Rungsung Suisa

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Rungsung Suisa (4 March 1907 – 17 April 1971) was an Indian politician and a key voice in the effort to unite Naga-populated areas in Manipur with the Naga Hills (Nagaland). He was popularly known as "Uncle Suisa." He belonged to the Tangkhul Naga tribe and came from Somdal in Ukhrul district. He studied at Jorhat Christian High School and was among the first hill youths to finish matriculation.

In 1946, he was chosen by the President Manipur State Darbar to join the Constitution-Making Committee, but he did not attend the first session. On 13 August 1947, he chaired a meeting of hill leaders demanding that hill peoples be allowed to secede from Manipur after five years. The committee did not accept this, and the new constitution placed hill administration under the Maharaja.

In 1948, Suisa was elected unopposed to the Manipur State Assembly. A 1949 visit to Burma introduced him to the Communist Party of Burma, which radicalized his politics. He became a member of the Manipur Electoral College in 1951.

In 1957, Suisa was elected to the Lok Sabha (the Indian Parliament) from Outer Manipur as an Indian National Congress candidate, receiving 21,316 votes (about 26% of the votes in the constituency). He served on various parliamentary committees.

In 1962, the Manipur Naga Council boycotted the general election, and Suisa was detained at Dum Dum for about a year. From 1964 to 1966, he served as assistant to the vice president of the Naga National Council.

In October 1966, after a peace talks deadlock, he proposed a confederation solution: shared foreign and military responsibilities with India, but full Naga sovereignty over internal affairs. He aimed to mediate between the Indian government and Naga leaders. Indira Gandhi was reportedly open to the idea, but the NNC opposed it, insisting on full independence.

In June 1967, Suisa traveled to London with Vizol Koso to present the proposal to Zapu Phizo, who rejected it.