WEDNESDAY, JULY 02, 2025
The Forgotten People: Myanmar Nagas in Crisis
Published on May 30, 2025
By EMN
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- 1. Coup d’état as Apocalypse: The Collapse of Stability
- Among Myanmar’s 135 officially recognised ethnic groups, the Naga people remain one of the most underdeveloped and marginalised. Located primarily in the country’s northwestern frontier, the Naga communities have long faced chronic neglect in key sectors such as education, healthcare, economic development and infrastructure. The military coup in 2021 further deepened their struggles, creating what many describe as an existential crisis, a turning point akin to an apocalypse for the Naga people. In the wake of the coup, many Naga youth were forced to flee their homes, driven by fear of persecution, economic collapse and more recently, the enforcement of the military conscription law.
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- 2. Conscription as Nightmare: A Generation on the Run
- Introduced as a means to bolster the junta’s manpower, this conscription policy has become a nightmare for young people across Myanmar, particularly for those in already vulnerable communities like the Nagas. Students and young adults now face a dire choice: serve in a brutal regime or flee into uncertainty. The majority of those who flee leave without passports or any form of legal documentation.
- These displaced youths, many of whom are students, have taken shelter in countries like India, Thailand, Malaysia and Laos, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. Young Naga women also seek employment in West Asian countries, including Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. While these nations offer labour opportunities, they pose profound cultural, legal, and ethical challenges, especially for young women. They often take up jobs as domestic workers in these countries.
- The cultural and religious environments are starkly different from what they are familiar with: conservative norms, gender expectations and language barriers make them vulnerable. They face the risk of exploitation, abuse, isolation and even trafficking. In some reported cases, these young women have endured harsh working conditions without legal protection. Meanwhile, young Naga men take up low-paying and physically demanding jobs in construction, agriculture and other labour-intensive sectors in neighbouring countries such as India, Thailand, Malaysia and Laos. Like their female counterparts, they are trapped in a cycle of economic exploitation, limited mobility and constant fear of arrest or deportation.
- The recent amendments to Myanmar’s military conscription law have worsened this situation. Under the new provisions, individuals who fail to comply with conscription orders face up to three years in prison. This law has effectively barred many young people including Naga students from Myanmar from obtaining essential legal documents. As a result, they are unable to apply for admission to colleges or universities abroad where such documents are mandatory. The situation is further exacerbated by the lack of advocacy and institutional support to help them navigate these barriers. Even international scholarship programs designed for Burmese students are now out of reach for many Naga youth due to their undocumented status.
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- 3. Future Denied: The Cost of Neglect in Education
- The lack of civil society structures to support secular education in the Naga community is a serious concern. While churches and religious associations offer some assistance, this support is largely limited to theological education. Unlike other ethnic communities in Myanmar, Nagas do not have NGOs or advocacy groups dedicated to supporting students access to higher education. As a result, the younger generation is left without guidance and mentorship to pursue academic goals.
- What future lies ahead for a community whose youth are deprived of education, uprooted from their homeland and scattered across borders without legal protection? Can a nation progress if its next generation is forced to choose between survival and schooling? The answer is as clear as it is painful: No. Education is the cornerstone of empowerment, dignity and progress. Denying it means sentencing a people to continued marginalisation and erasure. Without strategic investment in education and human capital, the Naga people in Myanmar will remain trapped in a cycle of poverty, exploitation and voicelessness. But with support, they can become powerful agents of change not just for their own communities, but for a more inclusive and equitable future for Myanmar as a whole.
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- Chan Seth
- BA 6th Semester, International Relations
- North East Christian University
- Dimapur, Nagaland
Nagaland Districts
