The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) on Tuesday warned that the Naga political movement is facing a serious crisis as the voice of the Naga people is increasingly being lost amid growing factional conflicts.

It said the Naga political movement is a people-based movement, and it is for this reason that it has survived for decades with the support, encouragement, and sacrifices of the Naga people in defence of their God-given nation whose dignity and honour have been violated by aggressor forces.

Recalling the history of the movement, the statement said the Naga Army made supreme sacrifices to protect the honour of the Naga nation and to keep the political movement alive without surrendering to the pressure of the governments of India and Myanmar. It said the Naga people remain proud of the Army’s legacy of sacrifice that sustained the struggle through the most difficult times.

However, the NSCN (IM) expressed deep concern that the voice of the Naga people is now being lost in the melee of factional fighting. It termed this trend a dangerous symptom of the growing frustration of the people, as the collective voice of the Nagas is being drowned in the wilderness of fragmented national political groups operating under the obsessive nomenclature of NSCN.

It said that the ongoing factional clashes have little connection with the principles of Naga political aspirations and pose a serious threat to the movement itself.

In a statement issued by its Ministry of Information & Publicity (MIP), the NSCN (IM) said it was heartening to note the assertive statement issued by the Lahe-based Naga Students’ Organization (NSO), which expressed concern and desperation over the repeated attacks and counter-attacks between NSCN (YA) and NSCN (AM).

It described such an initiative as an “urgent voice” of the Naga people to save a situation that is increasingly serving the interests of aggressor governments that are constantly working to sow seeds of division among Naga political groups.

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The group further alleged that the inherent policy of India and Myanmar has always been to create as many factions as possible in the name of the Naga political movement and make them vulnerable so as to prevent a united challenge to government forces. It stated that factionalism in essence serves as a “perverse incentive”, encouraging Naga political groups to fight among themselves.

Calling the reality painful, the NSCN (IM) said that sensationalism arising out of factional fighting has shifted public focus away from the main issue, strengthening the divisive strategies of India and Myanmar and enabling them to create internal fissures among Naga political groups. It added that while this strategy is not new, lessons are repeatedly ignored by the political leadership.

It warned that India and Myanmar would go to any extent to prevent the Nagas from presenting a united front and thereby eroding their unity and collective strength. “Time to wake up lest the Naga history question us,” it stated.

The NSCN (IM) strongly urged all Naga political groups to stop the politics of factional fights and vendetta, describing such practices as deeply unethical, corrupt, and violent, which give nothing good in return. It said these conflicts prioritize personal gain over public good and are marked by assassinations of political rivals, bloody clashes, betrayals, and smear campaigns aimed at outdoing one another.

It urged all NSCN groups, irrespective of affiliation, to listen to the voice of the people and uphold the truth of the Naga political movement, cautioning that failure to do so would invite condemnation from history.