After a historic homecoming after over five decades and a week-long stay in his native village Somdal in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah capped off his visit to the state with a massive reception in Senapati and a rallying cry to the Nagas of Manipur.
Muivah, 91, a Tangkhul Naga from Manipur, had arrived in Ukhrul on October 22 and headed to his village Somdal, where he had his first homecoming since he left it to join the fight for Naga self-determination in the 1960s.
On Wednesday, after spending a week in Somdal, Muivah travelled by helicopter to the Senapati district headquarters – another major Naga-majority district in Manipur. While Ukhrul is home to Tangkhul Nagas, Senapati district is home to various Naga tribes such as Poumai, Mao, Maram, Thangal, Zeme and Liangmai.
At Senapati district, Muivah was greeted by a reception organised and attended by thousands from different tribes. He had not addressed the gathering at his welcome reception in Ukhrul on October 22 — where he was visibly fatigued — but appeared to be in better shape Wednesday and made a short address.
“I am very delighted to meet you today through unwavering support, love and prayer for me and the Naga nation. We should never forget our history,” he said in his speech. “We are not lost people. We shall bring an honourable Indo-Naga political solution based on the Framework Agreement. I seek your cooperation with us in prayer. My dear countrymen, through love and forgiveness, let us build up our nation again. Kuknalim!”
Like in Ukhrul, the rest of his statement was delivered by V.S. Atem, the ‘Deputy Ato Kilonser’ or the ‘Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the People’s Republic of Nagalim (GPRN)’, who has been named Muivah’s successor.
In it, Muivah recalled the long history of the Naga insurgency and the participation of, and losses suffered by, Nagas from Manipur – what he referred to as Southern Nagalim, referring to the idea of the “unified Naga homeland” across Nagaland and parts of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Myanmar – in the conflict with the Indian state over the decades.
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The NSCN (IM) entered a ceasefire with the Union of India in 1997 and has been engaged in negotiations since then, culminating in a Framework Agreement signed between both parties in 2015. However, there has since been an impasse over differing interpretations of the agreement and over the NSCN (IM)’s demand for a separate Naga flag and Constitution.
Like in Ukhrul, Muivah voiced displeasure at the stalemate. Referring to his now-deceased NSCN (IM) co-leader Isak Chishi Swu, his address said: “Remember! My late friend, Chairman Isak Chishi Swu, has also appended his signature in the historic Framework Agreement of August 3, 2015, which no one must violate and tarnish. The NSCN/GPRN representing Nagalim with great endurance and perseverance has patiently and successfully negotiated with the GoI for the past 28 years, and the commitment and contribution of the NSCN/GPRN talk teams are commendable.”
However, after the signing, “the GoI has betrayed the letter and spirit of the Framework Agreement by refusing to acknowledge the Naga national flag and the Naga national constitution,” it said.
“May I remind Nagalim and my Naga people that the Naga national flag and Naga national constitution are non-negotiable and they are the sole basis for a negotiated political settlement between the GoI and the NSCN – past, present, and future,” the address said.
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On the status of the talks, it stated: “The final negotiated political settlement between the GoI and the NSCN representing Nagalim shall be according to the ‘uniqueness of Nagalim history’. It means that ‘a new relationship’ of ‘sharing of sovereign power’ shall be according to the sovereign Nagalim unique history duly recognised inclusive of Naga national flag and Naga national constitution.”
It continued: “The ‘new relationship’ of ‘sharing of sovereign power’ shall not be defined by the Constitution of India and Myanmar but by the political agreement of the two sovereign entities, and it shall be outside the Union and Constitution of India and Myanmar.”
Muivah wound up his Manipur visit after this meeting and returned to Dimapur, where he currently lives, on Wednesday.
