Explained: NSCN (IM)'s Enduring Love for 'Father of the Nation' Mahatma Gandhi

Kohima, March 8, 2020:

Not many people know this, but Mahatma Gandhi, over the years, has emerged as one of biggest icons of the Naga insugency, which is the longest running insurgency in the country and is called the "mother of all insurgencies." Actually, the Naga insurgents trace this connection to the meeting between Angami Zapu Phizo of the Naga National Council (NNC) and Mahatma Gandhi on July 19, 1947. During the meeting, the Phizo-led Naga delegation declared "independence" from the Indian Union.

In his response, the Nagas quote Mahatma Gandhi as saying thus: "Nagas have every right to be independent."

The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isaak-Muivah) has also espoused Gandhi as one of its foremost figures, and he is often cited as one of the most prominent figures who championed Nagas' independence from the Indian Union. On their trip to New Delhi in 2003, the NSCN (I-M) leadership, Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, had first visited Rajghat, the samadhi of Gandhi.

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The late Swu had also praised the leader to the high heavens. In a report carried in The Telegraph, Swu is quoted as praising Gandhi as a leader who stood for the rights of the Nagas. "The Nagas have the greatest respect and admiration for Mahatma Gandhi because he understood us", Swu had reportedly said.

NSCN (IM) General Secretary and founding member, Thuingaleng Muivah, who still plays an active part in the peace talks despite his advanced years, was quoted saying the following during a 2011 speech: ""Even Mahatma Gandhi, during the course of his discussions with Naga leaders, had said 'yes, you have every right to be independent, you can decide on your own, your history is unique'. So, we have to find out a solution considering this uniqueness". This "uniqueness", supposedly quoted by Gandhi, Nagas say, qualifies them for an existence separate from the rest of India.

A senior army official, talking to Inside Northeast under condition of anonymity, shed some further light on the Nagas' enduring love affair with the 'father of the nation.' He said, "Look, the Nagas have also claimed that when Phizo, the original separatist leader, met Gandhi, the Indian freedom fighter assured him that the Nagas were a unique people. To this day, they cite that as validation for their demand for sovereignty, although it is much debated whether Gandhi actually batted for Nagas' separation from the Indian Union. The figure of Gandhi has been co-opted by the Naga insurgency movement -- so much so, that even their calenders bear the image of the Indian freedom fighter."

The NSCN-IM, since signing the ceasefire with India on August, 1997, has been taking part in peace parlays, however, the process has seemed to reach an impasse, with the Government reportedly not agreeing to 3 demands: separate flag, separate constitution, and a PAN Naga Hoho, irrespective of boundary. in August 2015, the NSCN (I-M) signed the Framework Agreement with Government of India in the presence of Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi to arrive at the "final agreement". However, despite extensive discussions extending upto July 31, 2019, the Nagas and the GoI are yet to reach an "amicable solution."

However, despite the differences over talks, the insurgent group still hangs on to Gandhi as its greatest ally in the annals of history.

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