--- title: "NSCN-IM: Naga Insurgent Group and Peace Talks" description: "NSCN-IM is the Isak-Muivah Naga insurgent faction that signed India's 1997 ceasefire and 2015 Framework Agreement; key for UPSC GS3 internal security." url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/nscn-im" --- [New](https://modeldiplomat.com/) # Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026 TL;DR - The NSCN-IM is the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, an armed Naga insurgent group that signed a ceasefire with India in 1997 and the 2015 Framework Agreement. - What is the difference between the NSCN-IM and the NSCN-K? - What is the 2015 Framework Agreement and why has it not produced a final settlement? - What is Greater Nagalim? - Are the NSCN-IM and the Naga National Political Groups the same? [Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026 Go beyond the definition ## Research NSCN-IM like a delegate Model Diplomat's AI drafts position papers, speeches, and country research with real sources — built for MUN and politics students. ## Timeline 1. 14 August 1947 Phizo's Naga National Council (NNC) declared independence on , one day before India's own. 2. 11 November 1975 After the NNC's collapse following the Shillong Accord of — which a faction rejected as a surrender — Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and S. 3. 31 January 1980 Khaplang founded the NSCN on . 4. 30 April 1988 Ideological and ethnic fissures split the group on , producing the NSCN-IM (led by Swu and Muivah, drawing strength from the Tangkhul Nagas of Manipur) and t… 5. 1 August 1997 The trajectory from armed conflict toward negotiation began when the NSCN-IM and the Government of India concluded a ceasefire agreement that took effect on… 6. 3 August 2015 The substantive breakthrough came on , when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and the NSCN-IM signed a Framework Agreement in New Delhi, with Muivah… 7. 27 March 2015 It is not the NSCN-K, the Khaplang faction based largely across the Myanmar border, which abrogated its own 2001 ceasefire with India on and orchestrated th… 8. 4 June 2015 It is not the NSCN-K, the Khaplang faction based largely across the Myanmar border, which abrogated its own 2001 ceasefire with India on 27 March 2015 and or… ## Positions at a glance ### Supporters The NSCN-IM — the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland — is the principal armed organisation in India's longest-running insurgency, rooted in the Naga demand for sovereignty articulated since A. Z. Phizo's Naga National Council (NNC) declared independence on 14 August 1947, one day before India's own. The NNC organised a plebiscite in 1951 claiming overwhelming support for independence and boycotted the first Indian general elections. After the NNC's collapse following the Shillong Accord of 11 November 1975 — which a faction rejected as a surrender — Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and S. S. Khaplang founded the NSCN on 31 January 1980. Ideological and ethnic fissures split the group on 30 April 1988, producing the NSCN-IM (led by Swu and Muivah, drawing strength from the Tangkhul Nagas of Manipur) and the NSCN-K (led by Khaplang). The NSCN-IM espouses a blend of Naga nationalism and socialism under the slogan "Nagaland for Christ," and demands Greater Nagalim, a unified homeland incorporating Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar. ### Opponents The trajectory from armed conflict toward negotiation began when the NSCN-IM and the Government of India concluded a ceasefire agreement that took effect on 1 August 1997, suspending offensive operations and counter-insurgency sweeps against the faction. The ceasefire is governed by mutually agreed Ceasefire Ground Rules, monitored through a Ceasefire Monitoring Group and a Joint Monitoring Group, and is renewed periodically. Designated camps were established where cadres could be stationed with their weapons, separating the political dialogue from field operations. Successive Indian government interlocutors — beginning with Swaraj Kaushal and continuing through K. Padmanabhaiah and later R. N. Ravi — held more than a hundred rounds of talks, many conducted abroad in Bangkok, Amsterdam, Geneva and Zurich, reflecting the leadership's long exile. ## Research it like a delegate Research on modeldiplomat.com ## Ask a follow-up about NSCN-IM Open a cited briefing in Model Diplomat search — timelines, positions, and sources you can use in committee or exam answers. [Start research on NSCN-IM](https://modeldiplomat.com/search?q=Explain%20NSCN-IM%20%E2%80%94%20key%20dates%2C%20actors%2C%20positions%2C%20and%20sources) Example On 3 August 2015, the Government of India and the NSCN-IM signed the Framework Agreement in New Delhi, with Thuingaleng Muivah present and interlocutor R. N. Ravi signing on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. 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