New Delhi: Hopes, dreams and aspirations among Nagas have never soared so high in the recent past as they are now. Yet, there is dismay and apprehension too, as everyone waits with bated breath the expected resolution of the vexed Naga issue.
The Naga accord between the Government and the NSCN (IM) may possibly be inked in just a couple of days - after a very crucial meeting between the parties on Thursday (October 24) in New Delhi.
After 22 years of negotiations, there is no doubt that now, it is the government that is calling the shots while inner dissensions have played havoc with the Naga movement, which is also called the mother of all insurgencies in the Northeast, and is also the world's second-longest-running insurgency after the Basque movement in Spain. It aided the rise of the ULFA in Assam, Meitei insurgency in Manipur as well as many other extremist organisations.
But while the accord may be inked very soon, the question is will peace return to the Naga Hills after about seven decades of violent insurgency that has claimed thousands of human lives.
While the government posturing has been firm and strong - perhaps due to a weak bargaining position of the NSCN (IM), the feeling is rampant among the common Naga folk that it is time to be realistic and practical, and move on.
Many ordinary Nagas that ETV Bharat spoke to admitted that the NSCN (IM) possibly has no choice but to ink an agreement. And, the sooner the better. This is despite the NSCN (IM) watering down the original Naga demand for complete sovereignty and independence to something called 'shared sovereignty' where the Nagaland state is allotted much more powers and autonomy than that allotted to other Indian states.
The government has already indicated that a separate constitution or a flag will not be acceded to, nor will be the present-day state borders changed to include Naga-dominated areas of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam inside a new geographical entity created for Nagas.
What has also weakened the NSCN (IM) posturing in the ongoing negotiations is the rise of many other groups that broke away from the NSCN. A major group - the Khaplang faction of the NSCN lies outside the pale of the negotiations with the government and continues to believe in an armed struggle. It maintains and trains thousands of armed cadres in training camps across the international border in neighbouring Myanmar.
In the past 22 years, peace talks with the NSCN (IM) have taken place in New Delhi and Nagaland as well as in exotic locations like Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Amsterdam, Chiang Mai (Thailand), London, Osaka, Malaysia, and The Hague.
In 2015, a significant event took place when a framework agreement was signed between the government and the NSCN (IM) amid much fanfare with PM Narendra Modi and the Union home minister in attendance. But a final solution has been elusive so far.
