Modi govt signs historic peace accord with Nagaland's NSCN(I-M)

NEW DELHI: The government has signed a historic peace accord with Nagaland's insurgent group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) on Monday.
This was announced at an event at 7 Race Course Road in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Rajnath Singh, other government officials and NSCN(I-M) chief Thuingaleng Muivah along with other leaders of the group.
Speaking on the occasion, Muivah said, "I thank God for this momentous occasion. Naga people have great respect for Mahatma Gandhi. We appreciate the statesmanship of (former PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee."
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Praising Modi, he said, "Under PM Narendra Modi, we have come close to understand each other, and worked out a new relation between the two parties ... Nagas will forever remember you for your statesmanship."
After Muivah finished his speech, the Prime Minister described as "historic" the signing of the peace accord.
He said, "The Nagaland political issue had lingered for six decades, taking a huge toll on generations of our people."

He praised NSCN(IM) leaders Muivah and Isak Swu for showing "wisdom and courage" and for making this effort resulting in the historical agreement.
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"I have the deepest admiration for the great Naga people for their extraordinary support to the peace efforts," he said.
"My relationship with the northeast has been deep. I have travelled to Nagaland on many occasions. I have been deeply impressed by the rich and diverse culture and the unique way of life of the Naga people."
The Prime Minister said, "... unfortunately, the Naga problem has taken so long to resolve because we did not understand each other."
"The Naga courage and commitment are legendary. Equally, they represent the highest levels of humanism," he added.
READ ALSO: Govt asks Army to go all-out against Naga insurgents
The NSCN was formed by Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and SS Khaplang in early 1980 opposing the Shillong Accord signed by the then Naga National Council with the Indian government.
The objective of the group was to establish a sovereign nation called Nagalim through insurgency. The NSCN and Indian government agreed to hold talks and declared ceasefire on many occasions, but nothing concrete came out of them.
In 1988, the NSCN split into two groups — NSCN (Isak-Muivah) and NSCN (Khaplang) — over disagreements between the group's leaders on holding peace talks with the Indian government.
READ ALSO: 20 soldiers killed in Manipur ambush
The Khaplang group is held responsible for the deadly attack on a convoy of 6 Dogra that left 20 soldiers dead. This led the Indian Army to carry out cross-border raids inside Myanmar against the northeast insurgent groups based there.
READ THIS IN HINDI: नगालैंड के उग्रवादी संगठन NSCN (I-M) का केंद्र सरकार के साथ शांति समझौता