[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he peace talks between the Government of India and the NSCN-IM will complete 18 years in eight months’ time. However, there is no visible outcome from the talks till date. The only thing that keeps alive the hope of the people now is the ‘new’ government and Narendra Modi. But these ‘newness’ in the mind of the people and hope will also fade should the talks drag on for another one year.As of now the people feel that Narendra Modi means business. It is perceived that Mr Modi does not want to sit down with the NSCN-IM just for the sake of talking as was done in the era of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) headed by the Congress. In short, going by his dealing of things in the past five months, the word ‘routine’ is not there in Modi’s dictionary. He will not go for a ‘routine talk’ with the NSCN-IM leaders, which is a great departure from the affairs of the United Progressive Alliance. So, the proposed meeting or the talk between Narendra Modi and the NSCN-IM is going to be a ‘tightrope walking’ for both the parties. One can also conclude that there is not going to be too many rounds of formal talks between the NSCN-IM and New Delhi under the Modi government. The meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NSCN-IM leaders may limit to not more than three occasions. This is because Narendra Modi knows much time should not be wasted when comes to the internal affairs. He is practical. He is the Prime Minister in a hurry but not sans calmness. However, Narendra Modi is yet to prove what good opinion the people have about him. If he does, here is the Prime Minister the country has been waiting for.
