An eventful year for Nagaland

The signing of a peace accord between the Centre and the NSCN-IM brought a ray of hope for an early resolution of the decades-old Naga political issue among the people of Nagaland in 2015.
The year also saw a lot of drama on the political front besides lynching of a man accused of rape in Dimapur town that brought to the fore the dark side of vigilante justice.
Split within NSCN-K took place after the faction led by S S Khaplang abrogated the 14-year-old truce on March 27. This led to the birth of a new faction NSCN-Reformation by expelled senior NSCN-K leaders P Tikhak and Wangtin Naga.

The year commenced with a political drama within the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF) government as 21 of the then 38 NPF legislators (NPF currently has 48 legislators following the joining of 8 Congress MLAs and one MLA each of NCP and JD-(U) formed a dissident group demanding change in leadership.
They elected the then Minister for Industries and Commerce G Kaito Aye as the new leader of the NPF Legislature Party while empowering him to form the new government on January 5 leading to a war between the two camps while also taking the issue before the Election Commission for recognition of their own NPF party.

The dissidents also resigned from the various portfolios as ministers, parliamentary secretaries and advisors to Chief Minister with cabinet status.

However, refusing to budge, Chief Minister T R Zeliang moved the State Assembly to prove his strength on February 5. He created a record as the entire 60 members of the House, including 8 Opposition Congress members voted in his favour. But, the issue did not die down as the dissident legislators continued their revolt though without success.
The internal squabbling of NPF ended with the holding of its special general session in April as the House re-affirmed to stand behind the leadership of NPF President Shurhozelie Liezietsu and Zeliang.

The political drama continued with the induction of the 8 Congress MLAs as cabinet ministers, parliamentary secretaries and Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly.
This was followed by their suspension by the All India Congress Committee and a subsequent move to disqualify them from the State Assembly. However, before the Speaker could take any decision on the disqualification petition, the Congress legislators dramatically merged into NPF leaving the 60-member House without any opposition on November 20.
Nagaland attracted global media attention when on March 5, a mob broke into the high-security Dimapur Central Jail, dragged Syed Farid Khan alias Sarifuddin out, stripped him naked, beat him up, pelted him with stones and pulled him towards the centre of the town, seven km away.

They alleged that he had raped a Naga girl at a hotel in the town on February 23. Khan (27), who hailed from Assam Karimganj district and ran a small automobile shop in Dimapur, died of injuries on the way. The mob, however, did not stop at that. They hanged his body on the clock tower and these gruesome scenes were captured on mobile phones of hundreds of the attackers and onlookers.
After the abrogation of ceasefire by NSCN-K, its rebels
targetted the Assam Rifles, killing seven jawans and injuring four others in Mon district on May 3.
Assam Rifles raided NSCN-K hideouts and eliminated many rebels unfortunately at least four civilians were also killed in such cross firings.

With no Opposition in the state Assembly, the elected representatives constituted Nagaland Legislators Forum on the more than six-decade-old Naga political issue and press for its early settlement in May.
The signing of the historic accord in New Delhi in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSCN-IM 'general secretary' Th. Muivah provided a boost. But with the contents of accord not made available, the Naga people kept asking for their disclosure for further deliberation before any final settlement is arrived at.
Tension gripped Nagas of Manipur and Nagaland as an allegedly false claim over the Kezoltsa range in Dzukou valley by Mao Nagas of Manipur led to severing of ties. The Southern Angamis even imposed economic blockade against the Mao Nagas passing through National Highway-2 and issued quit notice from their jurisdiction. However the matter was resolved with the intervention of the Tenyimi Public Organisation.

Apex students' body Naga Students Federation protested the imposition of Disturbed Area Act in the state which was supported by various other civil societies, but the act is still in force.
Reconciliation between Japanese and Naga Christians for the atrocities caused to one another during the World War II marked the 11th month in the state capital under the aegis of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council.
The annual tourism promotional event - Hornbill Festival of Nagaland - heralded the festive season. Over 2 lakh tourists, including more than a thousand foreigners, witnessed the coming together of the 16 major tribes of the state displaying unity through the diverse culture from December 1 to 10 at Naga Heritage Village Kisama.

The fag end of the year saw Congress filing a PIL against Zeliang for allegedly filing a false education affidavit in the 2013 elections. A district court has asked him to appear before it on January 17 next year.