Indian government signs ceasefire pact with 3 Naga insurgent groups

NEW DELHI — The Centre on Thursday extended the ceasefire agreement signed with three Naga insurgent groups for another year.

In a statement, the Union Home ministry said the ceasefire agreements are in operation between the government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland/NK (NSCN/NK), National Socialist Council of Nagaland/ Reformation (NSCN/R) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland/K-Khango (NSCN/K-Khango).

“It was decided to extend the ceasefire agreements for a further period of one year with effect from April 28, 2023 to April 27, 2024 with NSCN/NK and NSCN/R and from April 18, 2023 to April 17, 2024 with NSCN/K-Khango. These agreements were signed on April 6, 2023,” it said.

On September 8, 2021, the Central government had signed a ceasefire agreement with a faction of the Naga insurgent led by Niki Sumi, on whom the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had announced a reward of INR 10 lakh for allegedly killing 18 Indian Army soldiers in Manipur in 2015.

These groups are breakaway factions of dominant NSCN-IM and NSCN-K.

The government of India had signed a framework agreement with NSCN-IM on August 3, 2015, in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to find a permanent solution.

The framework agreement came after over 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 18 years, with the first breakthrough made in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed after decades of insurgency in Nagaland which started soon after India’s independence in 1947.

However, the talks with the NSCN-IM are currently going nowhere as the group has been insisting for a separate Naga flag and constitution, a demand rejected by the central government.