Story of Nagaland Insurgency: Part-2
Talks with Gandhi and Nehru
In July 1947, the NNC led by Dr. A.Z. Phizo met Mahatma Gandhi and asserted their right to freedom. They substantiated their assertion by declaring that they would be declaring independence on 14 August 1947. They indeed declared their independence on 14th August 1947. The Nagas also boycotted the Indian Constitution and its sixth schedule which was incorporated for the welfare of the tribals of the North Eastern Region. They decided to fight for freedom and Indian government initiated action against their secessionist tendency. Phizo was arrested in 1948 and was released later. In May 1952, a Naga delegation met Jawaharlal Nehru who denied them the right to claim freedom. In 1954, a Sovereign Republic of Nagaland was established. The already strained relations further soured when armed conflict broke out between Indian army and so called Naga army of underground Nagas. In 1956, Phizo replaced the Sovereign Republic of Nagaland with Naga Central Government and later in 1959 the Federal Government of Nagaland. They also boycotted the general elections of 1957 because as per Hydri agreement they were supposed to be free next year.
In Search of Peace
When blood started flowing from both sides, people got fed up. There was growing difference among various Naga leaders, which led to internal violence among various factions. In late 1950s, some moderates abandoned the violent path and decided that it would be better to be with India rather than a separate country. The Naga People’s Convention thus came into existence with Dr. Imkongliba as its President. The NPC spearheaded the movement to create Nagaland State within the Indian Union with a high degree of autonomy. But these adventures of peace loving NPC were not acceptable to the underground groups. They felt that NPC leaders were actually working as agents of the Indian Government. Meanwhile, a 16 point agreement was signed between NPC and Government of India in 1960. This miffed the underground groups and they assassinated NPC president Dr. Imkongliba. This invoked sudden response from Central government.
Creation of Nagaland State and Amendment of Constitution
While taking effective measures to put down the insurgency, the government decided to meet the genuine aspirations of Nagas and, therefore, carved out a separate State of Nagaland on December 1, 1963. Earlier, the parliament also passed the Constitution 13th Amendment Act, 1962 and provided special treatment to Nagaland via Article 371-A. This article says that no Act of Parliament in respect of
- Religious or social practices of the Nagas,
- Naga customary law and procedure,
- Administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary law,
- Ownership and transfer of land and its resources
shall apply to the State of Nagaland unless the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland by a resolution so decides.
The above amendment in the constitution and separate Nagaland state gave the Nagas a complete self-determination for themselves, as much or as little administrative isolation from the rest of India as they wished but this did not amount to the sovereignty they demanded. Thus, creation of a separate state also did not have the desired effect. A ceasefire agreement was signed on in 1964 between the underground Nagas and the Government of India but this also failed to bring peace because frequent violation of ceasefire continued. The Naga insurgents with active help from Burma and China as well as from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) carried on their guerrilla activities and Indian army also carried on its operations against the Nagas.
