Naga organisations in Manipur urge PM, HM to halt fencing of India-Myanmar border

Imphal, Several Naga organisations in Manipur on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to immediately halt the fencing of India-Myanmar border and to restore the Free Movement Regime (FMR) within 20 days.

The Naga organisations, which included the United Naga Council, All Naga Students' Association, Manipur, Naga Women's Union and Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights South submitted the petition through Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

The Raj Bhavan in an official statement said that representatives of UNC, ANSAM, NWU, and NPMHR-S met Governor Bhalla on Tuesday.

"During the meeting, the representatives expressed concerns over ongoing developments impacting the hill areas, particularly in relation to the Free Movement Regime and border fencing," it said, adding that the "governor acknowledged the grievances raised and said that the matter would be looked into."

Expressing strong resentment against abrogation of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and the accelerated ongoing border fencing construction along the India-Myanmar border, the Naga civil organisations said several forms of protests, including "picketing of government offices in Naga inhabited areas have been undertaken along with protest rallies in Naga inhabited hill districts."

Serving a twenty-day ultimatum, the Naga organisations said "the government of India must revoke the notification/order related to the abrogation of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) immediately."

The government's revised border guidelines issued in December 2024 limit cross-border movement under FMR to just 10 km from the border and impose a "border pass" system.

Under the earlier FMR, every member of the hill tribes, who is either a citizen of India or a citizen of Myanmar and who is resident of any area within 16 km on either side of the border, can cross over on production of a border pass with one year's validity and can stay up to two weeks per visit.