Nagaland Beyond Statehood: Politics of Resistance and Negotiation

 

Naga-Inhabited Areas and the Colonial Encounter

The Naga tribes inhabit areas across four Indian states—Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh—as well as the Naga Self-Administered Zone in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. There are around 60–65 recognized Naga tribes and sub-tribes. In the state of Nagaland alone, 16 major tribes are officially recognized, including the Ao, Angami, Sema (Sümi), Lotha, Konyak, Chakhesang, Chang, Sangtam, Yimkhiung, Khiamniungan, Phom, Rengma, Zeliang, Pochury, Kuki, and Dimasa Kachari (in certain classifications).

Before colonial rule, Naga villages functioned as largely autonomous political units. The political organization was vested not in the tribe, but in the prototypical Naga “village republic.” Governance was decentralized, social life was regulated by the customary laws, and inter-village warfare was not uncommon. Neither the Ahom kingdom nor the Burmese empire exercised sustained administrative control over the Naga hills, although there were periodic raids and tributary relations.

A major turning point came with the Treaty of Yandabo (1826), signed between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Burma after the first Anglo-Burmese War. Burma ceded Assam, Manipur, and adjoining hill territories to the British. This treaty marked the beginning of sustained British expansion into the Northeast.

The first significant British encounter with the Nagas occurred in 1832, when Captain Francis Jenkins and Captain R.B. Pemberton attempted to open a land route from Manipur to Assam through Naga territory. The expedition was fiercely resisted by Naga villages along the route. What followed were decades of British “punitive expeditions” against Naga settlements—ostensibly to stop raids into the plains but effectively to establish imperial authority.

British policy oscillated between military control and strategic non-interference. Eventually, in 1866, the British formally created the Naga Hills District with its headquarters at Samaguting (present-day Chümoukedima). In 1878, the administrative headquarters were shifted to Kohima after careful strategic consideration. Over time, areas inhabited by tribes such as the Ao, Lotha, and others were brought under colonial control. However, the northern and eastern Nagaland, which constituted two-thirds of the Naga territory, were not annexed.

In accordance with the British frontier policy, the Inner Line was introduced under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. It required British subjects—and later Indian nationals—to obtain a permit to enter certain “protected” hill areas, including the Naga Hills. In practice, the Inner Line created a legal boundary between the Naga Hills and the Assamese plains. Under the Government of India Act, 1919 (Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms), the Naga Hills were classified as a “Backward Tract.” This meant that laws passed by legislatures did not apply to them; instead, they were administered directly by the Governor’s offices. The official justification was that these areas were socially and administratively “different” and not ready for representative institutions. However, the political consequence was isolation from mainstream political and constitutional developments.

Later, under the Government of India Act, 1935, these areas were redesignated as “Excluded Areas,” meaning they were administered directly by the Governor and kept outside the jurisdiction of the elected provincial government of Assam. This administrative isolation would later play a crucial role in shaping Naga political consciousness.

Missionaries in the Hills

With the consolidation of British rule, Christian missionaries—primarily from American and Welsh Baptist missions—entered the Naga Hills. Over the course of a century, a majority of Naga communities converted to Christianity. Alongside religious teachings centred on sin and salvation, missionaries introduced modern education and medical services, significantly influencing social life in the hills. Their activities contributed to the emergence of new moral frameworks, intellectual orientations, and social aspirations.

The arrival of missionaries received support from some colonial officials who facilitated missionary expansion. However, many British administrators remained ambivalent and, at times, openly critical, accusing missionaries of undermining tribal traditions and cultural practices. Despite concerns over cultural transformation, Christianity provided something previously absent—a shared religious framework that transcended linguistic diversity, customary differences, and histories of inter-village conflict among Naga groups. In this sense, Christian faith played a crucial mediating role in fostering a shared consciousness and contributed significantly to the formation of a modern Naga political identity. Most of the conversions took place after Indian Independence, mainly for two reasons: to distinguish themselves from Hinduism and Islam, two major religions of the subcontinent, and to find spiritual refuge during the violence caused by the Naga insurgency and the subsequent counterinsurgency operations.

The Naga Club and the Emergence of Political Consciousness

A defining moment in Naga political history emerged from an unexpected global event: the First World War. Around 4,000–5,000 Nagas were recruited into the Labour Corps and sent to Europe, including France. Exposure to the wider world fostered new political awareness among them.

Upon their return, these veterans formed the Naga Club in 1918—arguably the first pan-Naga socio-political platform cutting across tribal divisions. When the Simon Commission visited India in 1929, the Naga Club submitted a memorandum that became historically significant. They requested:

1. That the Nagas be kept outside any future constitutional reforms in India.
2. If that was not possible, they were to be “left alone” to determine their own future after the British departure.

Although their demands were not accepted, the British classified the Naga Hills as an “Excluded Area” under the 1935 Act, reinforcing only administrative separation.

As India’s independence approached, Naga leaders intensified political mobilization. In 1945, the Naga Hills District Tribal Council was formed to facilitate reconstruction following the destruction of the Naga Hills during the Second World War. The council became the Naga National Council (NNC) under the leadership of A.Z. Phizo the following year. The NNC became the principal organization advocating Naga self-determination.

In the early years, political debates among Naga leaders centred on two main positions. One group supported meaningful autonomy for the Nagas within Assam and the Indian Union, while another argued that only complete independence— “a government of the Nagas, for the Nagas, by the Nagas” —could safeguard Naga interests. Initially, the demand for autonomy received wider support and was reflected in several memorandums submitted by the Naga National Council (NNC) to Jawaharlal Nehru. However, due to what many perceived as the indifferent and noncommittal responses of Indian national leaders and the absence of a clear political settlement, support for full Naga independence gradually grew stronger.

This disagreement soon created divisions within the Naga National Council (NNC), leading to the emergence of a separate group, the People’s Independence League, of which A. Z. Phizo was a prominent member. On 14 August 1947, this group unilaterally declared Naga Independence without the formal consent of the NNC. The political uncertainty that followed resulted in Phizo’s arrest, though he was later released. In 1950, he was elected as the fourth President of the NNC. Under Phizo’s leadership, the organisation officially shifted its position from demanding autonomy within India to advocating complete independence.

Phizo travelled across the Naga uplands to promulgate the stance for Naga Independence, and did so with notable success. This was followed by a major plebiscite organised in 1951 under the leadership of Phizo and the Naga National Council (NNC). According to Naga historians, nearly 99 percent of those consulted expressed support for Naga independence by marking their approval with thumbprints. The following year, they boycotted the first Indian parliamentary elections and chose to continue the freedom struggle. In 1956, the NNC proclaimed the People’s Sovereign Republic of Free Nagaland, which was later reorganised as the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN), functioning as both the political and administrative authority of the movement. Soon afterwards, armed conflict began between Naga groups and the Indian state.

The Creation of Nagaland State

In June 1947, the NNC signed the Nine-Point Agreement (also known as the Naga-Akbar Hydari Accord) with the Governor of Assam, Sir Akbar Hydari. The agreement granted judicial, executive, and legislative autonomy for ten years, after which the arrangement could be reviewed. However, differing interpretations of the “review” clause led to mistrust. While Indian authorities saw it as a constitutional review within India, many Naga leaders interpreted it as the right to reconsider political association altogether.

By the late 1950s, prolonged violence had taken a heavy toll. In response, moderate Naga leaders formed the Naga People’s Convention (NPC), which negotiated with the Government of India. This led to the 16-Point Agreement in 1960. The agreement provided for:

• Full-fledged statehood,
• Special constitutional safeguards (Article 371A),
• Protection of Naga customary law and land rights.

As a result, Nagaland formally became the 16th state of the Indian Union on December 1, 1963.

However, key underground leaders of the NNC did not accept the agreement, arguing it fell short of sovereignty. Thus, statehood did not end the insurgency.

Peace Efforts, Shillong Accord, and the Rise of the NSCN

Concerned by the scale of violence, the Naga Baptist Church played a significant mediating role. The Peace Mission—comprising Assam Chief Minister Bimala Prasad Chaliha, Gandhian leader Jayaprakash Narayan, and British clergyman Michael Scott—facilitated negotiations that resulted in a ceasefire in 1964. Talks continued intermittently but failed to produce a final settlement.

In 1975, the Shillong Accord was signed between representatives of the NNC and the Government of India. The Accord required underground groups to accept the Indian Constitution and surrender arms. However, it was deeply controversial. Many leaders rejected it, arguing it compromised the Naga cause.

Dissatisfaction with the Shillong Accord led to the formation of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in 1980, led by Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah, and S.S. Khaplang. The NSCN later split into factions, notably NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K). The first group is led by a Naga from Manipur, and the latter by a Naga from the Burma side. A major breakthrough came in 1997, when the Government of India and NSCN (IM) agreed to a ceasefire. In 2015, a Framework Agreement was signed, raising hopes of a comprehensive settlement, although a final accord remains elusive.

The Continuing Impasse

The Naga political issue today is no longer just about Statehood but also about shared sovereignty, unique history, the territorial integration of Naga-inhabited areas, and constitutional innovation. Decades of negotiations have produced ceasefires and partial agreements, but not a conclusive political solution. Nagaland’s history is therefore not simply a story of insurgency. It is a complex narrative of colonial frontier policy, early political consciousness, contested nationalism, constitutional accommodation, peace initiatives, and ongoing negotiations between indigenous identity and the modern Indian state.