Thousands of people cheered Wednesday for the arrival of Thuingaleng Muivah, a top Naga insurgent leader, to his hometown in India’s northeastern Manipur state for the first time in five decades.

Men and women in traditional Naga attire carrying spears and wearing feathered headgear welcomed the 91-year-old leader in Ukhrul village.

They waved the Naga flag, which has a blue background with a rainbow across the center and a white star in the top left corner.

“It means a lot for all of us Nagas”, Chansung Yangya, a resident said.

The Naga insurgency began in the 1950s as a fight for independence.

Violence has waned since a 1997 ceasefire between India and Muivah’s group, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), but talks remain stalled over demands for a separate flag and constitution.

Muivah is currently leading peace talks with India’s federal government seeking greater political rights for the Naga people.

Muivah left home to join the Naga independence movement in 1964, visiting his home state once in 1973.

His last attempt to visit his hometown in 2010 was met with a ban on his entry by the Manipur state government and triggered large-scale deadly protests.

AP Video shot by Anupam Nath