Will Peace Finally Prevail Between NSCN (IM) & Government Of India

Will Peace Finally Prevail Between NSCN (IM) & Government Of India

- Sunzu Bachaspatimayum

It is a fact that the Framework Agreement signed on 3rd August 2015 between the Government of India and the Nationalist Social Council of Nagalim, NSCN (IM), which only lays down broad paramters towards arriving at an honourable settlement to the vexed Naga insurgency issue, is the most significant development in the insurgency ravaged politics of northeast India.

28 months after signing, and Nagaland on the verge of electing its new government, this maybe a decisive moment for the Narendra Modi’s BJP to claim the price for settling the protracted Naga insurgency issue.

With Prime Minister Modi showing all eagerness to resolve the issue within a timeline, interculator, RN Ravi is frantically holding parlance with civil society leaders of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the four states who are all stakeholders in any agreement that the government of India concedes while giving in to the demands of the NSCN (IM).

Although the 2015 Framework Agreement was a welcomed development as a precursor to lasting peace in the armed conflict troubled northeast India, the terms of the agreement were not revealed, raising speculation of a hidden agenda particularly amongst the non Naga communities of Assam, Arunachal and Manipur.

The NSCN IM, considered the most potent armed organization of the region, entered into ceasefire agreement with the government of India in 1997 and after 18 years of negotiations a framework agreement for peace was finally signed.

This development is also closely watched by the other armed groups operating in the entire region as its ability to address the concerns as well as strike an honourable deal to end conflict is bound to have bearings on the climate of conflict in the region that has been witnessing armed insurgency since 1947.