Shillong Accord

Topic: Regional Aspirations: J&K, Punjab, the North-East and Accommodation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 7 "Regional Aspirations"

Meaning

The Shillong Accord (1975) was an agreement under which a section of the Naga underground accepted the Indian Constitution and agreed to give up arms. That section was the Naga National Council (NNC) and its "Federal Government of Nagaland". The rebels who rejected it later formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in 1980.

It matters because it shows a key pattern in the North-East. An accord signed with only part of a rebel movement does not end the conflict. The groups left out carry on the fight. This is the main reason the Naga issue is still open, while Mizoram was settled.

Explanation

Background: the long road to 1975

• Secession means a demand to break away and form a separate, sovereign country. Sovereign means fully independent, with no higher authority above it.
• It is a demand of principle, so the State cannot meet it halfway.

• Talks begin only when the rebels give up the claim to sovereignty.

• The Naga National Council (NNC), led by Angami Zapu Phizo, demanded Naga sovereignty.

• Hydari Agreement (June 1947): it gave ten years of autonomy under Assam. Its last clause was read in two ways. The NNC saw it as a right to choose independence. The Government of India saw it as a review inside India.
• 1951 "plebiscite": a plebiscite is a vote of the people on one question. The NNC claimed an overwhelming vote for independence. India did not recognise it.

• 1950s: the NNC turned to armed struggle. The State sent in the Army and passed AFSPA, 1958, a law that gives the armed forces special powers in "disturbed" areas.

• Statehood came before the Accord:

• The Sixteen Point Agreement (1960) was signed with the moderate Naga People's Convention (NPC).
• It led to the State of Nagaland Act, 1962 [6], and the state was inaugurated in 1963.

• Article 371A was added by the 13th Amendment Act, 1962 [4][5].

• So by 1975 a Naga state with special protections already existed. The underground was still fighting outside it.

What the Accord did

• Who signed: one section of the Naga underground. This was the NNC and the "Federal Government of Nagaland".
• What they accepted:
• The Indian Constitution. This meant giving up the claim to a separate sovereign Naga nation.

• Giving up arms. They stopped the armed struggle.

• What it did not do: it did not bind the whole movement. NCERT says a section signed an agreement that other rebels would not accept.

Its limits: the split it caused

• Rejection: a group of rebels refused the Accord. They saw accepting the Constitution as a betrayal of the sovereignty demand.
• NSCN formed (1980): the rejectionists formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). Its leaders were Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and S.S. Khaplang.
• NSCN split (1988):
• NSCN (I-M), the Isak-Muivah faction

• NSCN (K), the Khaplang faction

• Long-term effect:

• No single body can bring all Naga groups into one deal.
• Each later accord again left some group out.

In the Constitution and practice

• Constitutional anchor: the Accord itself is a political agreement, not a constitutional provision. What the signatories accepted was the Constitution that already applied to Nagaland:
• Article 371A, inserted by the 13th Amendment Act, 1962 [4][5].
• Cl. (1)(a): an Act of Parliament on Naga religious or social practices, customary law and procedure, justice under customary law, or ownership and transfer of land and its resources applies only if the Nagaland Legislative Assembly passes a resolution [4].
• Cl. (1)(b): the Governor has special responsibility for law and order and uses individual judgment (acting on the Governor's own view after consulting the ministers) [4].
• Cl. (1)(d): a 35-member regional council for Tuensang district [4].

• This is asymmetric federalism, meaning some states get more autonomy than others.

• Outcome in practice: the Accord did not end the insurgency. Insurgency means armed rebellion against the State by groups that are not part of the government. The fight passed to the NSCN, and later to its factions.

• The peace process that followed:
• Ceasefire with NSCN (I-M) in force since 1 August 1997 [3]. A ceasefire is an agreed halt to armed operations while talks go on.
• June 2001: the ceasefire was extended "without territorial limits" [3]. This set off violent protests in Manipur, and the phrase was later dropped.
• Naga Framework Agreement, 3 August 2015, with NSCN (I-M). The Government said it "will end the oldest insurgency in the country" [2]. Its full text has not been made public.
• 2017: a parallel track opened with the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), which signed an "Agreed Position".
• Early 2020s: NSCN (I-M), NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) and NSCN (Khaplang) were all under ceasefire with the Government [7].

• A final settlement is still awaited. Sticking points are a separate Naga flag and constitution, and Greater Nagalim (one political unit for all Naga-inhabited areas).

• Lasting lesson: the Shillong Accord is where the Naga movement began to fragment. This is the main contrast with the Mizo Accord (1986). There, the whole MNF signed, and the war ended.

Don't confuse with

• Sixteen Point Agreement (1960): it was signed with the moderate Naga People's Convention and led to statehood for Nagaland. The Shillong Accord came later (1975). It was signed with a section of the underground NNC and was about accepting the Constitution and giving up arms.
• Hydari Agreement (1947): it was signed by the Governor of Assam and the NNC. It gave ten years of autonomy under Assam. It did not involve accepting the Constitution or giving up arms.
• Naga Framework Agreement (2015): it was signed with NSCN (I-M), the very group descended from those who rejected the Shillong Accord. It only sets out a basis for a final settlement [2].
• Mizo Accord (30 June 1986): it was signed by Rajiv Gandhi and Laldenga for the whole, united MNF, so the armed struggle ended. The Shillong Accord bound only one section of the rebels, so the fight went on.

Prelims Hooks

• Shillong Accord: 1975. A section of the NNC and the "Federal Government of Nagaland" accepted the Indian Constitution and gave up arms.
• Sequence trap: Hydari Agreement (1947) → Sixteen Point Agreement (1960) → Nagaland statehood (Act 1962; inaugurated 1963) → Shillong Accord (1975) → NSCN formed (1980) → NSCN split (1988).
• The NSCN was founded by rebels who rejected the Shillong Accord: Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and S.S. Khaplang.
• 1988 split: NSCN (I-M) is Isak-Muivah. NSCN (K) is Khaplang.
• Trap: the Shillong Accord did not create Nagaland and did not insert Article 371A. Article 371A came from the 13th Amendment Act, 1962 [4][5].
• Phizo, the NNC leader, never accepted the Indian Constitution and died in exile in the United Kingdom.

Mains Points

• Partial accords and the problem of fragmentation (GS-I/GS-II):
• The Shillong Accord brought in only one section of the movement. The rejectionists formed the NSCN, which then split.
• Every later deal has faced the same problem: there is no single partner who can deliver all groups.

• This is why the current process has to include both NSCN (I-M) and the NNPGs.

• Naga and Mizo cases compared:

• The Mizo Accord worked because the MNF was united and statehood with Article 371G satisfied its demand.
• The Shillong Accord failed to bring lasting peace because the movement was divided and hardliners still wanted sovereignty.

• NCERT calls the two cases "a lesson in democratic politics".

• Accommodation over force:

• Force alone (the Army, AFSPA 1958) deepened anger among ordinary people.
• Accords such as Shillong show that negotiated acceptance of the Constitution is possible.
• Peace lasts only if the deal is inclusive, transparent (the 2015 text is still not public) and fair to neighbouring states (Manipur, Assam, Arunachal), whose territory a Greater Nagalim demand would affect.

Related concepts

• Hydari Agreement
• Naga insurgency
• Sixteen Point Agreement
• Naga Framework Agreement
• Greater Nagalim
• Mizo National Front
• Mizo Accord

Read more

• Secessionist movements: Nagaland and Mizoram