In 2022, the ceasefire between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim–Isak-Muivah (NSCN–IM) entered its 25th year. While the ceasefire has greatly reduced violence between the group and security forces, it has by no means ended it.
D.P.K. Pillay replies: To know the history of the use of IEDs in the Northeast, one needs to understand the history of insurgent groups in this region. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is the mother of all insurgent groups that sprang up in the Northeast in the 1950s. Nearly around the same time (the 1960s), the left-wing extremism too took roots in Naxalbari. This is where the line blurs between “East” and “North East” of India.
M. Amarjeet Singh replies: The government has been making sincere efforts to end the decades old Naga insurgency through political negotiations. In the past, efforts aimed at finding a political settlement to the conflict were rebuffed by the insurgent leadership. However, in recent years, the government has been able to engage the Naga leadership particularly the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) or NSCN (I-M), resulting in the signing of a ‘Framework Agreement’ in August 2015, the details of which are not available in public domain.
The declaration of the Disturbed Area provision is fundamentally at odds with the mutually accommodative integration endeavour of the Nagas with the Indian Union as envisioned in the 2015 framework agreement.
Maximum autonomy may be accorded in ethnic, cultural and developmental realms to autonomous councils for all Naga areas in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and even Assam, through suitable amendment to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
There are fears that the NSCN (Khaplang) and NSCN (Khole and Kitovi) will clash violently in big towns like Dimapur and districts like Mon for turf control since both outfits inhabit the same territorial space.
As the Ottawa treaty completes a decade this September, it has been termed a "success in progress" by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). ICBL is upbeat about its vision and mission to put in place a comprehensive ban on anti-personnel landmines. The treaty attempted to redefine the understanding of security by focusing on the consequences that the traditional meaning of security have on the lives of common men and women.
Continuance of Declaration on Disturbed Area in Nagaland is a Decision based on Perception without Foresight
The declaration of the Disturbed Area provision is fundamentally at odds with the mutually accommodative integration endeavour of the Nagas with the Indian Union as envisioned in the 2015 framework agreement.