim",[11] which would consist of all the areas inhabited by Naga tribes in Northeast India and northwest Myanmar.[4] India claims that China and Pakistan provide financial support and weaponry to the NSCN. Drug trafficking and extortion are believed to be other major sources of income for the NSCN.
The word "Naga" is used as a collective term for several ethnic tribes living on the Himalayan Range in Northeast India, which were brought under the control of British India during the 19th century. After India's independence, several Naga leaders tried to secede from India. In 1975, the separatist Naga National Council (NNC) renounced violence and signed the Shillong Accord with the Government of India. Some of the NNC leaders disapproved of this peace treaty: these leaders included Isak Chishi Swu of the Sumi (Sema) tribe, Thuingaleng Muivah of the Tangkhul tribe, and S. S. Khaplang. These leaders broke off from the NNC and formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) as a new separatist organisation.[15] NSCN formed an underground Naga Federal Government having both civil and military wings. Later, a disagreement surfaced within the group's leaders over the issue of commencing dialogue with the Indian government. On 30 April 1988, the NSCN split into two factions; the NSCN-K led by Khaplang, and the NSCN-IM, led by Chishi Swu and Muivah. The split was accompanied by a spate of violence and clashes between the factions. In 1997, ceasefire agreements were made between the factions of the NSCN and India.[16] Later, NSCN-K abrogated the ceasefire agreement.
On 6 April 2015, a new faction of the NSCN was formed. Y. Wangtin Konyak and P. Tikhak officially announced the formation of a new Naga political group going by the name "National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Reformation)" or NSCN-R. The decision came after Konyak, a senior minister, or Kilonser, of the NSCN-K and a personal secretary to founder Khaplang was expelled from the group after disagreements over its ceasefire agreement. The NSCN-R, wanted to continue with the ceasefire maintaining that "violence has never served a good purpose and the Naga political problem can only be resolved through peace and negotiation" while Khaplang had it abrogated because the "14 years of ceasefire between NSCN-K and India has become a mockery and futile exercise." Opposed to militant activities, the primary agenda of the NSCN-R would be to "develop a sense of brotherhood among the Naga family and to rebuild the trust and faith among the Naga society."
On 3 August 2015, NSCN-IM leaders Isak Swu and T. Muivah signed a peace framework agreement with the Government of India in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.[17] Also in 2015, NSCN-K became affiliated with a militia organization named the United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW), a united front of Northeast Indian militant groups,[18][19] and shortly after broke off peace talks with the Indian government. The UNLFW carried out the 2015 Manipur ambush, in which 18 Indian soldiers were killed and 15 were wounded.[20]
Objectives and aims
The founding objective of the NSCN was to establish a separate Naga State(Nagalim) by unifying all the Naga-inhabited areas in the North East of India and Northern Burma. Although, the Nagas are divided into various ethnic groups whose numbers and populations are unclear. They each speak distinct languages often unintelligible to the others. Unification of all Naga tribes under one administration and the secession of Naga populated areas from India through militant means was listed as one of the main objectives of the organisation. In the organisation's manifesto it stated that it "stands for socialism." On political institution, it believes in "the dictatorship of the people through the National Socialist Council and the practice of democracy within the organisation".[21]
The NSCN has been widely described as both a Maoist and Christian group. Journalist Bertil Lintner has described NSCN's ideology as "a mixture of evangelical Christianity and revolutionary socialism".[22] According to the NSCN manifesto, their slogan is "Nagaland for Christ".[1] However, in an interview with BBC, a British public broadcaster, in 2005, when asked about the slogan "Nagaland for Christ" and if the Naga State will be a theocratic state, group leader Thuingaleng Muviah clarified that there had been a misunderstanding and that the slogan was not a law but rather was an aspiration of the group as more than 95% of Naga people are converted Christians. Muviah stated, "[the] Naga State has to be secular, if it is not secular then we would be betraying ourselves."[23]
NSCN-IM, though it has signed a peace agreement with the Government of India, claims to uphold the founding objectives of the NSCM, with the integration of all the contiguous Naga areas under one administration being its prime goal.[24] NSCN-K continues to engage in militant insurgency with its goal being the separation of Naga populated areas from the Indian Union.[20]
Area of operation
The NSCN is active in northeastern part of India, with the group having its strongest influence and presence in the state of Nagaland and the hill districts of Manipur. It additionally maintains presences in Nagaland's neighbouring states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.[25] Outside of India, the NSCN has operated in the Naga-inhabited regions of northern Myanmar.
Leadership and structure
Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, the founders of NSCN-IM, served as the inaugural Chairman and General Secretary of the group, respectively, and S. S. Khaplang served the Chairman of NSCN-K. In February 2019, Qhehezu Tuccu was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the NSCN-IM.[26] The post had been vacant since the death of Chishi Swu. At the same meeting, Tongmeth Wangnao was elected as the vice-chairman of the NSCN-IM.[27]
Politically, the NSCN has divided its area of influence into 11 administrative regions based on sub-tribe considerations and administrative convenience. In many areas, it runs a parallel government in opposition to the recognized Indian government. There are four major NSCN Ministries – Defence, Home, Finance, and Foreign Affairs. Moreover, there are five other minor Ministries including Education, Information and Publicity, Forests and Minerals, Law and Justice, and Religious Affairs. The most prominent among the group's nine Ministries is its "Home Ministry", which it considers to be "a replacement of the Indian state machinery". The heads of 11 administrative regions report to the head of this Home Ministry, referred to by the group as the "Kilo Kilonser". The devolution of the administrative arms of the organisation goes down to the town and village levels.
The group has also established a government-in-exile called the Government of the People's Republic of Nagaland (GPRN), which interacts with formal and non-formal world bodies and media. The GPRN has sent emissaries abroad, mainly to countries that have unfriendly relations with India, to garner support and raise funds for their cause.
Linkages
Over the years, the NSCN has developed extensive linkages both within and outside India.
The NSCN has patronised smaller militant groups in Northeast India, training the groups in warfare and intelligence methods and providing them with logistics for waging war against India. The group has connections to India's Naxalite–Maoist militant groups[9] and is a member of the UNLFW militant group united front.[19]
It is alleged by the Indian government that China and Pakistan provide financial support and weaponry to the NSCN.[4][8] Knowledge of China's role in the Naga insurgency was expanded after the 2019 arrest of NSCN-IM leader Anthony Shimray. After his arrest, Shimray alleged that he was tasked by Chinese intelligence agencies to gather intelligence on Indian troop deployments in northeastern India. On 7 July 2019, the Indian Army busted an NSCN spy camp in Kekru Naga village. An additional four camps were targeted by Indian security forces.[28][29]
Sources of funding
Drug trafficking and extortion are believed to be major sources of income for the NSCN. The group retains 70% of the income it generates while the remaining 30% is distributed to smaller ethnic insurgent groups operating in NSCN areas.[30]
The NSCN takes a 12% extortion from the government employees living in NSCN areas and collects a fixed house tax from local population. For shops and commercial establishments operating in NSCN areas, the extortion rate starts at a minimum of 5%.[31]
On 4 June 2015, NSCN-K and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lupambushed an Indian Army convoy, killing 18 soldiers.[32] On 10 June, India claimed that, in response to the ambush, it had conducted strikes against NSCN-K camps inside Myanmar, and inflicted significant casualties.[33] Indian media reported that around 38 militants belonging to NSCN-K were killed in the strikes.[34] The Myanmar government, however, rejected Indian government claims. According to Myanmar government officials, the operation against NSCN insurgents took place entirely on the Indian side of the border and Indian troops did not cross into Myanmar.[35][36] NSCN-K also rejected India's claims. According to NSCN-K, Indian troops did not attack any camp belonging to NSCN-K and the group did not suffer any losses. NSCN-K also challenged the Indian Army to display the dead bodies of those killed during the operation.[37]
On 21 May 2019, 11 people including the National People's Party member of the Legislative AssemblyTirong Aboh and his son, were killed in an ambush by militants on Khonsa-Deomali road in Tirap District.[40][41][42] In response to the ambush, the Indian Army launched various operations against the NSCN, which resulted in the confiscation of NSCN weapons and the detention of five suspected members of the group.[43][44][45]
In mid-July 2019, NSCN-IM militants opposed the implementation of the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN); the group alleges that the push to implement the RIIN is "contradictory" to the inherent rights of the Naga people.[46]
Controversies
In 2015, The Economist, a British newspaper, claimed that the NSCN-K had previously been backed by India's intelligence agencies to divide other Naga separatist groups and weaken the Naga insurgency.[47]
NSCN-IM has been accused of killing innocent people, including Nagas, who speak against their aims or ideology. In September 2021, Athuan Abonmai, a Zeliangrong man from Grace Colony, was kidnapped and killed by NSCN-IM members.[48]
The Insurgency in Northeast India involves multiple separatist militant groups operating in some of India's northeastern states, which are connected to the rest of India by the Siliguri Corridor, a strip of land as narrow as 14.29 miles (23.00 km) wide.
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.
The Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) is an armed Zomi nationalist insurgent group formed in 1997, following an increase in ethnic tensions between the Kuki people and the Paites tribe in Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. Its parent organisation, the Zomi Revolutionary Organisation, was founded in April 1993.
The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council is a militant organization operating in Meghalaya, India. It claims to represent the Khasi-Jaintia tribal people, and its aim is to free Meghalaya from the alleged domination of outsiders from the Indian mainland. It was proscribed in India on 16 November 2000, but the ban was later lifted, before banning it again in 2019.
The Shillong Accord of 1975 was an agreement signed between the Government of India, also referred to as the Federal government, or Union government, or Central government of India, and Nagaland's underground government, also referred to as the Naga Federal government, or Naga guerillas, or Naga rebels, to accept the supremacy of Constitution of India without condition, surrender their arms and renounce their demand for the secession of Nagaland from India.
The Insurgency in Manipur is an ongoing armed conflict between India and a number of separatist rebel groups, taking place in the state of Manipur. The Insurgency in Manipur is part of the wider Insurgency in Northeast India; it displays elements of a national liberation war as well as an ethnic conflict.
Thuingaleng Muivah is an Indian politician and General Secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland(I-M).
The Naga Peace Accord is a peace treaty, signed, on 3 August 2015, between the Government of India, and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), to end the insurgency in the state of Nagaland in Northeast India. The Government’s interlocutor for Naga Peace Talks, R. N. Ravi signed it on behalf of the Government of India, whereas Lt. Isak Chishi Swu, Chairman and Thuingaleng Muivah, General Secretary signed on behalf of the NSCN, in presence of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
On 4 June 2015, United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW) separatists ambushed a military convoy in Chandel district of Manipur, India, resulting in the death of eighteen Indian Army soldiers. Fifteen soldiers also suffered serious injury. The United Liberation Front, a separatist group operating in North-East India, publicly claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.
On 9 June 2015, India conducted a cross-border strike code name Operation Hot Pursuit against insurgents belonging to NSCN-K. According to India, the operation took place in Myanmar and it was in response to ambush of Indian Army convoy of 6 Dogra Regiment in Chandel district of Manipur. Indian officials said that they had crossed the border and inflicted significant casualties against the NSCN-K. According to Indian media reports, around 38 insurgents belonging to NSCN-K were killed during the operation. The operation lasted around 40 minutes.
Isak Chishi Swu was the chairman of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). He along with Thuingaleng Muivah and S. S. Khaplang were instrumental in the creation of NSCN on 31 January 1980 after opposing the 'Shillong Accord' signed by the then Naga National Council (NNC) with the Indian government. He was unable to attend the historic Naga Framework Agreement signed on 4 August 2015 due to health conditions.
Shangwang Shangyung Khaplang was a Burmese leader of Naga ethnicity. He was the leader of the NSCN-K, an insurgent group that operates to establish a Greater Nagaland, a sovereign state bringing all Naga-inhabited areas of Myanmar and India under one administrative setup.
This is a timeline of the Insurgency in Northeast India, an ongoing armed conflict between the separatist rebels and the Indian government.
The history of the Nagas dates back centuries, but first appear in written records of Ahom kingdom during the medieval period of Indian history. Aside from developing contacts with the Ahom kingdom, which was established in 1228 in Assam, the Nagas generally lived an isolated existence from the outside world. This changed in the 19th century, when the Burmese Empire launched several invasions of Assam between 1817 and 1826, which led the Nagas to briefly fall under Burmese rule. However, the neighboring British Empire annexed Assam in 1828 following the 1826 Treaty of Yandabo.
Elections to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly were held in February 1998 to elect members of the 60 constituencies in Nagaland, India. The Indian National Congress won a majority of the seats and S. C. Jamir was re-appointed as the Chief Minister of Nagaland. The number of constituencies was set as 60 by the recommendation of the Delimitation Commission of India.
Perietsü Kevichüsa Meru, commonly known as Tubu Kevichüsa was a politician from Nagaland, India who served as the General Secretary of Naga National Council until his assassination in June 1996 by armed men from the NSCN-IM. His brother Chalie Kevichüsa was also assassinated by the NSCN-IM in September 1992.
This is a timeline of the history of the Nagas.
The Forum for Naga Reconciliation was formed in 2008 after the Naga Peace Convention organised by the Naga Shisha Hoho in Dimapur. At the start, it had 14 members. Wati Aier is the founding-convenor for the association. It has emerged as a major force in the Indo-Naga peace process outside the negotiation room between the Indian state and Naga nationalist groups.
The 2011 Tirap Ambush was a violent clash within the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) between the NSCN--Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) and the NSCN--Khaplang (NSCN-K) militant groups on the Indo-Myanmar border of Tirap district, in Eastern Arunachal Pradesh, India.
References
1 2 "Nagaland for Christ". The Morung Express. 28 April 2017. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
↑ O2 (6 June 2013). "NSCN-K". Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ Chapter 2, Annual Report 2016 -17 (2017). Internal Security(PDF). New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs. p.17. Archived(PDF) from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
1 2 "Nine miltant [sic] groups of NE form united front with Chinese blessings". 24 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018. Nine militant groups of the northeast, including the NSCN-Khaplang and the ULFA faction led by Paresh Baruah, have come together to form a new unified front during a meeting held recently in Myanmar, security sources said.
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