National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN)

Context: In March 2024, a charge sheet was filed in a court in Guwahati by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The China-Myanmar module of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is accused by the NIA. According to the NIA, members of two banned Meitei outfits, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), are being helped by this group. These groups are claimed by the NIA to be supported for infiltrating India.

Insurgency in Manipur:

• Historical background
1. Following the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, the Kingdom of Manipur was conquered by Britain.
2. Manipur became a British protectorate after the war.
3. Manipur became part of India in October 1949 and became a separate state in 1972.

• Rise of insurgency
1. Manipurs incorporation into India led to the formation of various insurgent organizations.
2. These groups demanded an independent state within Manipurs borders, rejecting the merger with India as involuntary.
3. The insurgency in Manipur began in the late 1960s and 1970s.
4. There was no insurgency problem when Manipur initially merged into India.
5. The first separatist faction, United National Liberation Front (UNLF), was founded in November 1964.
6. The insurgency evolved with the Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
7. Clashes began after the NSCN demanded that Kuki-Zo-inhabited areas be included in its proposed Greater Nagaland project in the 1980s.
8. Insurgent groups demanded an independent land for the Kuki-Zo people.

• Other active insurgent groups
1. Nearly 30 Kuki insurgent groups operate in Manipur, with 25 under a tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) with the Government of India and the state.
2. In 2008, 24 Kuki-Zo insurgent groups under the United Peoples’ Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organization (KNO) signed a tripartite SoO pact with the MHA and the Manipur government.
3. In February 2024, when the pact came up for an annual extension, the Manipur government refused to send a representative.
4. Manipur Chief Minister N. Brien Singh accused the groups of violating ground rules and instigating violence in the state.

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