Nagaland is a state in northeastern India. It is a remote and hilly territory, lying to the south of the Brahmaputra River, with Burma to the east. The state is best known for its once warlike tribal population, which took part in the practice of headhunting until the early 1900's.
Nagaland is bordered on its south, west, and north by the Indian states of Manipur, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh. It shares an international border with Burma to its east.
Parallel ranges of mountains run from north to south. They have some of the richest forest cover left in India. Evergreen forests are most common below 1,200 metres.

Climate: Nagaland has a pleasant, temperate climate. But it has very heavy rainfall in the summer monsoon months. Winter temperatures range from an average minimum of 8 °C to an average maximum of 15 °C in January.
These rise to an average maximum of 25 °C in May and again in August, with average minimum temperatures through the summer of about 19 °C. The whole area has relatively dry winters, receiving less than 10 centimetres of rain between December and March. However, rainfall in the summer is very heavy, giving an annual total of over 180 centimetres in Kohima.

Tourist Centres: This remote hilly area is covered with luxuriant vegetation, the climate is cool and bracing, the people are friendly and hospitable. In season, the landscape is a riot of colors-wild flowers, thick forests, huge trees, tall grass, a wide variety of wild animals and brilliantly coloured birds.

History. The various tribes and tribal groups making up the people of Nagaland came from various regions including Burma and Tibet. They settled in the remote hill country of Nagaland long ago, but experts do not know precisely when. The Nagas have rich and colourful collections of poetry, folk songs, and tales that preserve many ancient legends. This folklore has been passed down from generation to generation. But there is no written account of the early history of Nagaland.

The earliest written references to the Nagas date from the 1200's. At this time, a people called the Ahoms settled in Assam and came into contact with the Naga tribes. According to Ahom chronicles, there were occasional conflicts, but Ahom and Naga chiefs generally had friendly relations. However, raids by one Naga village against another were a feature of life in the hilly areas, and the Nagas decorated their morungs with the skulls of enemies slain in battle.

Until the 1800's, the Nagas led a fairly isolated existence, untouched by the great historical development that affected most other parts of the Indian subcontinent. Then, in 1819, the Burmese invaded Assam and occupied it for seven years. In 1826, the British extended their rule to Assam. They sent out the first of several expeditions to the northeast region in 1832. Although fiercely resisted by the Nagas, the British eventually annexed the area, known as Naga Hills, in 1881.

The British occupation brought about many deep-rooted changes in the life of the Naga peoples. The British administrators put a stop to headhunting and raids between villages. They also encouraged Christian missionaries to enter the region. The missionaries successfully converted most Nagas to Christianity, although largely by force and set up educational centres.
With education came the growth of political awareness among the Nagas which created political insurgency in the region. Many Nagas sought political independence for their highland territory. In 1946, the people formed the Naga National Council with the aim of uniting the whole region in its fight for political rights. In 1947, some sections of the Naga people demanded full political sovereignty as a state separate from India. The government of a newly independent India refused to accept such a demand, and some Nagas took to armed rebellion in an effort to gain independence. The area remained in a rebellious political condition for much of the 1950's.

Eventually, negotiations between the Indian government and the Nagas led to the integration of the region into the Indian republic. Nagaland became a full state of the Indian Union in 1963. Some rebel forces continued to press for full independence, carrying out guerrilla warfare and bandit raids. But their political influence gradually declined.