The National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) is a Naga separatist outfit in northeastern India.  Formed as a splinter group in 1988, the NSCN-K has been responsible for numerous attacks on Indian security forces and other militant groups in the region.  The NSCN-K states that its goal is an independent Nagaland state consisting of all ethnic Naga territories with a Socialist government based on Maoist principles.    <P><br />The Naga people are a mainly Christian ethnic group that inhabits the northeastern Indian states of Nagaland, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as parts of Burma. Fiercely independent, the Naga have waged a decades-long insurgency against India, which has led to thousands of deaths on both sides. <P><br />After the foundation of independent India in 1947, Naga tribes, who had previously tolerated British rule, refused to join the newly established Indian Union. Under the Naga National Council (NNC), which was formed in 1946 to agitate for independence, Naga separatists waged war against the Indian army. These insurgents demanded an independent state of greater Nagaland comprising all Naga-inhabited areas (at the time these areas were all located within the Indian state of Assam or in Burma.) In 1956, the NNC founded the underground Naga Federal Government (NFG), which led the Indian government to step up counter-insurgency actions. This crackdown sapped the strength of the insurgents, and in 1960, representatives of the NNC signed an agreement with the Indian government, in which a separate state of Nagaland would be formed from the state of Assam. This state would not be independent, but would be a part of the Indian Union. <P><br />Numerous extremists within the NNC rejected the 1960 agreement and continued their armed campaign. In 1975, after incurring heavy losses from the Indian Army, most NNC rebels agreed to lay down their arms and accept Indian sovereignty by signing the Shillong Accord. Again, certain extremists in the Naga camp rejected peace with India, and shortly after the accord was signed, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) was formed to continue the armed struggle for Naga independence. <P><br />The NSCN was the direct predecessor of the NSCN-K. Founded in 1980 by Isak Chisi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah, and S.S. Khaplang, the NSCN was dedicated to an independent Nagaland based on an odd mix of Maoist ideology and Christian spirituality. <P><br />However, factional disputes in 1988 led the NSCN to split into the NSCN-K (led by S.S. Khaplang) and the NSCN-IM (led by Muivah and Swu).  Khaplang and his followers suspected that Muivah and Swu had planned to initiate peace talks with the Indian government.  From this point on, the NSCN-K would be engaged in heavy fighting with their Naga rivals in addition to conflict with the government, military, and other ethnic rebel groups in the region.  <P><br />Although the NSCN-K declared a cease-fire in April 2001 (renewed in April 2005), the group has been responsible for numerous attacks in India and Burma, where the NSCN-K is reportedly based.  The bulk of violence committed by the group has been against the NSCN-IM and ethnic Kuki militias (with whom the Naga have a longstanding rivalry), although innocent civilians have also been killed or suffered at the hands of the NSCN-K.  The group is funded mainly through extortion and drug-running.  In addition to rivalries with other militant outfits, the NSCN-K has reportedly trained and collaborated with the United Liberation Front of Assam, National Democratic Front of Bodoland, and the United National Liberation Front, among others.<br />