By Ankit Panda
The Indian government is coming under criticism for the opacity with which it concluded a recent peace agreement.
As The Diplomat‘s Sanjay Kumar reported from India last week, the Indian government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), known as NSCN(IM), unexpectedly and suddenly announced that they had reached a historic peace agreement. The NSCN(IM) is one of many rebel groups in the Indian northeast that have for years fought the imposition of order by a government they see as distant and insensitive to their demands for greater self-governance and autonomy (in most cases). The NSCN(IM), specifically, sought the creation of a contiguous region for the Naga people, known as Nagalim.
Though the peace agreement was initially welcomed by observers, it had the odd feature of being incredibly opaque, both in process and outcome. Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, announced the deal with Thuingaleng Muivah, one of the leaders of the NSCN(IM), very publicly. The agreement was trumpeted on social media: In a tweet on August 3, the day the deal was announced, Modi noted, “Today, we mark not merely the end of a problem but the beginning of a new future.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat