Centre will offer one Naga solution, not 37, says Nagaland Dy CM Patton

Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton on Saturday urged the state's many Naga underground groups to unite, saying the Centre would offer a single solution to the Naga political issue rather than separate deals for 36 to 37 factions.

Patton was speaking at the Tokhu Emong celebration organised by the Dimapur Lotha Hoho at the Multi Disciplinary Sports Complex in Dimapur, Northeast Now and The Assam Tribune reported.

Factions and extortion

Patton said Nagaland had the highest number of underground factions of any state in the country, and also a high incidence of extortion, especially in Dimapur, Chumoukedima and Niuland districts.

He appealed to the groups to coordinate their efforts on the Naga issue, noting that the public had also been asking them to come together. "We should not encourage disunity and should not be a part of dividing our Naga society," he said.

He asked the Lotha community to build a better understanding of the Naga political movement and help find a solution acceptable to all sections of Naga society.

Earlier security push

Patton, who also holds the Home portfolio, had said earlier this month that the state government would hold a security coordination meeting to tackle extortion, which business groups and civil society in Dimapur have repeatedly complained about.

Tokhu Emong is the main post-harvest festival of the Lotha Nagas, celebrated in early November to give thanks for the harvest. Patton extended greetings to the Lotha community and said he hoped the festival would strengthen brotherhood, peace and unity.

Why Dimapur matters

Dimapur is Nagaland's commercial hub and its main rail and air gateway, and the neighbouring districts of Chumoukedima and Niuland were carved out of it. Traders and transporters there have for years complained of being asked to pay "taxes" by more than one armed group, and business bodies have at times shut markets in protest. By naming the three districts, Patton acknowledged that the problem is concentrated in the state's economic heartland.

A long peace process

The Naga peace process began with the 1997 ceasefire between the Centre and the NSCN (I-M). Several other factions have since entered ceasefire arrangements of their own, which are renewed periodically, and splits within groups have added to their number over the years.

Talks between the Centre and the NSCN (I-M) under the 2015 Framework Agreement, and with the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups under the 2017 Agreed Position, have yet to produce a final settlement.