Perennial boundary row
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: January 26, 2023 -

PREDICTABLY, the boundary dispute in Manipur sector of the India-Myanmar has cropped up yet again and stalled the border fencing project in areas covered by pillar number 81.

Ever since the Union government initiated border fencing work, villagers settling along the border belt had been expressing doubt that the project implementing agencies wouldn’t honour public sentiment and make compromise with Manipur’s territory in case of slightest discord over land with neighbouring country.

In fact, the villagers’ apprehension had been vindicated multiple times in the past if one takes into account of reports about intrusion by Myanmarese military personnel and damages caused to houses and other structures of villagers on the Indian side of the border.

The border villagers’ appeals to the state and Central authorities to talk to their Myanmar counterparts to enable settlers in the remote border areas dwell with a sense of security only evoke positive response, that too hesitatingly, when the military intruders exhibited hostility.

For instance, the Haolenphai incident that occurred some years back when Myanmarese military intruded and wreaked havoc in the border viWage testified hostile attitude and conduct of the immediate international neighbour, their military personnel in particular.

While intrusion and subsequent torching of a saw mill in Haolenphai village was political as well as military implication of disagreement over border fencing project in many areas along the border, one also cannot brush aside the villagers’ contentions that Myanmarese army often resorts to shifting and arbitrarily installing border pillars well into the Indian territory.

Protracted failure to iron out the boundary differences also led to suspicion that authorities of Indian forces deployed in the disputed border areas as well as top officials of Myanmar military units stationed along the international boundary have no concern whether or not their indecision/temerity would be detrimental in cementing the Indo-Myanmar trade relations.

Contrary to national leaders in New Delhi periodically asserting that India wouldn’t cede an inch of the country’s land to anybody, apparent absence of similar firm resolve when boundary disputes crop up in Manipur is also one of the reasons for the people here doubting commitment and determination of the government to safeguard the state’s territory.

That there is substance in the villagers’ apprehension and suspicion of the government apathy to the boundary issue has been established yet again as the fencing work being carried out along the Indo-Myanmar boundary near border pillar number 81 by BRTF has been put on hold till an amicable solution could be arrived at.

While it is heartening that an official team of the government of Manipur led by minister Letpao Haokip on Tuesday carried out joint spot inspection of the disputed locations with the villagers and decided to suspend the fencing work, it is imperative that the government convey the ground reality to the central authorities for engaging the Myanmarese government so that the boundary discord could be resolved permanently, failing which it is obvious that New Delhi’s continuous thrust for actual implementation and reaping fruit of the much-hyped Act East Policy would remain just a wishful thinking.