Thomas
NNC Member
The Indo-Naga conflict started in 1955, when the Government of India (GoI) sent its armed Forces to Nagaland in an attempt to invade Nagaland. The Nagas under the leadership of the Naga National Council (NNC) had no other choice but to take up whatever meansof arms they had, and stood to defend the sovereignty of Nagaland. This was the start of the conflict between India and the Nagas, whichhas remained unsolved to date, running for nearly 80 years.
The past leaders’ mistakes
The problem remains unsolved to date due to the mistakes of the pastNaga leaders. For the first time, the wrong step was taken by some Naga educated leaders on behalf of the NPC (Naga People’s Convention), who stood for a solution within the Indian Union and signed the 16-point Agreement in 1960 accepting statehood under the Indian Union.The achievement of the NNC was thus hampered in the 1960s by the NPC.
Secondly, in 1967, theleaders of the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN), who were involved in the Prime Ministerial talks with the GoI, after ceasefire agreement in 1964, had differences over transferring the case to the NNC leaders who were abroad. Which led to a declaration of deadlock in the talks on 10th October 1967. Also, it led to the formation of a Revolutionary government on 2nd November 1968 which again led to hampering the achievement of the NNC in 1970s.
The 3rd, after an accord was signed in 1975, the FGN leaders transferred the case to the NNC leaders, who were abroad to solve the problem in the international arena. But Th. Muivah, then General Secretary of the NNC, and Isak Chishi Swu, the Chaplee Kilonser (Finance Minister) of the FGN, defected from the NNC/FGN on January 31, 1980 in Eastern part of Nagaland, along with Khaplang, and formed the so-called NSCN (National Socialist Council of Nagaland). They condemned the NNC President Phizo as arch-traitors, including all NNC/FGN leaders. Their mistakes were as follows.
1. They defected from the NNC/FGN and formed the NSCN, which was wrong.
2. They condemned the NNC/FGN was wrong.
3. False accusations and killings were wrong.
4. They stand for Suisa’s proposal, a solution within the Indian Union is wrong.
5. God miraculously saved Nagaland from surrendering in 1975, but they (NSCN leaders) had been using it as their false political propaganda is wrong. Their mistakes shattered the national solidarity and hinderedthe achievement of the Naga national goal.
To realise the past mistakes
The above mentioned mistakes of our past leaders must be realized by the present young Naga national leaders, which is the need of the hour, and they should take the right steps. Without realising it, running for 46 years is also another mistake.
Not for a political solution with the foreign nations
The Nagas under the leadership of NNC/FGN never stand for socialism, but for nationalism, that is to defend the sovereignty of our nation from the aggressive policy of India and Burma, which is the sole objective of our nation. The NNC/FGN neither stand for a solutionwithin the Indian Union nor Burma, but stands as a sovereign and independent nation.
Therefore, in the interest of Naga national unity, the present young leaders of NSCN must relinquish the NSCN setup and reunite with the NNC again. Because the problem with foreign nations has to be solved based on history. The Naga national history is only the record of the NNC, but not of the NPC or NSCN. Without the NNC, we cannot claim the history of the Independence declaration and the Plebiscite of 1947 and 1951.
Factionalism must be abandoned. Factionalism is a wrong policy. We have no party politics at this juncture, but only nationalism. Party politics will follow after we have solved our problem with foreign nations and our sovereignty is recognised by the world. All Nagas, therefore, must stand in one accord as a nation, based on the Declaration of Independence in 1947 but not for a political solution within the foreign nations.
An early solution
On 26th January 2026, Monday, Dr Neiphiu Rio said the state government is “fully committedto an early solution of the Naga political issue”. If the leaders of the puppet state government are truly and fully committed to the early solution of the Indo-Naga conflict, they have to adopt the policy of the Baltic nations (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). Those nations declared from their state parliaments in August 1991 that they had withdrawn the treaties and agreements with the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics),and vividly declared that they are independent nations. Thus, the independence of their nations was immediately recognised by the world.
In 2003, the State Peace Committee of Nagaland under Dr Neiphiu Rio’s leadership invited the FGN leaders for a meeting on 13th December 2003, and we had a meeting with them at Japfu Hotel, Kohima. At the meeting, the Chairman (Sumi) of the Peace Committee said that no nation would recognise the independence of Nagaland, so we have to work for development only.
I told them, if the world recognized the Independence of the Baltic nations, why not the Nagas? The cases of the Baltic nations and the Nagas are the same. One day, you would also have to declare that you have withdrawn the 16-point agreement with India from your state assembly, saying; the Nagas are an independent nation, sincethe Naga National Council declared theage-old Independence of Nagaland on 14th August 1947, before India and Burma became independent nations. That would be an early solution to the Indo-Naga conflict in history.
.JPG)
