Naga Groups Assert Need to Balance History with Present Realities

PTI, DIMAPUR, DEC 3, 2025: The Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (WC-NNPGs) said that "historical realities must meet contemporary realities", cautioning apex Naga tribal bodies against what it termed "selective amnesia" at a critical juncture in Naga history.

In a detailed statement, the WC-NNPGs, composed of seven Naga groups, said most tribal hohos had actively participated in extensive consultations between 2016 and 2019, issuing joint statements as key stakeholders in the Naga political talks. They maintained that the Agreed Position signed between the NNPGs and the Centre on November 17, 2017, was the outcome of years of consultations with tribal bodies, churches, prayer groups, and village custodians, calling it a "refined political thought process".

The group recalled that the Centre invited the NNPGs for formal negotiations in October 2017, during which the Naga delegation adopted a "calm, practical" approach. All agreed points, it said, were formally recorded and shared between the two sides to ensure clarity and avoid historical distortions.

The WC-NNPGs also criticised what it described as the breakdown of communication after the signing of the Framework Agreement between the Centre and NSCN-IM on August 3, 2015. It claimed that NSCN (IM) "cut off all communication lines" with the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, tribal bodies, and civil society, leaving Nagas "in the dark about their political future".

Warning against "emotional rhetoric" at a time when thousands of educated Naga youth are entering a highly competitive world, the WC-NNPGs said it is "not a time to lecture Nagas on Naga history", acknowledging that total Naga integration is "not possible at this time". Reiterating the core principle of the 2017 agreement, the group said the right of Nagas to determine their future must be balanced "with due regard to contemporary political realities".

Following the ceasefire agreement in 1997 and over 80 rounds of talks, the Centre inked the Framework Agreement with the NSCN-IM in 2015. Parallel talks with the WC-NNPGs led to the signing of the Agreed Position on November 17, 2017. The Centre had declared that the Naga talks with both groups had concluded in October 2019. While the NNPGs have expressed willingness to accept a "workable" solution and continue negotiations, the NSCN-IM has remained firm on its demands for a separate flag, constitution, and the integration of all Naga-inhabited areas, which have been rejected by the Centre.This has delayed a final solution to thedecades-old Naga Political Issue