Alice Yhoshü / Hindustan Times
The Naga peace talks have stalled because of objections raised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party, on the issues of a separate constitution and flag, the Isak-Muivah led National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) has claimed in a statement.
The demand for a separate flag and constitution are “component ingredients” of the framework agreement (FA) of the Naga insurgent group signed with the central government in August 2015, the NSCN-IM said on Monday.
“The irony is that this matter was already resolved long back but the RSS factor came in between, questioning how there can be two flags and two constitutions,” the statement said. “The manifesto of the RSS/Hindutva sharply contradicted the principle agreement of the FA. The actual point of delay started from here.”
The insurgent group entered into a ceasefire agreement with the central government in 1997 and the two sides have been holding political dialogues since then. A group of seven Naga national political groups (NNPGs) also engaged in separate talks with the Centre in 2017.
The Centre signed an FA with NSCN (IM) in 2015, and an “agreed position” with the NNPGs in 2017.
NSCN (IM) has, in the past, maintained that any solution without recognising the Naga flag and constitution would be unacceptable to both the rebel group and the Naga people.
The Indian government has recognised the uniqueness of Naga history and NSCN-IM’s position that Nagas were never part of the Indian Union, either by conquest or consent, the insurgent outfit said. “Naturally, how can a Naga national movement be without a flag and a constitution?” it asked in the statement.
The framework agreement acknowledged and accepted the declaration of the Naga Independence Day on August 14, 1947, and the plebiscite of 1951. “Henceforth, the flag and the constitution are the embodiment of the FA,” it said.
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