India has signed a peace agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, a leading tribal separatist group in the northeast, that has been waging guerrilla attacks against central rule for the past six decades. Officials from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government signed the accord with NSCN-IM, which has been active in the remote and underdeveloped northeastern region bordering on China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Although the terms of the agreement are not known yet, Modi's government said it wants to develop the region, which has been neglected by the rest of the country, by offering proper development funds and building better infrastructure. “We are making a new beginning today ... 60 years is a long time of fighting, the wounds are deep,” Modi said at a conference alongside NSCN-IM secretary-general Thuingaleng Muivah, a co-founder of the rebel group. “Since becoming prime minister, peace, security and economic transformation of the northeast have been among my highest priorities. It is also at the heart of my foreign policy, especially Act East,” Modi said, in reference to efforts forging closer ties with Southeast Asia.
Militants from the region had increased attacks against India's armed forces lately, one of the incidents being the death of 20 soldiers in Manipur in June, in what was the deadliest attack on security forces in the last two decades. The unrest has in general, killed more than 170 people, most of them militants, in the northeast this year and, 465 in 2014, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
Thuingaleng Muivah thanked PM Modi. He said, “The Nagas will forever remember you for your statesmanship. Under Modi we have come close to understanding each other and have worked out a new relation.”
Revelling in the join of his newest accomplishment, Modi said, “Our oldest, insurgency is getting resolved, it is a signal to other smaller groups to give up weapons.”
