DIMAPUR, Feb 21: Officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and top leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) held a meeting in Dimapur on Friday and agreed to hold fresh formal talks soon, officials said.

A Nagaland government official revealed that A.K. Mishra, MHA’s advisor for the North East, met with NSCN-IM’s General Secretary and chief negotiator Thuingaleng Muivah to discuss various aspects of the Naga political issue. The meeting, which also included two other senior NSCN-IM leaders, culminated in a decision to initiate formal talks as soon as possible to further progress the resolution of the matter.

Mishra, who arrived in Nagaland on Thursday, had also met with the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) in Dimapur the same day. The NNPGs, an alliance of seven other Naga groups, have been in talks with the Indian government and signed an “Agreed Position” in 2017.

The last formal meeting between the government and the NSCN-IM took place in October of the previous year. The NSCN-IM recently reiterated its position, stating that if India respects the history of the Nagas, the Nagas would respect India’s history “ten times.”

In a statement delivered during the 46th raising day celebration of the NSCN-IM at the outfit’s headquarters in Hebron, Vice Chairman Tongmeth Wangnao highlighted two significant events when the Indian government officially recognized the uniqueness of Naga history: the 2002 Amsterdam meeting and the Framework Agreement of 2015 in New Delhi. The latter was signed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief architect, accompanied by key figures such as the then Home Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, among others.

Wangnao emphasized that the fate of the Naga political talks lies in divine hands, and urged the need to give new meaning to their connection under the banner of “Nagalim for Christ.”

The Union government has been engaged in political negotiations with the NSCN-IM since the signing of the ceasefire agreement in 1997, and the Framework Agreement in 2015. Parallel talks were initiated with the NNPGs in 2017, culminating in the signing of the Agreed Position in November of that year. The NSCN-IM continues to advocate for the recognition of a separate flag and constitution for the Naga people, as well as the integration of Naga-inhabited areas across four northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland and Myanmar.