A solution to Naga insurgency

NAMRATA GOSWAMI of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) states that the Naga ethnic conflict could be in the final stages of resolution with a proposal floated by the Union government for a non-territorial Naga council involving a pan-Naga supra state body that would enjoy legal authority over cultural, development and social rights of the Nagas across several states in the Northeast while law and order would remain within the respective states where the Nagas lived.
In an IDSA commentary, “A non-territorial resolution to the Naga ethnic conflict”, she states that this solution would amount to a special federal relationship recognizing the distinct identity of the Nagas and a guarantee of non-interference in their lifestyle.
She concludes that the present ‘supra-state’ proposition of non-territorial unification was a meaningful way to overcome the anxieties of other ethnic communities over the maximalist demand for Nagalim or unification of all Naga-inhabited areas in the NorthEast and calls upon New Delhi to work in consultation with the state governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur to resolve problem areas identified on the path towards non-territorial Naga council while the NSCN (IM) could work towards peaceful resolution of the insurgency.

Scenarios for The Seven Sisters

NAMRATA GOSWAMI of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, analyzes the key factors determining the future of India's insurgency-ridden NorthEast to determine four possible future scenarios: 1) a tourism-anchored "Destination Northeast", 2) an insular "Island Northeast" based on xenophobia and violence, 3) a democratic "Multi-cultural Northeast" and 4) Global Northeast (on the back of a successful Look East policy). In an IDSA Occasional Paper, "India's NorthEast 2020: Four Alternative Futures", she recommends a policy focus based on developing human capital, fostering inter-state competition and rewarding progress to ensure the development of an open, multi-cultural, globalized and democratic North-east.