ANSAM shuts govt offices in Manipur’s Naga hills to protest FMR scrapping

Government offices across Manipur’s Naga-inhabited hill districts were paralysed on Monday, the first day of a five-day “office picketing” campaign launched by the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM), reports Indian Express.
The protest is in response to the Central Government’s decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and commence border fencing along the India-Myanmar border in areas inhabited by the Naga community.
According to Naga leaders, most government offices in the districts of Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong, and Chandel remained closed throughout the day.
Describing the protest as a “people’s movement”, ANSAM said it was a stand against the imposition of border fencing through ancestral Naga lands and the unilateral scrapping of the FMR along what it termed the “imaginary Indo-Myanmar/Burma border.”
The student body instructed all its constituent and subordinate units to enforce the picketing strictly within their jurisdictions, stating the action was “in defence of our ancestral homeland and the integrity of Naga families.”
Earlier, ANSAM had argued that the India-Myanmar border is an “imposed imaginary line” that arbitrarily divides families and communities without their consent or understanding. It said the Naga population on both sides of this “artificial” border has long suffered historical injustice.
The FMR agreement, introduced in 2018 as part of the Centre’s Act East policy, allowed residents within 16 kilometres of the international border to travel freely into each other’s territories without travel documents. It was intended to enhance cross-border ties, facilitate trade, and integrate the Northeast with Southeast Asian economies.
However, in light of the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur, the Centre recently scrapped the FMR, citing national security concerns and the need to preserve the demographic balance in border regions.
The move has drawn strong opposition from tribal organisations in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. Many view the decision as “biased” and detrimental to the interests of borderland tribal communities, particularly those with significant populations straddling both sides of the international boundary.