Government is holding talks with the leaders of a frontline Naga separatist group, National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), NSCN (IM), in New Delhi today in a bid to restore peace in the state.The rebel group's chairman Isak Chisi Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah arrived in New Delhi Saturday night from self-imposed exile in the Netherlands.They have been invited by the government for peace talks. The rebel leaders are set to talk with the government's new pointsman R.S Pandey, former petroleum secretary, before a likely meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram.A highly placed government official said in New Delhi, that the government is serious to end the deadlock over talks and will give a momentum to the peace process.He said, the government may announce an economic autonomy for Nagas. AIR correspondent reports, the NSCN-IM's demand for a "Greater Nagaland" would unite over 1.2 million Nagas in northeast India.But the demand has been strongly opposed by the neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. The last round of peace talks between the government and the separatist group was held in March 2009 in Zurich, Switzerland. It ended in a stalemate.The NSCN-IM had entered into a ceasefire accord with the Indian government in August 1997. They have held 67 rounds of talks with the government so far.
News On AIR | March 2, 2010 1:00 PM
Centre and NSCN-IM to hold talks on Naga issue today