Former IB Special Director may replace Ravi as India’s interlocutor for Naga peace talk

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Sep. 11 (EMN): Former Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau of India, Akshaya Kumar Mishra is likely to be appointed as the government of India’s interlocutor for the Indo-Naga peace talks.

Sources told Eastern Mirror that Mishra was the “choice of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs” to succeed the incumbent interlocutor RN Ravi, who is also the governor of Nagaland.

However, no official notification has been made by the Union government on whether Ravi will be replaced as interlocutor.

Speculations on who would be the new interlocutor for Naga peace talks were rife after a Rashtrapati Bhavan communiqué announced Ravi’s transfer to Tamil Nadu.

Mishra belongs to the 1987 batch of Indian Police Service (IPS) of the Rajasthan cadre. He retired as IB special director earlier this year and is now serving as Advisor in the Ministry of Home Affairs, sources informed.

The then Special Director of IB, Mishra, and director of IB, Arvind Kumar, were involved in the Indo-Naga peace talks on the directive of the office of the prime minister when the talks between Ravi and the NSCN-IM hit a deadlock.

It may be mentioned that Ravi was appointed as interlocutor to the Naga peace talk in 2014 before being appointed as Nagaland Governor in 2019, in addition to his responsibility as the interlocutor.

He was relieved from the charge of Nagaland Governor on Thursday after being appointed as the governor of Tamil Nadu, while Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi was given the additional charge of Nagaland until regular arrangements are made.

It may be mentioned a final solution to the protracted Naga political issue is still elusive despite several rounds of talks between the government of India and various Naga political groups, and even after having signed the Framework Agreement with the NSCN-IM in August 2015 and an Agreed Position with the Naga National Political Groups in 2017.