The Good, the Bad and the Ugly during the G20 Business Meet in Kohima

The Good
The trend of “G20 delegates mesmerized by Nagaland, expressing eagerness to revisit Nagaland” is continuing in almost all of the state’s media platforms (see below YT video), which is undoubtedly good news. The various perspectives and opportunities that the state has to offer, as well as the eagerness to further explore various investment opportunities in the state and beyond, can be clearly heard. It would not be incorrect to say that the indicators of all this excitement and eagerness are all on the right track at this point, despite the fact that true achievement indicators will not be visible until real investment and development begin.

The Bad
In today’s social media communication, it appears that even the most genuine and all-encompassing thoughts can be crashed/shared on the internet. The line on the opinion expressed by Nagaland citizens and others on various social communication platforms is that why are things only happening in Kohima and Dimapur, and a full Nagaland tour should be given to see the state’s real situation. The subject of corruption is not avoided either. To some, the line on the opinions expressed may appear to be a useless opinion; however, interestingly, the opinion and perspective shaping based on those opinions expressed in this type of platform do have some impact, and it will not be easily ignored by those who are truly interested in the state’s state of affairs.

The Ugly
During the G20 Business Summit in Kohima on April 5, 2025, Consul-General Manfred Auster of the German Consulate General Kolkata made a rare but significant remark on the Indo-Naga political conflict. Unfortunately, what should have been a memorable experience for the German Consul-General in Kohima appears to have shown that even when the ‘rules’ are followed, things can still turn ugly. The Naga Mother’s Association (NMA) revealed in a press statement (see below) the “high-handed repressive action” by the security/state forces when they went to meet the German Consul-General on April 6, 2023. Despite the fact that NMA members were invited to a meeting by the German Consul-General, security forces refused to let them in. According to the statement, the Consul-General “came to the lobby, apologizing for the government obstruction of the meeting.” In such a case, the NMA posed the question, “If this is the way the State government treats foreign country top leaders and stops discussions for investments and grants, what is the true purpose of hosting the G20 and B20 Summits in the state?”

It is unclear what prompted security/state forces to take repressive action against the meeting. There could be many reasons for the action taken against the schedule between the German Consul-General and the NMA – and the government will undoubtedly have a reason or justification for the action.  One of the possible reasons could be the government’s displeasure with Consul-General Manfred Auster for making a remark on the Indo-Naga political conflict during the G20 Business Summit, a conflict in which both India and Myanmar (formerly Burma) have been attempting to keep the issue hidden from the rest of the world. Without a doubt, India has attempted to portray the issue as an “internal law and order issue,” but all recent activities, according to the Nagas, clearly call for international intervention to resolve the international conflict involving India, Myanmar, and the Naga people.

Furthermore, on April 4/5, 2023, various Naga organizations held a peaceful demonstration and issued a press statement calling for international intervention to resolve the historical Indo-Naga conflict. Following that, Mr. Auster praised Indian democracy in his remark, saying that “the fact that the Government of India (GoI) was inviting us to Nagaland despite some ongoing demands from civil societies that we could have read about today in the papers is a sign of maturity of Indian democracy,” but the action security/state forces taking “repressive action” against his invited audience, the NMA, is exactly the opposite of Auster’s statement about the type of democracy in India. Without a doubt, attempting to put/classify everything as a security concern/threat when Nagas interact with outsiders who highlight the conflict can sometimes lead to hot water, and things can get ugly – as they did in this case. It also raises the serious question of whether India truly has a democracy or if it is taking advantage under the guise of democracy.