In an interview with EastMojo, Anthony N Shimray, who identified himself as the Army Chief of the NSCN-IM (Isak-Muivah faction), described the Naga political struggle in explicitly religious terms and outlined what he said were the group’s sources of strength.
Shimray said the movement was rooted in a divine purpose and characterised it as a “holy war”, arguing its endurance depended more on popular backing and faith than on military capability. He told EastMojo the group maintains relationships with what he called “sympathetic countries”, including forces opposed to India, which he said helped sustain the struggle.
Rejecting the notion that weapons alone decided outcomes, Shimray emphasised community support as the movement’s principal asset, calling it the organisation’s “secret weapon”. He described a territorial reach that, he said, extends across Naga-inhabited areas and adjoining regions including parts of Arunachal, Assam, Nagaland’s hill districts and across the border into Myanmar.
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The army chief framed the campaign in moral and religious terms, saying the cause had divine sanction and drawing parallels with classical strategy to argue that political victories could be won without direct conflict. He urged youth to uphold the movement’s vision rather than focus on individual leaders, and repeatedly stressed the religious basis of the claim to nationhood.
Shimray also addressed questions about tactics and succession, describing himself as an instrument of a broader people’s movement and insisting that the struggle would continue so long as youth and communities remained committed. His remarks linked historical narratives, religion and political rights as the movement’s sustaining rationale.
The interview contains a number of declaratory and ideological claims by a senior member of an armed group. EastMojo sought comment from security and civil authorities on the assertions made by Shimray; no official response had been received at the time of publication.
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