NSCN (I-M) leader Muivah returns home in Manipur after six decades

UKHRUL/SOMDAL:

Six decades after he trekked out to join the Naga freedom movement, National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah flew in to his native Somdal village in Manipur’s Naga-dominated Ukhrul district on Wednesday (October 22, 2025).

Emotions ran high as his chopper landed on a makeshift helipad a tad before 4 p.m., as almost the entire village of about 4,500 people turned up to greet the frail 91-year-old leader they refer to as Avakharar, which in the Tangkhul tongue means “eldest father”. The helipad turned into a sea of blue — contrasting with the green hills beyond — as the people in their traditional attire waved the “Naga national flag” as soon as he alighted.

Somdal was the second stop for the leader of the NSCN, also known as NSCN (Isak-Muivah) or NSCN (I-M), to distinguish the armed organisation from the NSCN (Khaplang) or NSCN (K) and its many factions.

Thousands lined the streets of Ukhrul, the district headquarters about 25 km from Somdal, as his chopper landed at the town’s Bakshi Ground after taking off from near Dimapur in adjoining Nagaland, where the NSCN (I-M) is headquartered. He was assisted by members of his organisation and his security guards at an event at the Tangkhul Naga Long (apex community-based organisation) field, where a programme was organised in his honour.

“I have no words to explain how we feel and what his homecoming after 61 years means,” the 84-year-old Asui Muivah, the NSCN (I-M) leader’s only surviving sibling, said. Their sister and two elder brothers passed away years ago.

Across the Tangkhul domain, Mr. Muivah’s homecoming had an added significance. He was the first “Prime Minister” in India to visit Ukhrul, bordering Myanmar. He is the Ato Kilonser (Prime Minister) in the Government of the People’s Republic of Nagalim, a position he rose to after joining the armed movement for a sovereign Naga homeland in 1964.

‘Free existence’

Mr. Muivah could not address the gathering at both locations as he was not in the best of health. His speech was read out by V.S. Atem, another leader of the NSCN (I-M).

“I thank the Lord God Almighty for preserving me and making it possible for me to return to my birthplace, Somdal, today. But many people whom I knew and who loved me are missing. Generation comes and goes, but the nation stays. The issue we are fighting for is greater and older than most of us who are gathered here at this Tangkhul Naga Long ground today,” the nonagenarian said.

Touching upon the Naga political issue, he said the “historic national decision for a sovereign Nagalim” has been defended and consolidated from the battlefield to the negotiating table. “We have not surrendered the free existence and sovereignty of Nagalim, and we shall defend the sovereign national decisions of Nagalim to the last, come what may,” Mr. Muivah stated.

He will stay at a specially designed Gethsemane Prayer Hall, 2.5 km from his ancestral home, with his wife Pakahao Muivah, till October 28. He is scheduled to leave for Senapati, another Naga-majority district in Manipur, on October 29 for another welcome event before returning to Nagaland.

The NSCN was formed in 1980 but split into the NSCN (I-M) and the NSCN (K) in 1988. After years of fighting the Indian armed forces, the NSCN (I-M) declared a truce in 1977.

Mr. Muivah’s wish to visit Somdal almost came true when the Centre cleared his trip in May 2010. His convoy was stopped near the Nagaland-Manipur border, about 120 km short of his village, as Manipur’s then Okram Ibobi Singh-led Congress government was opposed to his visit over the NSCN (I-M)’s “Greater Nagalim” demand.

Greater Nagalim was then the armed group’s concept of an independent homeland encompassing all Naga-inhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Myanmar. The Manipur government and social organisations in the Meitei-majority Imphal Valley saw this concept as a threat to the State’s territorial integrity.

Among those who attended Mr. Muivah’s homecoming event at Ukhrul were leaders of Imphal Valley-based organisations — Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, All Manipur United Clubs’ Organisation, and Federation of Civil Society Organisations — and Pangal (Meitei Muslim) elders. This underlined the acceptance of Mr. Muivah’s homecoming.