Naga Independence Day

The people of Naga ethnicity came together on August 14, 1947 to assert their rights for independence after the British left Indians in charge of the region. They asserted their right via the hoisting of the “Naga National Flag”.?

What has happened?

• Nagaland was a British protectorate though the Naga Tribes were disunited and continued with their archaic practices of raiding and headhunting till very late.
• It was only due to the efforts of the British soldiers that the region was pacified and British Christian missionaries converted most of the Naga tribes from animism to Christianity.
• On Independence of India, the Naga tribes attempted to assert their hegemony and the question of “Naga Sovereignty” was before the people in a plebiscite on 16 May 1951.
• However, several splinter terror groups emerged and the entire region was engulfed by violence.
• To pacify the Naga people, the Central Government of India granted the people of Nagaland a statehood in December 1963 and Nagaland become a state with its capital at Kohima.
• While most of the violence has now subsided, the region remains heavily patrolled by the Indian Armed and Paramilitary forces.

The Big Picture

While the flag-raising and the celebration of the Naga Independence day is an annual event celebrated by a fringe of the Naga society, this year’s celebration is significant as the special rights granted to the Naga state have come under question after the abrogation of the Article 370 granting special privileges to the state of Jammu & Kashmir.