By Rabindra Nath Sinha
KOLKATA: Clarification offered on August 21 by director general of Assam Rifles Lt-Gen Vikas Lakhera, AVSM, SM about Myanmarese nationals entering India under the Free Movement Regime (FMR) effective from last week of December 2024 has given an opportunity to the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), a representative civil society organization in Manipur, to reiterate that their community people are not illegal immigrants nor have they entered India in recent times.
KZC has further asserted: “We are the indigenous sons and daughters of this land, whose history and existence in the hills of Manipur long predate the present political boundaries”. Attempts to brand Kuki-Zos otherwise mark a continuation of the divisive and discriminatory politics of Biren Singh, whose tenure as chief minister was marked by communal prejudice and anti-Kuki-Zo policies.
Lt-Gen Lakhera’s clarification followed a seminar Assam Rifles organized the previous day, that is, Wednesday, August 20 at the Manipur University premises as part of an academic collaboration between Assam Rifles and the university. FMR was the theme. The importance of the Assam Rifles initiative has to be gauged from the fact that this old, prominent security establishment is practically in charge of administering FMR along the 398 km Manipur-Myanmar border, which has been at the centre of controversy since February 2021 when a junta assumed control of Myanmar and the country witnessed the emergence of resistance forces opposed to the junta. Myanmarese people crossing over the to the Indian side has been an issue since then and former chief minister’s regular refrain has been that a large number of illegal immigrants in Manipur are Kuki-Zos who have been engaging themselves in illegal activity, such as, smuggling and poppy cultivation.
What did Lt-Gen Lakhera say on August 21 in clarification? After the new FMR policy came into effect, the Myanmarese nationals entering India through crossing points are now being mapped. Since December [2024] 42,000 individuals have been mapped with the help of biometrics and various measures put in place by all involved government agencies, whom the data is being shared. These Myanmarese citizens stay temporarily in India’s north-eastern states of Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh and “eventually revert to their country as per the provisions of the new FMR policy”.
Thus, the situation that has evolved after the Assam Rifles DG’s clarification lends itself to two interpretations: first, Lt-Gen Lakhera’s observation has been found comforting by KZC and secondly, KZC has utilized the occasion to target the immediate past Manipur chief minister, who is one of the tall Meitei leaders known for strong anti-Kuki-Zo bias.
This is evident from the strongly-worded KZC statement of August 21, which records that Biren Singh “in his usual haste and malice” has twisted facts given by Assam Rifles chief to once again propagate in social media post his false narrative of illegal immigrants in Manipur. KZC sees it as an attempt to vilify their community and further inflame tensions in an already fragile situation. KZC has also accused sections of the media for echoing the ex-CM’s narrative and stigmatising an entire community, instead of abiding by established norms of journalistic integrity.
[FMR and fencing along the India-Myanmar border are live issues in Manipur and the principle opponent of fencing and “scrapping” of FMR is the Naga community in Manipur. In January this year, opposition was also voiced by Aizwal-based Mizo Zirlai Paw, which is the Mizo Students’ Association].
It appears there is no formal order on scrapping FMR. As it is an international matter, India’s external affairs ministry naturally should be in the picture. It looks like it is an in-principle decision, based on which directives on what has to be done have been given to officials. From published reports it is seen that an intention to scrap FMR was first announced by Union home minister Amit Shah in February 2024 taking into account the then raging ethnic conflict in Manipur and the complicated situation on the Manipur stretch of India-Myanmar border.
It is, however, a fact that New Delhi tightened FMR between India and Myanmar in the last week of December 2024 and cross-border movement was restricted to 10 km of the frontier from 16 km. The intended scrapping of FMR was, perhaps, not carried out keeping in view the difficulties people on either side would face. When started as a formal system in the 1950s, it was not officially called FMR. But, the arrangement was liberal ; there was no question of visas or passports. Movement on either side was allowed for up to 40 km. The key consideration then was to allow tribes who share familial, social and ethnic relations on both sides of the border to keep in touch with their people.
This means that the distance for the movement facility between the 1950s and last week of December 2024 has been reduced from 40 km to 16 km to 10 km. Under New Delhi’s latest strategy, the entry is to be regulated from 43 designated border crossing points where Assam Rifles is to be in charge of issuing border passes. Movement from the designated crossing points is to be allowed to holders of border passes and the same will entail ‘single entry of person’ for a stay up to seven days at a time within 10 km of the India-Myanmar border. On return the passes are to be deposited at the same crossing point where those were issued. The purposes for which passes can be utilized are: visiting relatives, tourism, business, sports, official duty, medical treatment, border trade, participation in seminars / meetings / conferences and cultural exchange. [The number of crossing points being operationalised is gradually increasing]. (IPA Service)
