Naga National Council calls for sovereignty on Martyrs’ Day

The Naga National Council (NNC) is observing Naga National Martyrs’ Day to commemorate individuals who died in the pursuit of Naga sovereignty. The observance marks the death of Zasibito Nagi, an Assistant Judge of the Angami Tribal Council Court, who was killed by an Assam Police officer on October 18, 1952, during a peaceful demonstration in Kohima.

NNC General Secretary V Nagi has called on the governments of India and Myanmar to officially recognize Naga sovereignty and the rights of the Naga people. The NNC alleges that the two nations illegally occupied and divided the Naga homeland in 1953 without the consent of the Naga people. The organization traces its political movement back to a 1929 memorandum to the Simon Commission and cites the 1951 plebiscite as a key expression of the people's political will.