National Socialist Council of Nagaland
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National Socialist Council of Nagaland | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Isak Chisi Swu, Thuingaleng, Muivah S.S. Khaplang |
| Founded | 31 January 1980 |
| Membership | ~4,500 fighters[1] website = |
| Ideology | The establishment of a ‘Greater Nagalim’ |
| International affiliation | Operations in India |
The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is a Naga nationalist militant[2][3] group operating in Northeast India. Its aim is to establish a Christian socialist state based on Mao Tse Tung’s ideology[4] in the areas inhabited by the Naga people in Northeast India and Burma. It is believed that the organisation primarily raises funds through trafficking drugs from Burma and selling smuggled weapons to other insurgent groups in the region.[1]
Formation
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) was formed on January 31, 1980 by Isak Chisi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and S.S. Khaplang opposing the Shillong Accord signed by the then Naga National Council (NNC) with the Government of India. Later, differences surfaced within the outfit over the issue of commencing a dialogue process with the Indian Government and on April 30, 1988, the NSCN split into two fractions, namely the NSCN-K led by S S Khaplang, and the NSCN-IM, led by Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah.
Objective
The outfit aims to establish a ‘Greater Nagalim’ (‘Nagalim’ or the People’s Republic of Nagaland) based on Mao Tse Tung’s ideology. Its manifesto is based on the principle of Socialism for economic development and a spiritual outlook – ‘Nagalim for Christ’.
Area of Operation
The [NSCN-IM] primarily consists of the Nagas of Nagaland state and Nagas of Manipur state, the latter are in a majority in the hills of Manipur. Its influence inside Manipur is restricted to the four districts of Senapati, Ukhrul, Chandel and Tamenglong. The outfit has also established its presence in Wokha, Phek, Kohima, parts of Mokokchung and Tuensang districts of Nagaland. It has also been able to extend its influence to the Naga-inhabited areas of North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong districts of Assam and some parts of Arunanchal Pradesh.
Leadership and Structure
Thuingaleng Muivah, the General Secretary, and Isak Chisi Swu, Chairman of the NSCN-IM are based in Thailand. I Shimray is another top leader of the outfit. Hungshi is the ‘press and publicity secretary’ of the group. The outfit also has a military wing — the Naga Army, comprising one brigade and six battalions. There are also several ‘town commands’ and specialised mobile groups. S Hungshi is the ‘Commander-in-Chief’ of the Naga Army.
Kraibo Chawang is the 'Deputy Kilonser (cabinet minister), Ministry of Information & Publicity (MIP)' and A K Lungalung is the 'Home Minister' (Kilo-Kilonser) of the outfit. Further, while V. Horam is the 'Deputy Home Minister', V. S. Atem is the 'Convener, Steering Committee'.
On the political front, the [NSCN-IM] has divided its area of influence into 11 regions, which are organised primarily on tribal considerations. In many areas, it runs a parallel government. There are four major ‘Ministries’ – defence, home, finance and foreign. Besides, there are five other Ministries including education, information and publicity, forests and minerals, law and justice and religious affairs. The most prominent among the Ministries is the ‘Home ministry’, which seeks to replace the State government machinery. The heads of 11 administrative regions report to the ‘Home Minister’ (Kilo Kilonser). The ‘administration’ deepens down to the town and village levels in the NSCN-IM’s areas of influence. R H Raising and Himpa Pochury are ‘Home’ and ‘Defence’ ‘Ministers’, respectively. Angelus Shimrah is the spokesperson of the NSCN-IM.
The outfit has also established a government-in-exile called the Government of the People’s Republic of Nagaland (GPRN) which interacts with formal and non-formal world bodies and media. The GPRN sends emissaries abroad to garner support and raise funds for the Naga cause.
It has an estimate of more than 10,000 strong cadre base. It is supported by people of civil societies among Nagas cutting across the present states of Nagaland, Manipur, sections of Assam and Arunachal; and people of Nagas at Mayanmar.
The [NSCN (IM)] has been passing its annual budget to the tune of Rs 200 million to Rs 250 million each year.
By and large, the outfit generates funds through international mobilization. Both the NSCN-IM and the NSCN-K run parallel structures of ‘taxation’ (extortion) throughout the regions that they dominate.
Mention may be made that NSCN(IM) used to view Kukis (another ethnic tribe in Manipur) as their enemy since the latter came to engage in a portion of the territory claimed by NSCN(IM) to be part of their dream "Nagalim". Kukis like Nagas are hill tribe and follow christianity as their faith. Both sides are at loggerhead as Kukis opposed the merger of land they occupied to be a part of Nagalim. And then a bloody conflict erupted between the two opposing ethnic tribes in the nineties in which several lives and properties have been loss. It is understood that the Nagas instigated by the NSCN(IM) were able to capture majority of the lands engaged by kukis. Thousands of Kukis fled their homesteads for their survival in safer areas after losing their land. Till today, the Kukis are crying for justice. Now an understanding seems to prevail among the ethnic groups.
Linkages
Over the years, the NSCN-IM has developed extensive linkages both within India and outside, and has also been receiving substantial assistance from neighbouring countries. The form of this assistance ranges from supply of arms and ammunition and other logistical support, to provision of safe havens, camping and training facilities. Till 1971, the US was a major provider of arms, finance and intelligence.
The erstwhile East Pakistan had also provided assured supplies of money and arms, Till the late 1980s, China also provided support to the organisation. Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) now provides a large component of finance, arms and logistic support to the NSCN-IM.
The NSCN-IM has linkages with the Naga groups operating in Burma, and drug trafficking from Burma is a major source of income.
NSCN-IM uses money earned through narcotics trade to buy arms and also pay for training of their cadres. The outfit also runs camps for training other militant outfits on a purely mercenary basis. They have established reliable contacts for arms procurement in Thailand and other South East Asian nations, and have very well established links for transportation through Bangladesh and Burma. With the funds generated through its various financial operations, as well as from aid provided by the ISI provides, the NSCN-IM has purchased large stocks of Chinese AK rifles, machine guns, mortars and explosives from black markets in South East Asian and Bangladesh.
Prior to his arrest by Thai authorities in January 2000, Muivah was spotted in Karachi and was believed to have visited some other places as well in Pakistan, besides having met various people there. He was arrested at Bangkok on arrival on a flight from Karachi for travelling on a fake South Korean passport.
A top-NSCN-IM functionary was reportedly dispatched to strike a deal with Chinese officials in the Kuming province to provide them with a ‘major arms consignment’; and the NSCN-IM was pleading with the Chinese to use their good offices to secure a passage for the consignment through the territory controlled by the Kachin rebels. Reports of February 2000 indicated that the [NSCN-IM] have a "full-fledged liaison office" in territories in China across the border with Arunachal Pradesh.
The outfit has also opened up contacts with international organisations like the UN Human Rights Organisation in Geneva, Unrepresented Nations People's Organisation (UNPO) at the Hague and the UN Working Group on Indigenous People (UNWGIP).
Insurgents of the NSCN-IM are reportedly being trained at two camps in Pakistan. The NSCN (IM) has a group of its strong supporters in Thailand. Most of them operate front companies – mainly in travel and tourism, real estate and toy manufacture. The NSCN also has a large number of bank accounts in Thailand, Bangladesh and Burma.
NSCN-IM's weapons are smuggled from the Thai-Cambodian border. Reports[who?] indicate that Pakistani embassy officials in Thailand provide assistance to the NSCN-IM and other North-Eastern insurgent groups in procuring weapons.
A one hundred page report[5] compiled by the Indian government allegest that the Peoples Republic of China offered to sell surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) to the NSCN-IM in a deal worth US$1 million. The deal fell through because NSCN-IM did not have the money to pay for the sale. In return for Chinese support the NSCN-IM had agreed to supply information to the Chinese on Indian army deplyments as well as aircraft and missile possitions in the China-India border region of Twang in Arunachal Pradesh.[1]
A brief history of Naga insurgency
The word "Naga" denotes a conglomeration of hill tribes rather than a single entity. This fact hence contests the real motives of Naga insurgent groups. Some of the major or mattering Naga tribes are the,Angami, Ao, Chakesang,Konyak, Kyong,Mao, Poumai, Rengma, Sümi,Tangkhul etc.
The NSCN is a band insurgent organisation of Northeast India who wants to form a sovereign independent by integrating Nagas from Nagaland with illiterate tribals of the neighbouring states.
The origins of Naga separatism can be traced back to the founding of the Naga Club, in Kohima in 1918 by a group of western educated Nagas. They even submitted a memorandum to the Simon Commission asking the British Government to exclude the Nagas from any constitutional framework that they may be planning for India. However the protests made by the Naga Club were too mellowed and too far in between. The tone of protests began to change rapidly with the coming of Angami Zapu Phizo, popularly known as Phizo. He was one of the most dynamic leaders the Naga separatist movement had ever seen.
The Naga separatists got to know about modern warfare in the early-mid 1940's when India's northeast was the scene of an intense conflict between the Allied forces and the Japanese army. Phizo along with some other prominent leaders fought on the side of the Indian National Army (of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose) for Japan against the Allies. The war showed the Nagas that weapons could achieve what negotiations could not. The Naga insurgents would later use the arms dumped in the North-East after the WWII to fight the Indian security forces. In 1946 the Naga Club transformed into the Nagaland National Council (NNC), the precursor of the NSCN.
The NNC under Phizo's instigation declared Nagaland's independence from India on the 14th of August 1947. The Indian government was quick to suppress the revolt. Phizo was arrested in 1948 on the charges of instigating a rebellion. On his release, Phizo was made the president of the NNC in 1950. He used his new found status and clout among the hill tribes to gather their support to realize his dream of a sovereign Nagaland. It is widely believed that he even organized an unofficial referendum to substantiate his claims that the Nagas favored independence from India. His meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru in 1952 turned out to be fruitless . It was at this point that Phizo turned to armed rebellion to coerce the Indian government.
The Indian army marched to quell the rebellion, but Phizo escaped to East Pakistan and from there to London, where he remained till his death in 1990. But the armed rebellion was pursued by a section of the NNC. An agreement was reached by the Indian Government and the NNC in the year 1975. This came to be known as the Shillong Accord. However a section of hardcore militants in the NNC were disappointed with the NNC top brass signing the pact and they decided to go underground to start a more radical separatist movement. This led to the formation of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland or the NSCN in the late 1970s. The nucleus of the group which founded the NSCN included Isaac Chishi Swu, T Muivah and Khaplang. The NSCN started an underground Naga Federal government. It had a council of ministers led by a prime minister. The title given to the Prime Minister was "ato kilonser" and the ministers were given the title of "kilonser". The NSCN also got plenty of support in arms, ammunition, cash and other resources from the People's Republic of China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The porous borders, especially the one with Burma, meant that they could easily escape to foreign territory.
At last the intention of the NSCN (IM) was realised that leader want to become Chief Minister of Nagaland one day after forming Greater Nagaland. Thus, the NSCN suffered from a split in the late 1980s and broke into two factions, the NSCN(IM) and the NSCN (Khaplang). The former is led by Isaac Chishi Swu and T Muivah, who are in support on Greater Nagaland while the latter is led by Khaplang who is against on that.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Lyle Morris (22 March 2011). "Is China Backing Indian Insurgents?". The Diplomat. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
- ^ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110218/jsp/frontpage/story_13599760.jsp
- ^ http://www.hindu.com/2004/07/02/stories/2004070200951300.htm
- ^ http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/nagaland/terrorist_outfits/NSCN_IM.HTM
- ^ Ajit Doval (7 February 2011). "Remote Control Rebels". Outlook India. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
External links
- [1] National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Isak-Muivah
- Northeast Echoes by Patricia Mukhim, Telegraph India, June 22, 2009