Will the Centre and NSCN-IM finally clinch an agreement to usher in peace in Nagaland? Hope is revived, with NSCN-IM leaders, led by General Secretary Th Muivah not only holding talks with Centre’s interlocutor A K Mishra on Tuesday last but significantly for the first time at the outfit’s headquarters, Camp Hebron near Dimapur.

Recall, that a ceasefire agreement was signed between the rebel group and New Delhi in 1997. In 2015, the negotiations were renewed by the Modi government which claimed that a Naga peace accord had been signed, details of which were not spelt out. This Tuesday, the talks lasted ‘over two hours but no details were shared, other than sources saying these were ‘fruitful’.

It is a challenge for new interlocutor Mishra, a former special director of IB, who replaced R N Ravi after relations between Ravi and NSCN-IM soured in 2019-20 and he was sent as Tamil Nadu Governor. This time around, the talks took place a week after Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, his Deputy Patton and former CM Zeliang met Modi and Shah in Delhi to discuss the status of peace talks.

Disagreement remains on the demand for a separate Naga flag and the Constitution. Its resolution is anybody’s guess.

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