The Central government’s move to abolish Free Movement Regime (FMR) that allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other’s territory without visa has evoked sharp reaction in the state. The Congress and NPF have voiced apprehensions regarding the Centre’s decision. Earlier this week, the Rising People’s Party (RPP) also described the Centre’s move as “alarming and a wake-up call for Nagas”.
The 1,643-km-long India-Myanmar border, which passes through Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, currently has FMR. It was introduced in 2018 as part of India’s Act East Policy (AEP).
Acknowledging that FMR was within the Central government’s jurisdiction and was intricately tied to international border concerns and internal security, Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president S Supongmeren Jamir however pointed that its annulment posed potential challenges to AEP, regional trade, and economic relationships, particularly in the north-eastern region (NER).
He stressed on the need for government to propose viable alternatives that would allow continuation of trade centres in accordance with AEP. Emphasising the role of FMR in fostering human relationships and facilitating economic policies, he cautioned that its hasty abolition could adversely affect the special relationship between NER and Myanmar, especially with the Myanmar Nagas.
Calling for a measured and thoughtful approach, he urging the Centre to thoroughly evaluate the potential consequences and formulate improved arrangements before deciding to abolish the FMR.
He also emphasised considering the broader impact on human relationships, economic policies, and the unique ties between the Northeast and neighbouring countries like Myanmar.
Former NPCC president K Therie accused the central government of not showing any interest in NER. He pointed out that FMR could not be controlled because border did not have any security fencing, adding that Centre could not even differentiate between Nagas of Nagaland and Nagas of Myanmar, Meiteis and Kukis of India and Myanmar. He said many tribes lived in both the nations.
He asserted that the decision to end FMR would just be on papers, because in reality it was not possible at all. “The only thing is we people on both sides of the border have to unite our hearts and respect each other. Unless we build that kind of relation, then it is not possible to demarcate the boundaries to control the influx,” Therie stressed.
He claimed that many students and people from Myanmar were living not just in Nagaland or Northeast, but even in other frontier states. He warned that the decision to end FMR would be a total disaster and would not be a possible thing to implement.
NPF legislator Achumbemo Kikon declared that his party did not subscribe to the view of fencing the border along the “so-called international border”.
He claimed that Naga areas in Burma were very much an integral part of ancestral Naga homeland, and hence there should be no restriction whatsoever in the movement of Naga people from either side of the border.
Kikon reiterated that NPF’s stand on integration of Naga homeland did not only confine to Naga areas in the Indian Union but also the Naga areas in Myanmar, asserting that the party would continue to pursue till it was achieved.
In a statement, RPP had pointed out that Nagas were already the most geographically-divided people, the party cautioned that the move would only heighten the divide among them. He therefore stressed that any policy that aimed to further divide Nagas should be opposed tooth and nail.
The RPP urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to uphold the age-old mechanism that allowed people across borders “to converge and live as honourable peoples, whether Nagas or Zo-Kuki.”