The Indian government has extended the ban on the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) [NSCN(K)] for another five years, citing the group's involvement in activities that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of India. The ban, which includes all factions, wings, and front organizations associated with NSCN(K), will be effective from September 28, 2025.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a notification stating the extension is due to NSCN(K)'s secessionist aims to create a sovereign Nagaland by incorporating Naga-inhabited areas of the Indo-Myanmar region. The MHA also noted the group's alignment with other unlawful associations, including the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) [ULFA (I)], the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), and the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
The government believes that the NSCN(K)'s activities are detrimental to India's sovereignty and integrity. According to the MHA, if these activities are not immediately curbed and controlled, the NSCN(K) may further regroup and rearm itself, expand its cadres, procure sophisticated weapons, cause loss of lives of civilians and security forces, and thereby accelerate its anti-national activities.
The NSCN(K) has been a banned organization for decades, with the ban being extended every five years. S.S. Khaplang, a Myanmarese Naga, led the group for decades until his death in 2017. Currently, the outfit is run by two of his deputies. The NSCN-K's rival faction, the NSCN-IM, is currently engaged in peace negotiations with the central government to find a lasting peaceful solution to the long-standing insurgency problem in Nagaland.
Several activities involving NSCN (K) cadres have been noted between September 28, 2020, and April 30 of this year. The state governments of Nagaland, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh have also recommended declaring NSCN(K) as an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The ban has been imposed under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
