The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) has accused the Government of India of resorting to “brinkmanship” in the Indo-Naga peace talks, claiming a lack of commitment to the 2015 Framework Agreement (FA). Signed on August 3, 2015, the FA was hailed as a “milestone achievement for the final resolution of the Indo-Naga political conflict,” officially recognizing the “time-honored historical truth, the unique history and political situation” of the Nagas.
The signing ceremony, witnessed by top Indian leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army chief, alongside NSCN dignitaries led by General Secretary Th Muivah was live-broadcast worldwide. According to the NSCN, this global broadcast was meant to “make the world bear witness of the agreement that bears huge political significance for India and Nagalim as the over 70 years old Naga political issue stands on the threshold of final solution.”
However, years later, the NSCN has accused the Government of India of “infidelity to the Naga political truth.” The group claims New Delhi undermined the Framework Agreement by orchestrating a separate agreement with the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), known as the Agreed Position. Signed in a “hush-hush manner,” the NSCN alleges that this agreement “surrendered under the Indian constitution, to keep alive the 16 Point Memorandum.”
The NSCN stated, “Thus, the high-profile Indo-Naga political talks were turned into politics of treachery, deceit and backstabbing.” The group further alleged that “disloyalty to FA by Government of India took the centre stage of the Indo-Naga political talks.”
According to the NSCN, the Framework Agreement, now more than eight years old, “has become a farce as India keeps talking away from implementing by creating alibi using Naga national flag and constitution as the issues.” The group emphasized that the FA, which it describes as “a political agreement between two entities (two nations), provides no scope for making issue out of the non-negotiable flag and constitution.”
The NSCN’s negotiating team, led by Th. Muivah, has reportedly refused to compromise, stating that the “Naga flag and constitution, the symbolic identity of the Naga people as a nation are not to be treated like commercial commodities.” The group declared, “Indeed, flag and constitution with divine connection are sacrosanct to the Nagas! And NSCN shall stand defending to the last man standing.”