Centre to hold high-stakes talks to defuse tension over its border policy in NE

The trajectory of the Centre’s decision to fence the India-Myanmar border and scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between the two countries largely hinges on next week’s high-stakes talks aimed at defusing mounting tensions over the border-management strategy.

The policy has sparked competing responses, particularly in volatile Manipur, where the Meitei community supports the move while the Nagas and Kukis are up in arms against it.

Two pilot projects

Opposition to the Centre’s decision announced last year has gained momentum as work gathered pace on two pilot projects, one each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, to fence the international border using a hybrid surveillance system.

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India shares a 1,643-kilometre-long border with Myanmar. It passes through Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. The demarcation of the 1,472-kilometre border has been completed, according to the Home Ministry. Around 40 kilometres of the border, including around 19 kilometres near Moreh in Manipur has been fenced so far.

The Meitei community of Manipur has been pushing for the fencing of porous India-Myanmar border and scrapping of the FMR, citing concerns over the alleged influx of illegal migrants from the neighbouring country. The demand has been intensified following the outbreak of Meitei-Kuki ethnic conflict in May 2023. Meitei groups alleged that influx of illegal immigrants of Kuki-Zo-Chin ethnicity was posing threat to the state’s demographic profile.

Opposition from Naga community

Amid the continuing ethnic conflict in Manipur, the Home Ministry last year came up with its decision to fence the porous border and end the FMR that allows tribes residing on either side of the international border to travel for 16 km inside each other’s territories without proper travel documents.

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The strongest opposition to the Centre’s decision is now coming from the Naga community in Manipur. Like the Kuki-Zo-Chin people, the Nagas also have communities living on both sides of the India-Myanmar border.

Naga groups both in Manipur and Nagaland vehemently oppose the border policy claiming that it would disrupt the cultural and economic ties of Naga communities living across the border.

The United Naga Council, the umbrella organisation of all the apex bodies of Naga tribes in Manipur, pointed out that the abrogation of the FMR was in violation of the Article 36 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted in 2007.

This article grants indigenous people divided by international borders the right to maintain and develop cross-border relationships for cultural, social, and economic purposes. India, however, is not a signatory to the declaration. But it supported the idea.

Passport rules amended

In a bid to facilitate the people residing on either side of the India-Myanmar border to maintain their historic ties, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 1950 amended the passport rules allowing hill tribes residing within 40 kilometres on either side of the border to travel freely without a passport or visa. The tribal people from Myanmar were even allowed to stay in India for 72 hours.

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The arrangement, however, soon came under scrutiny as Naga and later Meitei and Mizo insurgents started exploiting the system to their advantage. The Naga insurgency dates back to August 1947, while the Meitei insurgency began in 1964 and the Mizo in 1966.

The porous border and free movement turned then Burma (now Myanmar) into a safe haven for these insurgents, prompting India to regulate the border management without disturbing the fraternal ties between communities living on either side of the frontier in 1968.

Permit system

The MHA from August that year introduced a permit system for cross-border travel. But since the border was unfenced and mostly unguarded, people on either side frequently crossed it without a permit. India again reduced the FMR limits to 16 kilometres from 40 kilometres in 2004.

The soft-border approach changed significantly following the MHA’s twin decisions last year, triggering sharp resistance from the tribes residing along the frontier in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. The Centre, of late however, decided to allow restricted entry of people from Myanmar through designated points, after collecting their biometric data.

Those opposing the policy want a complete reversal.

Since fencing work is underway in Manipur, the strongest resistance is also emerging from the state.

Opposing the Centre’s decision, the UNC last month issued a 20-day ultimatum to the Centre to reverse its decision. Upon its expiry, the UNC resolved to announce the mode of agitation and its modus operandi within 15 days.

In response, the Centre invited a Naga delegation from Manipur to New Delhi for a dialogue to defuse the escalating tension.

Meeting on August 26

Confirming that MHA’s north-east adviser A K Mishra had extended the invitation for the meeting scheduled at 11 am on August 26 in New Delhi, the UNC president Ng Lorho told The Federal that an 11-member Naga delegation will take part in the talks. The delegation would leave for New Delhi on August 25.

"The sentiment of the Naga people on the issue should be reflected in the government’s approach," he said, adding that the Nagas would not accept any delaying tactics.

The governments of Nagaland and Mizoram have also voiced strong opposition to the Centre’s border policy, demanding its rollback.

Clearly, the Centre needs to mend fences before it can move forward with its contentious border policy.