On January 20, Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Guwahati said that the 1,643 km long India-Myanmar border would soon be fenced and the Centre would formally end the Free Movement Regime agreement with Myanmar. The agreement allows people living on either side of the border to travel up to 16 km into the other country without any visa.
This statement of Shah hasn’t been well received by many, including the Nagas, in the northeastern region. The reason is that many families are divided by the international border, illogically drawn by British colonialists without considering the sentiments of the locals.
Take for example the village of Longwa located in the Mon district of the northeastern state. This village with a population of over 6000 is a unique one in the country as half of the village is located in India and the other half in Myanmar. As a result, the citizens of this village enjoy dual citizenship, which otherwise isn’t extended to other Indian citizens. The most interesting fact is that there are 170 households, including the chief Angh (traditional leader) of this village Tonyei Phawang, exactly on the borderline. His house is divided in such a way that the bedroom lies in India while the living room is in Myanmar. This week the chief angh asked the state chief minister Neiphiu Rio to oppose the Centre’s decision to scrap FMR and construction of the border fence.
No doubt that the Centre is now reconsidering the FMR agreement with national security in mind as a result of the current internal turmoil in Myanmar, it, however, shouldn’t ignore the concerns of the locals, who are going to be affected by this decision. The Centre has the right to introduce regulatory measures to prevent illegal migrants from Myanmar entering into India but it should allow the borders with Myanmar to remain porous keeping in mind the ground realities of the locals, like that of the residents of the Longwa village. It shouldn’t follow the senseless path of the British colonialists.
In the northeastern Himalayan state of Sikkim, where state assembly polls are only two months away, the issue of political violence refuses to die down. This week the chief ministerial candidate of Citizen Action Party Ganesh Rai and his supporters were attacked by miscreants during a rally at Soreng falling under Soreng-Chakung assembly constituency. Along with this, this week Subash Sotang Rai from Rinchenpong constituency, a worker from the Sikkim Democratic Front, the state’s main Opposition party, was attacked. In all attacks, obviously, the allegations are against the cadres of the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha.
This is not the first time that such allegations have been labelled by the opposition parties against the ruling SKM. Even SKM’s ally BJP too has made such allegations against the former. This issue was earlier raised by this writer through this column. The undeniable fact is that in a democracy participation of all parties, belonging to both the ruling and the Opposition blocs, is strongly desired and any attempt to prevent that is clearly an anti-democratic act. So, political violence against the Opposition parties clearly weakens the democracy badly in the Himalayan state. Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay has to be strict and should order the police to take into account such anti-democratic acts without any bias and take necessary actions against those involved in such acts.
Kuki-Zomi MLAs Back With Their Old Demand Of Separate Administration
This week once again the 10 Kuki-Zomi legislators of Manipur pushed the demand for separate administration in the Kuki-Zomi majority districts of the hills of the state by writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is yet to visit the strife-torn northeastern state even after eight months of the ethnic conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zomis.
The legislators in their two-page representation to Modi expressed their concerns over the collapse of the constitutional breakdown in the state following the summoning of the Meitei MLAs and MPs in the Kangla fort by the radical armed Meitei group Arambai Tenggol. It has to be mentioned that following the summoning, 37 Meitei MLAs and two Meitei MPs, including RK Ranjan Singh, a union minister in the Modi government, attended the meeting and even took oath as wished by the radical group. Although Chief Minister N Biren Singh didn’t take part in the meeting, later his signature also appeared in the list of signatories — clearly showing his support to the radical Meitei group. This writer raised this critical issue last week through this column.
No doubt, the Kuki-Zomi MLAs are right in pointing out the appalling situation of law and order in the Meitei-dominated valley but the problem is that they are silent on the appalling situation of law and order in the areas dominated by their community. The MLAs remain mute spectators when the Kuki-Zomi terrorists mercilessly kill the innocent Meiteis. And the idea of separate administration for the districts where Kuki-Zomis are in the majority isn’t a proper solution to the current problem. This is likely to cause more trouble as some areas considered by Kuki-Zomis as their own are claimed by Nagas of the state. Actually, partisan demands like “separate administration for Kuki-Zomis” are similar to adding fuel to the fire in the already strife-torn state as Meiteis are strictly against such demands. So, such demands shouldn’t be entertained in the interest of the state, which needs measures that address the concerns of all the communities.
The author is a political commentator.
[Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP News Network Pvt Ltd.]
Why The Nagas' Opposition To Centre’s Decision To Scrap FMR Has Merit?
9
12
03.02.2024
On January 20, Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Guwahati said that the 1,643 km long India-Myanmar border would soon be fenced and the Centre would formally end the Free Movement Regime agreement with Myanmar. The agreement allows people living on either side of the border to travel up to 16 km into the other country without any visa.
This statement of Shah hasn’t been well received by many, including the Nagas, in the northeastern region. The reason is that many families are divided by the international border, illogically drawn by British colonialists without considering the sentiments of the locals.
Take for example the village of Longwa located in the Mon district of the northeastern state. This village with a population of over 6000 is a unique one in the country as half of the village is located in India and the other half in Myanmar. As a result, the citizens of this village enjoy dual citizenship, which otherwise isn’t extended to other Indian citizens. The most interesting fact is that there are 170 households, including the chief Angh (traditional leader) of this village Tonyei Phawang, exactly on the borderline. His house is divided in such a way that the bedroom lies in India while the living room is in Myanmar. This week the chief angh asked the state chief minister Neiphiu Rio to oppose the Centre’s decision to scrap FMR and construction of the border fence.
No doubt that the Centre is now reconsidering the FMR agreement........
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