Nagaland’s insurgents stick to demand for separate flag, constitution

Amidst the 75th Independence Day fervor, National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) reiterated its demand for a separate flag and constitution with the insurgent group’s chief saying that the ball is in Delhi’s court to fulfill the commitment given to the Nagas.

According to a report carried by The Print, Thuingaleng Muivah, NSCN-IM’s ato kilonser (which means prime minister), said Monday at the “76th Naga Independence Day” at Camp Hebron, that the Naga “flag and constitution are indivisible parts of the recognised sovereignty and unique history.” He further stated: “We believe the Indian leaders, too, understand it.”

On 14 August 1947, the Naga National Council — the parent body of the NSCN I-M — declared independence from the British in order to be seen as a separate nation from India. Muivah in Sunday’s speech further said that “the Government of India is keeping pretentious silence over the Framework Agreement” signed in August 2015, wrote The Print.

Muivah in Sunday’s speech further said that “the Government of India is keeping pretentious silence over the Framework Agreement” signed in August 2015.

The Framework Agreement between the Centre and the NSCN-IM was signed in 2015 to end the decades-old insurgency in Nagaland, centered on the demand for a greater Nagaland or ‘Nagalim’ — a sovereign ethnic homeland, comprising the state and Naga-inhabited areas of Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Myanmar, as per the reports.

The website quoting agreement said: “Both sides…are cognizant of the universal principle that in a democracy sovereignty lies with the people. Accordingly, the government of India and NSCN, respecting people’s wishes for sharing sovereign power as defined in the competencies, reached an agreement on the 3rd August 2015 as an honourable solution”.

Notably, the central government’s interlocutor for the Naga peace talks, K. Mishra had conveyed during a visit to Nagaland in April this year that there would be no change in the government’s stand on the group’s demand, which would only allow for a “separate flag for cultural activities”.

Meanwhile, during celebrations for the 75th anniversary of India’s independence at the Secretariat Complex in Kohima Monday, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said: “Our people have been waiting patiently and expectantly for a final solution to the Naga political issue. Naga people want an early, inclusive, honourable, and acceptable solution”. – India News Stream