The Naga people held a Plebiscite in 1951 to decide their political future, and according to reports, 99.9% voted for sovereignty. The 1951 Naga Plebiscite, however, was rejected by India, and it failed to gain desirable international recognition.
The International Council of Naga Affairs (ICNA) conducted a survey to assess the Naga people’s current position on the new referendum approach to resolving one of Asia’s longest-running political conflicts. The idea of another all-Naga people’s Plebiscite has been broached in academic circles including by Augustine R. in his R&A piece [“Behind-the-Table” Conflicts in the Indo-Naga Negotiation] published by ICNA on August 25, 2022, and by Prof. Paul Pimomo, Emeritus Professor at Central Washington University, USA, in an essay “Time for the Final Plebiscite for Nagas?” in a book titled NAGAS: Essays for Responsible Change published by Heritage Pub House in 2012.
Excerpt Conclusion – “Behind-the-Table” Conflicts in the Indo-Naga Negotiation (Myanmar is added): If the conflict had been resolved earlier, it would have freed up valuable resources and energy for the Naga people, India, and Myanmar to focus on other pressing social and economic issues for at least the last six decades. However, a new referendum proposal is unlikely to be accepted by India, Myanmar, or the Naga people due to differing interpretations and positions. Nonetheless, if the Naga people, India, and Myanmar reached an agreement, one of the best ways to end the historic Indo-Naga-Myanmar conflict would be through a legally binding vote on which specific steps (for example, whether a binary answer or a more complex answer should have been provided) should be carried out under the supervision of the United Nations (UN)/neutral third-party observer. A referendum of this type may reveal the truth, as well as the underlying interests, of how the Naga people desired their political future or relationship with India & Myanmar, which would be democratic convictions, the desire to be heard, or the peaceful resolution of the historical Indo-Naga-Myanmar conflict “once and for all.”
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SPECIAL ICNA EDITION / REPORT COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY
International Council of Naga Affairs (ICNA)
Published on Tuesday, December 20, 2022. Uploaded on ICNA web portal on December 20, 2022.
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This Special ICNA Edition /report can be cited as:
“The State of Naga Affairs: Method for Resolving the India-Naga-Myanmar Political Conflict,” International Council of Naga Affairs (ICNA), Available at www.nagaaffairs.org
