Reimagining Naga Identity: Cultural Sustainability amidst Political Stalemate in the 'Indo-Naga' Peace Process

Abstract: This paper examines the sustainability of Naga culture and identity amidst the protracted and inconclusive ‘Indo-Naga’ peace process. Rooted in oral traditions, customary law, clan-based governance, agricultural rituals, and ancestral land relations, Naga identity embodies belonging, autonomy, and resistance. Yet this identity has been continually reshaped by armed struggle, fragmented peace initiatives, and the Indian state’s emphasis on sovereignty and territorial integrity. While Nagaland’s statehood in 1963 and subsequent agreements, including the Shillong Accord (1975) and the 1997 ceasefire, sought to incorporate the Naga struggle into India’s constitutional framework, they largely ignored core concerns for cultural rights and recognition. The 2015 Framework Agreement rekindled hopes but excluded key factions and civil society, deepening fragmentation and stalemate. Drawing on qualitative methods – interviews, narrative analysis, and community observation – this study explores how Naga communities navigate cultural uncertainty, understood here as the ambiguity of sustaining and transmitting traditional knowledge amid unresolved conflict, generational change, and globalization. Findings indicate that cultural sustainability is inseparable from the realization of cultural rights, including autonomy in customary governance, control over ancestral land, and freedom to institutionalize indigenous knowledge. The paper argues that safeguarding Naga identity requires more than a political settlement; it demands a peace process grounded in cultural dignity, plural representation, and a genuine effort to decolonize state-Indigenous relations. Keywords: Naga identity, cultural sustainability, cultural rights, indigenous people, ‘Indo-Naga’ peace process, political stalemate. Title: Reimagining Naga Identity: Cultural Sustainability amidst Political Stalemate in the ‘Indo-Naga’ Peace Process Author: Vizobeinuo Mercy, Dr. Shonreiphy Longvah International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online) Vol. 13, Issue 4, October 2025 - December 2025 Page No: 99-108 Research Publish Journals Website: www.researchpublish.com Published Date: 13-October-2025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17339721 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.researchpublish.com/papers/reimagining-naga-identity-cultural-sustainability-amidst-political-stalemate-in-the-indo-naga-peace-process