Naga nationalism is an ideology that supports the self-determination of the

Naga people Nagas are various ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur and Naga Self-Administere ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(mainly in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

and neighboring regions) and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, and the furtherance of Naga culture.

Formation of the nationalist identity

Some Naga groups share a common belief of their

ethnogenesis Ethnogenesis (; ) is "the formation and development of an ethnic group". This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification. The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th century neologism that was later introd ...

as a distinct people: these groups include Angami,

Sema Sama ( tr, Sema, Persian, Urdu and ar, سَمَاع - ''samā‘un'') is a Sufi ceremony performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice dhikr. Sama means "listening", while dhikr means "remembrance".During, J., and R. Sellheim. "Sam ...

, Rengma, Lotha, Zeme, Liangmei and Rongmei. According to this belief, the ancestors of the Nagas lived in harmony together at a place called Mahkel (identified with the present-day Mao village of Makhel in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

, and, alternatively, believed to be near the

Chindwin , , image = Homalin aerial.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Chindwin at Homalin. The smaller, meandering Uyu River can be seen joining the Chindwin. , map = Irrawaddyrivermap.jpg , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption ...

river in present-day Myanmar). As their population grew, they decided to split and spread outside Makhel. According to the Heraka faith, the Naga peoples took an oath pledging that they would come together again and live as a kingdom. However, when the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

arrived in India, the various Naga ethnic groups had no common national identity. The term "Naga" was a vaguely-defined

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

, which referred to the different ethnic groups in present-day Nagaland and its surrounding area. The different ethnic groups spoke mutually unintelligible languages and had distinct cultures but they are inextricably interrelated. Each Naga village was a sovereign state ruled by ethnic elders. Internecine feuds, wars and

headhunting Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim, although sometimes more portable body parts (such as ear, nose or scalp) are taken instead as trophies. Headhunting was practiced in h ...

campaigns were common among the Naga ethnic groups. The British captured several Naga territories and consolidated them under the Naga Hills District of Assam. During the British rule, missionaries such as

Miles Bronson Miles Bronson (1812–1883), was one of the first American Baptist missionaries who worked in the state of Assam in northeastern India. Mission Work Assam Bronson arrived at Sadiya in Assam on July 8, 1838. Previously, Nathan Brown and O.T. Cu ...

and

Edwin W. Clark Edward Winter Clark (E. W. Clark) (February 25, 1830 – March 18, 1913) was an American missionary. Clark is known for his pioneering missionary work in Nagaland and for his work on transcribing the spoken Ao language into a written script. Cla ...

introduced Christianity to the area, greatly changing the social and political fabric of the local society. The common Christian identity led to peace and unity among the various Naga ethnic groups. Nagamese developed as a link language for inter-ethnic communication.

Naga Club

During the Kuki revolt (1917–19) and the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18), the British Government recruited a number of labourers and porters from the Naga ethnic groups. As part of the labour corps, around 2000 Nagas were sent to France, where, alienated from the other British–Indian troops, they developed a sense of unity. They agreed that after returning to their homeland, they will work towards unity and friendship among the various Naga ethnic groups. These Nagas, together with the British officials, formed the Naga Club in 1918. It was led by Gaonburas, Dobashis, Teachers, government servants, pastors and educated people in addition to the Naga Labour Corps personnel. It had two branches, one at

Kohima Kohima (; Angami Naga: ''Kewhira'' ()), is the capital of the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Originally known as ''Kewhira'', Kohima was founded ...

and the other at

Mokokchung Mokokchung (Pron: /ˌməʊkɒkˈtʃʌŋ/) is a municipality in the Mokokchung District of Nagaland, India. It serves as the district headquarters as well as the main urban hub of Mokokchung District. Mokokchung is the cultural nerve centre of ...

. This club provided the socio-political foundation for the Naga nationalist movement. In 1929, the Club submitted a memorandum to the Simon Commission, requesting that the Nagas should be given a choice of self-determination after the British departure from India.

Heraka movement

Heraka was a religious movement led by

Haipou Jadonang Jadonang Malangmei (1905-1931) popularly known as Haipou Jadonang was a Naga people, Naga spiritual leader and political activist from Manipur, British India. He established the ''Heraka'' religious movement, which was based on the ancestral Naga ...

and his successor Rani Gaidinliu, who sought to establish the legendary kingdom of the Naga people during 1929-33. The two aimed at creating a feeling of

religious nationalism Religious nationalism is the relationship of nationalism to a particular religious belief, dogma, or affiliation. This relationship can be broken down into two aspects: the politicisation of religion and the influence of religion on politic ...

among the Nagas, mainly the

Zeliangrong Zeliangrong people are one of the major indigenous Naga communities living in the tri-junction of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of A ...

s (Zeme, Liangmei and Rongmei including Inpui-Kabui). They launched an independence struggle against the British, and sought to establish inter-ethnic solidarity and unity. However, the movement was not widespread outside of the three Zeliangrong community due to its antagonistic attitude towards Christian converts and the

Kukis The Kuki people are an ethnic group native to the Mizo Hills (formerly Lushai), a mountainous region in the southeastern part of Mizoram and Manipur in India. The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar ...

. The movement also developed into a political uprising against the British, which prompted the Government to clamp down on it.

Naga National Council

In 1945, C. R. Pawsey, the deputy commissioner of the Naga Hills District, established the Naga Hills District Tribal Council as a forum of the various Naga groups. This body replaced the Naga Club, and a year later, developed into a political organization called the Naga National Council (NNC). The NNC initially demanded autonomy within the Indian Union and a separate electorate. However, later, under the leadership of Angami Zapu Phizo, it adopted a secessionist outlook and campaigned for the creation for a sovereign Naga state. The NNC declined as differences developed between Phizo and other leaders, and Phizo got the NNC secretary T. Sakhrie murdered in January 1956.

Formation of Nagaland

After a series of armed conflicts and peace missions, the Government of India agreed to create the Naga Hills Tuensang Area (NHTA), a Union territory with a large degree of autonomy. After further protests, violence and diplomatic discussions, the Government recognised

as a full-fledged State within the Union of India. Since then, the Naga nationalism has co-existed with Indian nationalism. Nagaland recorded more than 87% voter turnout in 2014 Indian general election which was highest voters turnout in India which Indian authorities consider as faith of

in democracy of

References