Infiltrators from across the border : Rational of border fencing
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 04, 2025 -

Clear all roads by March 8. Complete fencing work on both sides of the designated entry points along Manipur’s international border at the earliest.

Entire network involved in the drug trade should be dismantled.

This was Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the first high level security meeting held after the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur and the instructions come close to the understanding of what the doctor would have prescribed after attending to a sick and ailing man.

Border fencing is one step which the Centre had announced some time back, in fact during the peak of the ethnic violence between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos and one just wishes some steps are also taken up to deal with the folks who had illegally intruded into the soil of Manipur and are now settled and have even got themselves admitted in the electoral roll of the State.

How does one identify and pick them up ?

Actuating the National Register of Citizens is one step that comes to mind and there is a reason why this call has found so many takers amongst the indigenous people of Manipur, namely the Nagas and the Meiteis.

The Sangai Express has on more than one occasion pointed out how a Kuki gentleman by the name of Paolienlal Haokip had written in a publication of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies back on May 23, 2002 how over 20,000 Kukis had migrated to Manipur during the Burmanisation programme of Ne Win in 1967.

How many of these 20,000 Kukis have gone back and how many have settled here and are today claiming indigeneity to the land ?

And again recall the exodus of numerous refugees during the military crackdown in Burma in 1988.

The Inner Line Permit System is there no doubt with the base year put at 1961, but can one expect the ILP of weed out the infiltrators ?

A tough call this is and it is along this line that the merit of fencing the Indo-Myanmar border should be acknowledged.

At the same time it is also important to note that a number of Naga civil society organisations have voiced their strong opposition to the decision to fence the border and do away with the Free Movement Regime, with the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) submitting a memorandum to Governor AK Bhalla towards this end on February 26.

The stand of the Nagas is understandable for they are spread across the border and they are not known to have come here and set up new settlements, which is something which cannot be said of the Kuki-Chin tribes.

It was with a reason, why a Naga gentleman minced no words in pointing at at the unnatural growth of Kuki villages from 179 in 1969 to 721 in 2023, which is a jump of over 300 percent. This is in Kangpokpi district.

In a series of articles, the said Naga gentleman went on to elaborate that in the first Manipur Territorial Council (1957 to 1962) out of the 32 MLAs, there were 4 Naga MLAs, 1 Paite MLA and 1 Thadou Kuki MLA.

Likewise in the first Manipur Legislative Assembly (1972 to 1973), there were 13 Naga MLAs and 6 Kuki-Chin MLAs.

Then in the Second Manipur Legislative Assembly the number of Kuki-Chin MLAs increased to 7 while in the third Manipur Legislative Assembly the number of Naga MLAs decreased to 10 while the number of Kuki-Chin MLAs increased to 9.

From the early 1980s, the number of Kuki and Naga MLAs became even with 10 each.

The steady rise in the number of Kuki-Chin MLAs must directly correspond to their abnormal growth in population and the reason why this is being cited now should not be lost on the Naga community.

The first casualty due to the steady influx from across the border has been the Nagas of Manipur.

Again it was with a reason why Phungyar Assembly Constituency MLA Leishiyo Keishing took the Assembly by storm when he drew an alarming picture of the rapid increase in the number of people from across the border.

All these factors should be taken into consideration in trying to understand the rational to fence the international border and do away with the FMR.