Last week, tension over a 33 per cent reservation of seats for women in urban local bodies tipped into violence. On February 1, two men died in police firing in Dimapur. A day later, on February 2, rampaging mobs took over the streets of Nagaland’s capital Kohima, burning down the Kohima Municipal Council office, the Kohima Press Club, and the local Intelligence Bureau office among other things. However, the conflict over women’s reservation that sparked off the violence itself, has been brewing for at least seven years.

What appeared initially to be a sudden, violent display of patriarchy is, however, a far more complicated mix of factors. The undeniably patriarchal nature of traditional Naga society is only one key ingredient. It’s actually a debate on the conditions and entitlements of Article 371 A that has turned Nagaland into a tinderbox.

“It’s a long story,” said former chief minister and the sole sitting Member of Lok Sabha from Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio. “The state government took a wrong decision and wrong action and it affected people very badly.”

Rio was chief minister of Nagaland for three consecutive terms, between 2003 to 2014. He’s well-versed enough on constitutional matters to be able to rattle off Article 371a of the Constitution of India, which grants special status to Nagaland, verbatim. Under this provision, no Act of Parliament can apply to Nagaland in respect of religious or social practices of the Nagas and Naga customary law unless approved by the Nagaland Assembly. “We are not against women’s participation, but there should be dialogue. At present, there is apprehension that there is some agenda,” he says.

Though Rio did not explicitly say so, the “agenda” many in Nagaland including the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (which is spearheading the protests) suspect is that reservations for women is a ploy to start diluting Article 371a.

During Rio’s time as chief minister, the state government had passed a resolution that it would not implement the national law granting 33 per cent reservation to women. Rio said he had meant to bring in a separate law for the state, but that did not happen.

The former CM considers the issue to be related to the process by which Nagaland was integrated into India in 1947. Nagaland had not got independence, he said, but it had got protection under Article 371 A. There are ongoing negotiations, he pointed out, that have been ongoing since 1997, to bring the “other half” (he means members of Naga separatist movements) into the mainstream.

The present administration in Nagaland is headed by TR Zeliang, who like Rio is a member of the Naga People’s Front, the dominant local party and an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The alliance, though, is a troubled one and there are internal dissensions in both parties.

Rio said that when he was chief minister, the government had tried to hold municipal elections with 33 per cent reservations for women in Mokokchung town, in 2008. “But no one came forward as the Hohos opposed it,” he said.

The Naga Hoho is an apex body representing members from traditional institutions of various Naga tribes.

“Following discussions with tribal leaders, we had passed a unanimous resolution and requested the women to withdraw the case so we could hold a dialogue to accommodate them,” he said. “They did not listen. So the tribal leaders said, we will not listen to the court order also.”

The genesis of the present crisis dates back to events in December 2009. The state government, then headed by Rio, decided to indefinitely postpone elections to municipal and town councils. Polls were due as the terms of the existing councils were expiring.

Meanwhile, in 2006, the provision for 33 per cent reservation for women had passed into law in Nagaland. If fresh elections were to be held, 33 percent seats would have to be reserved for women – and the Naga traditional bodies were unwilling to allow this.

The Rio government anticipated – correctly, as it turns out – that there would be a law and order problem if the state went ahead with elections under the new rules.

Women’s groups, unhappy with the decision, went to court.

Rosemary Dzuvichu, advisor of the Naga Mothers Association, said they took the matter to court about six years ago. There were no protests then, she said, but in recent times, she and fellow petitioner, Abieu Meru, president of the NMA, have come under great pressure. “We have withdrawn our petition,” she said. An application has been submitted to the Supreme Court to withdraw the petition.

“We’ve had town committees with women members. They just don’t want reserved constituencies for women”, says Dzuvichu. “The whole issue has been politicised.”

Article 371a has nothing to do with women’s reservation, argued Dzuvichu. “We have been part of the decades-long peace process,” she says. “We have said, even if a Naga Constitution is to be drafted, discriminatory practices against women have to be excluded…We are not trying to do away with Article 371a.” In villages, 25 per cent reservation for women is being followed already through the Village Development Boards, Dzuvichu pointed out. “This is about sanitation, roads, water supply…how will a municipal election upset the peace process?” she asked.

Yet, with the focus on Article 371a and Nagaland’s special status, the situation is fraught.

Before violence exploded in Nagaland, a meeting, brokered by the Baptist church council, was held in Dimapur on January 30, to find a way out of the impasse. At that meeting, the government and the tribal bodies agreed to postpone municipal polls by two months. A day later, on January 31, following a directive from the Gauhati High Court, the government went back on its promise.

“It was a bad idea to come to an agreement brokered by the church and do a U-turn a day later,” said a source who declined to be identified. Not all Nagas are good Christians, he said, but insulting the church is not something they brook. “Now all the bodies are upset…the Hohos, the church, all.” Nagaland’s Home Minister Y Patton clarified this was a result of misunderstanding, but the damage has been done.

A proponent of Naga traditional institutions based in Kohima said the rumours of Chief Minister Zeliang trying to merge his party with the BJP, and of the governor being an RSS man, have further damaged the already-volatile situation. “There is suspicion that the intelligence agencies, and the BJP and RSS, are trying to create schisms in Naga society with the help of the national media,” he said.

Amba Jamir, Executive Director of Sustainable Development Forum Nagaland, offered another explanation. “The basic bone of contention is on why the government should levy taxes on land that – in spite of being urban – continues to be under the respective Village Councils. They (protesters) feel that this goes against the rights prescribed under Article 371a.” He added, “It will not be right for one to say that this is about inheritance,” pointing out that the stewardship of ancestral property traditionally goes to the eldest son, meaning even younger brothers are denied.

A senior journalist based in Nagaland indicated political power play as a crucial factor. Former CM Rio is trying to make a comeback in state politics, and the Naga underground groups, with whom he enjoyed excellent relations, are frustrated with the slow progress of the peace process. They are fishing in troubled waters, the journalist warned.

The Nagaland Tribes Action Committee has rejected appeals for dialogue from the chief minister, and warned of “most extreme steps” if he does not step down.

So what happens next? “Civil society groups are firm on their stand. The CM and cabinet are also firm on their stand,” said Nagaland Assembly Speaker Chotisuh Sazo. “What will happen next is unpredictable.”

Women – and men – in Nagaland, face an uncertain future.

The author can be contacted at samrat.choudhury@gmail.com.