History of separatism in the conflicted northeastern state of Nagaland

Nagaland has seen a number of clashes between tribals and the Army since India's independence

Throughout its history, India has witnessed internal conflicts when it came to self-determination for the more underrepresented people of the country who remain outcasts in the national political sphere. Whatever the general populace gets to hear about them, it is during elections or in case of political violence in their region.

Nagaland is a distinctive example of this scenario, with the state having witnessed a number of movements over the years with demands for separation from the Republic of India. As the 2023 Nagaland Assembly elections loom large, let us have a look at the history of the Naga uprising.

Who are the Nagas?

To clearly understand the Naga conflict, we have to first have a clear idea of who they are. The Nagas are an indigenous community living in the northeastern part of India and the adjoining areas of Myanmar. According to Outlook India, although the exact origins of the Naga people are difficult to trace, it is widely believed that they are Indo-Mongoloids who migrated to India sometime around the 10th century BCE.

Before the British came into the picture, it was the Ahom dynasty that the Nagas faced. The Ahoms ruled the adjoining areas of undivided Assam. After a number of confrontations, the Ahoms decided to provide the Nagas with some resources like land and water, for which the latter had to send them annual tributes.

Nagas under British rule and during World War I

The Nagas were for the first time under foreign rule when their land was occupied by the British in the 19th century. CNBC TV reports that the British created the Naga Labour Corps under which they sent thousands of tribals to work as labourers in France during the First World War.

In 1929, senior members of the Labour Corps met with John Simon (infamous for the Simon Commission) when he visited Nagaland where they handed him a memorandum appealing to be left alone to determine their own fate.

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From 1832 to 1879, there were a number of face-offs between the Nagas and the British forces, but in 1880, post the Battle of Khonoma, the two parties agreed to sign an accord that allowed a small part of the British troops to be placed at the Naga Hills.

Nagas during World War II

During World War II, the Nagas helped the British fight off Japanese forces in the Battle of Kohima. The Outlook report quotes a British officer, Arthur Swinson, who said about the Nagas during WWII: How many lives were owed to the courage and skill of these remarkable hill-men will never be known; but the figure must certainly run into thousands”.

Formation of the Naga National Council

According to Namrata Goswami’s Indian National Security and Counter-Insurgency: The Use of Force Vs Non-violent Response, the Naga National Council (NNC) was formed in 1946. The NCC signed a pact with the then Assam Governor, Sir Akbar Hydari.

The pact, known as the Nine-Point Agreement, gave the Nagas authority over their own land, and soon after the independence of India, it became a bone of contention between the natives and the government of India. Under the leadership of Angami Zapu Phizo, the NNC declared the independence of Nagaland on August 14, 1947.

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On May 16, 1951, the Nagas held a plebiscite under which 99.90 per cent of the natives demanded independence and a separate Naga state. In December of the same year, Phizo met Jawaharlal Nehru and told him about the plebiscite. Nehru, who was in the region to campaign for India’s first general elections, did not agree to the proposal. Resultantly, the Nagas boycotted the subsequent elections.

Armed rebellion against the Indian government

The Naga rebellion reached its zenith in 1956 when an armed rebellion took shape under the NNC. The outfit also created the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN) which had its own army.

When a delegation of the NNC was not allowed to meet Nehru in 1953, it led to a large number of Nagas walking out of the former Prime Minister’s rally. This apparently angered Nehru, which led to him sending Indian Army troops into the northeastern region to crush the rebellion.

This act of aggression by the Indian government led to the first Naga insurgency of independent India. After this incident, Phizo had to flee. He spent the rest of his days looking for support from other nations. He passed away in London in 1990.

Massacres in Nagaland

The northeastern state has been witness to a number of massacres throughout their years of struggle. Two of the most notable pre-statehood massacres occurred on November 15, 1954 and September 6, 1960, and are known as the Yengpang Massacre and the Matikhrü Massacre.

The Naga National Council’s official website gives the death count of the Yengpang Massacre as 53 and dubs the Indian Army the architect of these atrocities.

The official website of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization states that in the Matikhrü Massacre, a number of people in Nagaland’s Phek district were beheaded by the Sikh and Gorkha regiments of the Indian Army.

Among the many acts of violence Nagaland has been witness to since being granted statehood in 1963, the three incidents that stand out are Mokokchung Massacre (December 27, 1994), the Kohima Massacre (March 5, 1995), and the Oting Massacre (December 4, 2021).

The Oting Massacre, still fresh in the Naga people’s mind, was carried out by a unit of the Indian Army’s 21st Para Special Forces. Six civilians were killed in the incident. In its violent aftermath, eight more people and one member of the armed forces lost their lives. This brought about widespread condemnation and demands for the repulsion of AFSPA or Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.

This act, modelled on the British government’s Armed Forces Special Powers Ordinance of 1942, gives the army special powers in order to maintain peace in areas considered “disturbed”.

Naga insurgency and the 2023 elections

The BJP and its ally in Nagaland, the Nationalist Democratic People’s Party (NDPP), are repeating their 2018 formula in the northeastern state’s Assembly elections this time around. While the BJP will contest in 20 seats, the NDPP will field their candidates in 40 other constituencies.

However, it remains to be seen whether the Oting incident will have any negative effects on the BJP’s chances of coming into power once again in the hill state.