News has emerged that the Indian government is looking to end the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Myanmar border, a system that has allowed people from both countries to commute freely in light of familial and ethnic connections. With the border between the two nations currently unfenced, the FMR’s establishment in the 1970s served this transnational community well. The implications of this policy amendment, which comes from local news reports, would mean that residents in the border regions would henceforth need visas to enter India (PTI News).
An anonymous official has reportedly asserted that the FMR will soon be terminated, and that the entire India-Myanmar Border (IMB) will be completely fenced in the next four and a half years, shifting the border control to a system of passports and visas (Hindustan Times).
The FMR policy change comes in the aftermath of Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh’s announcement of the suspension of the FMR with Myanmar and a request to the central government to permanently terminate the agreement (press conference).
The extensive India-Myanmar border, which extends 1,643 km through several provinces, is currently managed by the FMR, initially established in 2018 as a feature of India’s Act East policy. This initiative aimed to foster stronger business and trade relationships with South East Asia and other Indo-Pacific countries (Act East policy). It has also been reported that every member of hill tribes, regardless of citizenship, residing within 16 km of either side of the border, can cross by presenting a border pass with one year’s validity (Indian Express).
However, since May 2023, Manipur has witnessed significant ethnic violence between majority groups leading to over 120 reported deaths and approximately 60,000 people displaced. Combined with recent militant attacks, this instability has raised concerns over potential civil conflict. The FMR repeal could potentially exacerbate these tensions by impairing the free movement of tribal groups in the region.
This report is based on the original coverage by JURIST (Read here).