Contours of the Naga Upsurge

The Naga upsurge is the manifestation of one of the earliest ethnic unrests in North East India. The Nagas claim that they have been living in their present quarters since ancient times and that they have never been conquered by any foreign force. In their view their fight cannot be considered to be secessionist and is rather a freedom movement. But there are others who view that the Naga nation formation is rather a post British phenomenon. Nagas are a very heterogenous group with various linguistic affiliations. But they have been able to carve out a niche and many new tribes are being drawn to the Naga constellation. The Naga drive may be correct, but their rationale needs to be viewed from the process of formation of the Indian nation–state and its democratic foundation which is rather skewed. In a just confederation of states, the Nagas can hope to attain an equal share as any other nationality. But it needs to be realized that the Indian nation–state cannot be looked upon in a frozen time frame as political boundaries are bound to alter with changing aspirations of the people, in line with the shifts in politico–economic equations globally and regionally.