The central government has decided to pause fencing work in Kuki-dominated areas in Manipur. According to sources, a recent meeting with top Home Ministry officials concluded that fencing work in a few hill areas where the Kuki population resides will be done later, while fencing work will continue in other parts of the Indo-Myanmar border. A top-level official stated that the focus has shifted to areas with Naga populations, as fencing work there will be completed first. Kuki-Zo organisations have been opposing the fencing of the India-Myanmar border, claiming it dents the ‘Free Movement Regime.’
The FMR allows people living on either side of the border to enter up to 16 km into each other’s country without needing a visa and to stay for up to two weeks. “The decision has been made in view of concerns raised by the Kuki community, which primarily resides in the border area. The work will first be done in the northern part of Manipur. The government has taken demands of Kuki community in consideration, but fencing will be done later,” a senior government official told News18.
Earlier, the government had decided to accelerate fencing work in Kuki-dominated areas to prevent infiltration. However, immediately after this decision, Kuki-Zo organisations began opposing the move. Five districts in Manipur—Churachandpur, Chandel, Kamjong, Tengnoupal, and Ukhrul—have a 398 km border with Myanmar.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah has stated that the Modi government is committed to building impenetrable borders. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar to ensure internal security and maintain the demographic structure of India’s northeastern states bordering Myanmar. This decision was made in February of this year, and the government also decided to continue fencing the border.
In a post on ‘X,’ the Home Minister stated, “We have decided to construct a fence along the entire 1,643-kilometer-long Indo-Myanmar border. To facilitate better surveillance, a patrol track along the border will also be paved.” The Home Minister added that “out of the total border length, a 10 km stretch in Moreh, Manipur, has already been fenced. Additionally, two pilot projects of fencing through a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) are underway, covering a 1 km stretch each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Furthermore, fencing works covering approximately 20 km in Manipur have also been approved and will begin soon.”
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