ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the Indian state's response to the Naga insurgency by explaining the overall impact of the use of force on the Naga armed movement. The Naga ethnic insurgency is the oldest conflict in India, tracing its origins to 1918 before India attained its independence. The chapter extrapolates the causes of the Naga armed conflict by focusing on the dominant Naga armed group, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim led by Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah (NSCN-IM), its political ideology, motivation, strategy, training, resources, and external linkages. It also illustrates that the Indian counter-insurgency approach has factored in the use of force and peace negotiations simultaneously. The use of force has created deep-seated negative memories about the Indian state and hence the second strategy of peace negotiations has failed to generate an enthusiastic or whole-hearted response from Naga society.
