Deconstructing the Idea of “Greater Nagaland” and the Ramifications of “AFSPA” in Northeast India Paul Salvin1, Longvah Shonrei Phy2, Das Tanmoy3 1Faculty, Peace and Conflict Studies and Management, Sikkim University, India 2Guest Faculty Peace and Conflict Studies and Management, Sikkim University, India 3Ph. D. Research Scholar, NEISP, SSS, JNU, New Delhi, India Online published on 7 April, 2017. Abstract The idea of “Greater Nagaland” has been part and parcel of the Nagas“ struggle for sovereignty, famously termed as the first insurgency problem of independent India. Naga identity is the shroud that enfolds the issue of sovereignty which is powerfully rooted with their territory. The coinage and constant usage of the term “Greater Nagaland” by the media houses in the late 90s has opened the Pandora“s Box of enforcing enmity between the Nagas and her neighbouring communities. Based on the assumption of the possibility of involving territorial disintegration of the neighbouring states in case of the success of “Greater Nagaland” framework, the atmosphere of antagonism has been created. This research aims to deconstruct the idea of “Greater Nagaland” and analyze the feasibility or otherwise of the concept. AFSPA has been in place in Nagaland since 1958 to contain the Naga insurgency problem of which the concept of “Greater Nagaland” is the nitty-gritty. However, nearly 60 years of the functioning of AFSPA in Nagaland had not been able to restore peace and normalcy. Thus, the implementation of AFSPA as the necessary measure to counter insurgency related problem is also questioned. Top Keywords Nagas, “Greater Nagaland”, sovereignty, integration, AFSPA. Top |