The man whose name is taken each time we mention a faction of the most enduring Naga insurgent outfits – the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) is no more. Isak Chisi Swu a person who might never have handled a gun in his life plays the role of a seasoned diplomat and a deacon in the outfit. He prays before and after each meeting. He advances well considered arguments at the negotiating table with the Government of India. And Swu has stuck on to the outfit since it’s birth in 1980, because he believed in the legitimacy of the movement for a sovereign Nagaland. Swu joined the Naga National Movement in 1958 when he was just 29 years of age and remained constant until his death, never for once giving up hope that the idea of a shared sovereignty with “India” is possible albeit through protracted negotiations. Those from the Indian side who have sat across or around the negotiating table have developed a respect for this gentleman who gave up his whole life to a cause he believed in and without raising his voice or pushing his agenda beyond a point. The discussion always ended on a conciliatory note. In a state wracked by tribal loyalties, Isak Swu was respected by all tribal groups across Nagaland.
Swu was influenced by Nagaland’s renowned freedom fighter A Z Phizo who pushed the Naga plebiscite of 1951. He joined the Naga National Council (NNC), that same year and was appointed its foreign secretary. Swu held this post for seven years but the Shillong Accord of 1975 signed by a section of NNC leaders and the National Federal Government of Nagaland on one side and Government of India on the other was what soured relations. The NNC and NFG agreed to give up arms and carry on a non-violent struggle. At the time TH Muivah and Isak Swu were in China. In 1980 Muivah, Swu and SS Khaplang formed the NSCN. Khaplang broke away from the group in 1988. The Khaplang faction retains the NSCN acronym but with the suffix ‘K’ in brackets. The NSCN (K) earlier agreed to the ceasefire with Government of India but reneged from that agreement in March 2015. The NSCN (K) continues to operate from the Kachin Hills of Myanmar.
Now that Swu who is the guiding force is no more it remains to be seen if the NSCN(IM) will maintain that conciliatory stance which has resulted in several rounds of talks, the last one not just with the NSCN(IM) but with several stakeholders of Naga civil society to help flesh out the Naga Peace Framework singed in August 2015. Swu’s continued blessings would be needed as the peace process reaches what is seen by many as the last mile.