NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday announced that the Centre has decided to fence the entire 1,643-km India-Myanmar border, which would in all probability end the Free Movement Regime (FMR) prevalent along the existing porous border.
Noting that the Narendra Modi government is committed to building impenetrable borders, Shah in a social media post said, “It has been decided to construct a fence along the entire 1643-kilometer-long Indo-Myanmar border. To facilitate better surveillance, a patrol track along the border will also be paved.”
He went on to add that a 10-km stretch of the border in Moreh in Manipur has already been fenced and furthermore two pilot projects of fencing through a hybrid surveillance system are under execution.
The FMR facilitates people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other’s territory without any document.
The FMR along the India-Myanmar border, which passes through Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, was introduced by the Modi government in 2018 as part of India’s Act East policy.
Imphal Valley-based Meitei groups have long been demanding fencing along the border, particularly after ethnic violence in the state, which started in May last year. They have been alleging that tribal militants often enter into India through the porous borders.
The Meitei groups also allege that narcotics are being smuggled into India taking advantage of the unfenced international border.
Manipur shares around 390 km of border with Myanmar, but only about 10 km has been fenced so far. In July last year, the state government shared data with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that around 700 illegal immigrants entered the state.
Mizoram has also seen an influx of anti-junta rebels in the thousands since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021. According to government estimates, several thousand refugees are living in different parts of Mizoram since the coup. Mizoram shares a 510-km-long border with Myanmar.
Apart from Manipur and Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh shares a 520-km border with Myanmar and Nagaland shares a 215-km border with the country.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh too had said that several people from Myanmar tried to enter into his state but returned on seeing the presence of a large number of security personnel.
On February 3, after meeting Shah, the Manipur chief minister had said the Centre was going to take “some important decisions” in the interests of the people of the state.
Singh had also held a meeting with senior officials of the MHA at the North Block and had “a productive discussion on the strategic measures undertaken for fostering peace in troubled Manipur”.
Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023 after a tribal solidarity march was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. More than 200 people have been killed in the violence.
