Thuingaleng Muivah, the general secretary of the Isak-Muivah faction of the extremist National Socialist Council of Nagaland, said New Delhi has officially acknowledged the right of the Nagas to be integrated.
The outfit calls itself the National Socialist Council of Nagalim, or NSCN (I-M). The integration of all Naga-inhabited areas in northeast India and Myanmar into a single administrative unit called Greater Nagalim has been its long-term demand.
“On the issue of the integration of all Naga areas, the Government of India has officially acknowledged that it is the legitimate right of the Nagas and therefore, it shall be finalised accordingly,” Mr. Muivah, also the “Ato Kilonser [Prime Minister]“ of the NSCN (I-M), said in his speech during the celebration of the 77th “Naga Independence Day”.
He presided over the function at Hebron, the outfit’s council headquarters near Nagaland’s commercial hub Dimapur.
There are more than 50 Naga tribes inhabiting Nagaland and large swathes of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, besides Myanmar. The other northeastern States are opposed to the idea of a greater Naga homeland that threatens their territorial integrity.
Mr. Muivah said there was no ambiguity in the NSCN (I-M)‘s demand for a Naga national flag and a Naga constitution, which are believed to have come in the way of a permanent settlement to the “Naga political issue” despite the signing of the Framework Agreement with the Centre on August 3, 2015.
“The flag and constitution are naturally inseparable from the sovereignty of a people. It is a universally accepted truth that the flag and constitution are constituent parts of sovereignty. There is no ambiguity about it. The Indian leaders understand it too. They must take the stand to speak the truth,” he said.
The NSCN (I-M) leader said the Nagas are sovereign people who have been living in their own land for ages.
“They are not begging for a piece of land from others. They have every right to build their own nation-state on their land. They must decide their future by themselves,” Mr. Muivah said, insisting this should not be deemed aggression as the Naga national resistance movement has been all about defending the inherent sovereign right of the Nagas and their land.
He said the Framework Agreement was signed after 18 years of political talks between the NSCN (I-M) and New Delhi on the foundation of recognition of the unique history and sovereignty of the Nagas and the shared sovereignty and co-existence of the two entities.
“This Framework Agreement is our legacy. We must defend what we have achieved with our own sweat and blood,” he said.
