Online lecture claims ‘Sumia’ theory, Bangladeshi interference in Nagaland

DIMAPUR — An online lecture delivered by Shubhendra Chouhan on Unacademy, a popular online education platform, has made speculative claims connecting a recent statement by the NSCN (IM) to alleged Bangladeshi interference.

In a video posted on the ‘Pathfinder by Unacademy’ YouTube channel, Chouhan posits a theory about the ‘Sumias,’ a term he (wrongly) uses to describe individuals of mixed Sumi (a Naga tribe) and ‘Mia’ (a term often used for Bengali-speaking Muslims) heritage. He suggests that the ‘Sumias’, who are the children of intermarriage between Sumi Nagas and Mias, due to perceived physical similarities with people from Bangladesh, facilitates the infiltration of ISI agents and “radical Islamists” into Nagaland.

The video, titled “Offers Of Help From Pakistan, Bangla Islamists Led To Naga Rebel Chief’s Threat To Resume Insurgency”, was posted on November 13.

These ‘infiltrators’, Chouhan claims, operate as “sleeper cells” and exert direct influence over NSCN (IM) leader Th Muivah. He speculates, without offering evidence, that these agents proposed providing Muivah with weapons and safe haven in Bangladesh in return for reigniting the armed struggle.

Chouhan states in the video, “Through them, one person, or two or three people, must have gone to the NSCN leader, Muivah, and they must have said, ‘Look, we will provide you with weapons, we will provide you with safe haven in Bangladesh, you just have to do what we say.’”

Chouhan connected this alleged interference to the NSCN (IM)’s recent threat to resume armed resistance if the Indian government fails to uphold the 2015 Framework Agreement and accept the demand for a separate constitution and flag.

He also claimed that senior officials of the Intelligence Bureau have confirmed direct involvement of Bangladesh “and they accepted Bangladesh’s offer very foolishly, and after that, they threatened to break the ceasefire.”

This is a matter of great concern in itself because with the changing government in Bangladesh, other insurgent groups will also take similar actions, and insurgency in the Northeast may increase further in the future, he added.