Undermining Civil Society in Nagaland

On February 4, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak Muivah) (NSCN(IM)) issued a statement in which they said that the ‘imposed’ election is not acceptable to the Naga people. This came in the wake of a breakdown of the tenuous solidarity expressed through the shutdown on February 1. The NSCN(IM) being the main party to the opaque Framework Agreement should not be taken lightly. The statement also affirmed that NSCN(IM) would respect the wishes of the Naga people and the stand taken by the civil society organisations and warned that action would be taken against any ‘National Worker found defying the decision of the Naga people’.

The Core Committee of Naga Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations (CCNTHCO) who had issued the call for the shutdown challenged the political parties to ‘prove their worth’. They demanded that political parties adhere to the joint declaration they signed on January 29, that they would not issue tickets nor contest in the elections. The CCNTHCO also stated that the people must decide for themselves what the future course of action should be. They, however, conceded that they cannot speak as the sole authority to compel any individual or party to refrain from contesting elections.

Following the barely successful ‘shutdown’ in protest against holding the assembly elections before the Final Agreement, this statement reflects a sober realisation that Naga solidarity is fractured. On February 3, the CCNTHCO appreciated the letter sent to the CCNTHCO by the Government of India’s interlocutor for the Peace Talks, R. N. Ravi. The letter appealed that peace be maintained and that the talks had been progressing at a rapid pace. In its February 3 statement, the CCNTHCO accused the BJP of casting the first stone to disrupt Naga solidarity. They alleged that the actions of the BJP regarding contesting the election despite its members signing the joint declaration has put the ongoing negotiations in jeopardy.

The BJP has been playing a cynical game in Nagaland. On one hand they claim that they respect the sentiments of the Naga people, and wish to find a lasting solution, on the other, they have gone against the wishes of the Naga civil society groups, to the extent that the NSCN(IM), on several occasions, has spoken out against the BJP’s actions. The NSCN(IM) is the main NNPG in negotiations with the Government of India.They at first sought an alliance with their old partner in Nagaland, the Naga People’s Front (NPF). However, they have now switched teams reaching a seat-sharing alliance with the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP). The NPF in its turn is indifferent to this alliance stating that it works in the NPF’s favour since now the NPF is free to contest for all 60 seats. The alliance with the NDPP sees the BJP contesting for 20 seats and the NDPP for 40. The NDPP candidate for Chief Minister is Neiphiu Rio who had recently resigned from his Lok Sabha seat, and from the NPF. Rio had previously served as the Chief Minister of Nagaland.