The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The Isak-Muviah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland [NSCN (I-M)], which is the principal negotiator in the Naga peace talks, has accused the Government of India of not being committed to peace talks.
Speaking at the 44th Republic Day function of Nagaland in Dimapur on Tuesday, March 21, Qhehezu Tuccu of NSCN (I-M) said that the Indian government’s commitment to resolving the decades-old conflict “fluctuates wildly every now and then”. He noted that NSCN (I-M) is “simply waiting for” how New Delhi “will pick up the threads of the Indo-Naga political talks with correct narrative and not for its own convenience”, The Hindu reported Tuccu as saying.
Tuccu accused the Narendra Modi government of not honouring the Framework Agreement signed with NSCN (I-M) on August 3, 2015. “We have made our stand loud and clear to the government of India on the issue of the Naga flag and constitution which are indispensable and inviolable parts of the recognised sovereignty and unique history of the Nagas,” he said at the Naga Republic Day celebration held at the headquarters of the outfit in Dimapur.
While NSCN (I-M) has been claiming that the Indian side committed to let Nagas use their flag and constitution, the Government of India, however, does not endorse this claim. The difference of opinion on what has been agreed upon is one of the major sticking points preventing the talks from moving forward.
Accusing Government of India of “hypocrisy” and “flattery”, he said it is finding an escape route to dilute the importance of the Framework Agreement for the peace talks. The lack of commitment on the part of India, he said, is making Nagas believe that the government in Delhi wants to “strike the Nagas with all its state machinery”.
In the event of talks fail, he said, a survival strategy will be worked out from Nagas’ end, which, according to him, would be a “final showdown must be a battle to decide our future”.
“No sacrifice is too great when it comes to defending the historical and political rights of the Nagas,” he declared, according to PTI.
The ball, he said, is in India’s court to restore the trust among the Nagas and to reclaim the lost ground. “It is for the central government to put its act together and get back the lost ground … The fate of the Framework Agreement hangs in balance as its commitment to it fluctuates wildly every now and then,” he opined.
NSCN-IM is the principal negotiator for Naga peace talks with the Indian government since 1997 and inked the Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015. Described as historic, the Agreement signed in Delhi in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is indeed now a stumbling block in carrying forward the peace talks and ensuring a lasting solution to the Naga issue.
This is due to the fact that NSCN (I-M) and the Government of India interpret the Agreement differently. While the Naga wants shared sovereignty with the government in Delhi – made possible by a different constitution and a flag – the latter does not agree with the former on that count. According to the Indian government, there is no question of two sovereign powers co-existing. This was particularly made clear after the Union government removed Special Status for Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019.
Meanwhile, officials in the Union government also find fault with the “vague” wording of the Framework Agreement responsible for the stalemate. “It was vague, leaving for both sides to interpret the deal according to their own convenience. Had there been no FA, we would probably have had a deal by now,” an official in the know of things had told Indian Express earlier.