In 1960, a 16-point agreement was signed with the Naga People`s Convention. As a result, a separate state of Nagaland, strangely, was eliminated under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For reasons better known to the government and the NSCN (I-M), the framework agreement has been kept secret for the past five years. It was only when the manipulations of the agreement were noticed that the NSCN (I-M) decided to take it out of the closet and reveal it to the world. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM published for the first time the details of the 2015 framework agreement, accusing interlocutor R.N. Ravi of removing a keyword from the original document and sharing the modified version with other Naga groups. The framework agreement, which was shared on Tuesday in a detailed press release from NSCN-IM, states that ”both sides have understood each other`s respective positions and are aware of the universal principle that, in a democracy, sovereignty belongs to the people. As a result, on 3 August 2015, the Indian government and the NSCN, which respects the aspirations of citizens for sovereign power as defined in the powers, reached an agreement as an honourable solution. Addressing the people of Naga on 14 August, which he celebrated as the day of independence after British rule with his own flag, Muivah said on the eve of India`s Independence Day: ”The agreement also says: ”Including the peaceful coexistence of the two entities that share sovereign power.” As Muivah was already in New Delhi for his medical treatment, a final agreement was expected before Independence Day. But with the relationship between the NSCN (I-M) and the interlocutor, new discussions have become impossible. The Prime Minister`s office intervened and urged the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Arvind Kumar, and Special Director Akshay Kumar Mishra to continue the discussions. A peace agreement between the government and the NNC was signed in 1975.
The NNC, dubbed the Shillong Agreement, has promised to give up arms, but several senior NNC leaders have not endorsed the deal and have broken up to push their own factions. One such group was the NSCN, which then split into an NSCN (I-M) group. However, it is unlikely that the NSCN IM group will be able to take up arms on a large scale, given that they do not have a combat team after the 1997 ceasefire agreement. The political attitude of the state has changed a great deal and support for Muivah has diminished over the years in Nagaland. The NSCN requested that the Centre commit to ensuring that the framework agreement in its original form is still alive and that it ”must be treated by someone other than RN Ravi”, sensitive enough to understand and respect what has been achieved over the past 23 years. The collapse of the final agreement may lead to the return of the insurgents, not only in Nagaland, but also in the neighbouring states, with the NSCN (I-M) playing a leading role in maintaining porridge in this part of the country. All other insurgent groups consider NSCN (I-M) to be a big brother to continue their infamous activities. The Chinese are also looking for ways to jump into the fray. We have to be careful.
The agreement, described as ”historic” by Prime Minister Modi, was signed after more than 80 rounds of talks between the government and various interest groups, but the exact details of the deal were not disclosed.
