The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) has condemned the Supreme Court of India’s dismissal of alleged criminal charges against Indian Army personnel involved in the killing of Naga civilians in Mon district, Nagaland in December 2021. In a Joint Council meeting held on October 1, 2024, the NSCN-IM expressed its disapproval, stating that the decision is a “blatant violation of human rights” and “against the spirit of right to life and liberty.”
The NSCN-IM emphasized that the Supreme Court’s stance was influenced by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which continues to affect the Nagas, even after the 1997 ceasefire aimed at resolving the Indo-Naga political issue. According to the NSCN-IM, AFSPA is incompatible with the Government of India’s efforts for a Naga political solution, and they reiterated, “Nagas would not surrender tamely but fight for justice.”
The council also passed a resolution opposing the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), arguing that it “dilutes the Naga meaning of indigenous” and is a divisive tool “instigated by the forces against the Naga nation.” They asserted that “Naga as indigenous peoples have no class and no boundary. Nagas are one and Nagas are indigenous wherever they in their God-given land, Nagalim. Therefore, the present form of RIIN classification of indigenous based on artificial state boundary not acceptable to the Naga people, come what may we shall resist!”
In addition, the NSCN-IM resolved to resist the border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border and the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR), stating that such actions “violate the spirit of Indo-Naga political talks.” The group declared its intention to oppose these measures, stating, “We shall do whatever is deemed fit to stop such aggression against the existence of Naga brotherhood as a nation.”