NSCN (I-M) junks Delhi’s alleged mining bid in Nagaland

Newly recruited young Naga boys with their automatic weapons during the 33rd Republic Day celebration of the NSCN(I-M)
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-I-M) on Friday rejected the Centre’s alleged mining bid in Nagaland, asserting the Nagas’ rights over their land and mineral resources.

The extremist group said New Delhi has been eyeing the Nagas’ natural wealth such as petroleum, coal, chromite, limestone, nickel, and cobalt which fuel various industries, including those serving the defence sector.

“For quite a long period, the government of India has been casting covetous eyes to explore our natural wealth, mainly petroleum, but under no circumstances should we allow our mineral wealth to be exploited by our aggressor when they refused to respect the political rights of the Naga people,” NSCN (I-M) chairman Q. Tuccu said in his address during the 46th Naga Republic Day celebration at Hebron, the outfit’s headquarters near Nagaland’s Dimapur town.

Reacting to the Centre’s “new attempt” to “intrude upon our sovereign ownership rights” in Nagaland’s Mokokchung district for petroleum exploration and extraction, he said “India” was testing “our nerves without respecting our history and culture.”

The Naga culture makes the people possessive of their “wealth with a strong attachment to our national identity that provides a sense of legacy and pride as God’s chosen people”, he explained.

Mr Tuccu applauded a statement issued by the Ao Naga community against petroleum exploration on land that “does not belong to the Indian government”.

He accused the Centre of delaying the resolution to the Naga political issue.

“For more than 27 years when Indo-Naga political talks started, India has gone deep into playing divisive politics to keep the Nagas divided on factional lines. The truth is India wants to lessen the weight of the NSCN in the negotiation table for Naga political solution,” he said.

“For this very purpose, the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) were created to counterweight the NSCN’s prized possession, the Framework Agreement of 3rd August 2015 by using the Agreed Position of NNPGs. India wants to confuse the Nagas through the Agreed Position,” Mr Tuccu said.

The NNPGs are a conglomerate of at least six extremist groups that have been rivals of the NSCN (I-M). The Centre signed the Agreed Position with this conglomerate in 2017.