Nagaland Tribal Units demand halt to border fencing, restoration of FMR and withdrawal of PAP

Submit representation to Union Home Minister after public rally in Kohima 

Our Correspondent
Kohima | April 10

A public rally held today at Old MLA Hostel Junction demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah immediately halt the Indo-Myanmar border fencing, restore the Free Movement Regime (FMR) in its original form, and withdraw the Protected Area Permit (PAP) from Nagaland.

The rally, called by the Angami Public Organisation (APO) along with all tribal units in Kohima, also saw the submission of a representation to the Union Home Minister through Nagaland’s Governor, La Ganesan, at Raj Bhavan, Kohima.

The tribal units in Kohima drew the Union Home Minister’s attention to a series of policy decisions by the Government of India (GoI) that have far-reaching consequences for the indigenous Naga people inhabiting the India-Myanmar borderlands.

The representation stated that the announcement on 6 February 2024 by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to scrap the FMR and construct border fencing across the India-Myanmar international border “stunned our people, as it would amount to uprooting them from their ancestral land.”

Recognising the gravity of the issue, the people rose in unison to oppose the government’s decision to withdraw the FMR, it stated, adding: “Having voiced our concerns with a fervent plea to reconsider the decision through representations from various quarters of society, and with the Nagaland State Government passing a resolution opposing the repealing of the FMR, there was high expectation that better sense would prevail, taking into account the ground realities.”

“Much to our dismay, under the façade of not entirely scrapping the FMR, the Central Government issued tighter guidelines, dismissing the collective voice of our people. On 24 December 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, issued revised guidelines to regulate movement of people across the India-Myanmar border and introduced the ‘border pass’ system that limited the territorial area for cross-border movement of people living in the border area to 10 km. Moreover, the new order designated only nine entry/exit points on the Nagaland border, which shares a 215 km boundary with Myanmar,” the representation stated.

A few days prior, on 17 December 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order withdrawing the relaxation granted to Nagaland under the Protected Area regime notified under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, making it mandatory for foreigners to obtain a Protected Area Permit (PAP)/Restricted Area Permit (RAP).

“It is no coincidence that the 17 December 2024 order and the 24 December 2024 guidelines were issued back-to-back. With the territorial limit reduced on each side of the India-Myanmar border, an indigenous Naga entering India beyond the 10 km limit can be booked and charged under the Foreigners Act,” it stated, adding, “In the name of introducing a new system to regulate cross-border movement of people, the government has once again violated the historical and cultural rights of the indigenous Naga people.”

“In light of the above developments, we are compelled to remind you of the historical and indigenous rights of the Nagas. India’s few decades of existence as a nation-state cannot negate the fact that, much before the modern Indian nation-state came into being, the indigenous Nagas had long established their homeland in the Naga Hills (the present-day India-Myanmar borderlands),” it stated.

This is the reality from which the Nagas derive their historical rights. It is also a historical fact that the modern Indian nation-state emerged from British colonialism, inheriting the legacy of ‘colonial borders’—arbitrarily drawn without the consent of indigenous communities. While post-colonial India recognised these ‘colonial borders’ as international boundaries, the Naga indigenous communities never accepted the borders that divided their people and land, the representation stated.

In the post-independence period, the idea of the Free Movement Regime (FMR), conceived by leaders of India and Myanmar, was a testament to the need to respect the traditional way of life of the Nagas. The initial informal arrangement allowed Nagas on both sides of the border to move freely for 40 km to maintain their age-old ties. However, this was reduced to 16 km in 2018 and then to 10 km. The new border policies and regulations introduced by the Government of India, the representation stated, are a reminder of colonial rule, driven by the hunger for power and territorial control, with no respect for indigenous people.
Revoke New ‘Border Pass’ System

The tribal units demanded the immediate revocation of the new guidelines affecting the movement of indigenous Nagas within their own ancestral homeland.

For the Nagas living in the India-Myanmar borderlands, the international border is merely an imaginary line. Since time immemorial, they have regarded the borderlands as one shared social, cultural, and economic space.

“Today, forcing our people to obtain a ‘border pass’ to move within their own land is unacceptable—it is tantamount to taking permission to move around in one’s own house. Since the implementation of the border pass system, residents of bordering districts have borne the brunt of this new system,” the representation stated.

Stop Border Fencing Plan
The tribal units also opposed the construction of border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border, stating, “We are against the idea of dividing our ancestral land.”

Constructing fences along the border and dividing people and land is an outright violation of indigenous rights, it added. The representation further appealed to the Union Home Minister to restore the FMR in its original form, not only as a mark of respect to the historical and cultural rights of the Nagas but also to maintain peace and stability in the sensitive India-Myanmar border region.

“As we earnestly plea for our rights, we would also like to firmly state that we will not allow our rights to be compromised at any cost. Our democratic appeal and civilised protest to safeguard our rights should not be seen as a weakness,” the tribal units stated.

Withdraw Protected Area Permit
The tribal units also demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Protected Area Permit (PAP)/Restricted Area Permit (RAP) from Nagaland.

“Reading the imposition of PAP/RAP together with the new ‘border pass’ system exposes the sinister design of the Government of India, as the two form a lethal combination that can be used against our people for no fault of theirs. This is a direct assault on the indigenous rights of the Nagas and poses a serious threat to the lives of our people,” it stated.

Further, the imposition of PAP is likely to deter foreign tourists from visiting festivals in Nagaland and the North Eastern states, thereby harming the region’s growing tourism industry.

As a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), India’s approach towards indigenous peoples along the Indo-Myanmar border must be guided by the principles outlined in Article 36 of the Declaration, the representation stated.

The representation was signed by Thejao Vihienuo, President, Angami Public Organisation (APO); O Onglingaku, President, Chang Union Kohima (CUK); Dozhohu Tunyi, President, Chakhesang Hoho Kohima (CHK); Thanghoi Lam, President, Khiamniungan Union Kohima (KUK); T Chubayanger, President, Kohima Ao Union (KAU); KN Mhonthung Lotha, President, Kohima Lotha Hoho (KLH); K Shiwoto Wotsa, President, Kohima Sumi Hoho (KSH); Khongjeh Konyak, President, Konyak Union Kohima (KUK); Dihe Mao, President, Mao Union Kohima (MUK); Kangdi Maram, President, Maram Union Kohima (MUK); Neiba Newmai, President, Nagaland Zeliang People’s Organisation Kohima (NZPOK); Imti Phom, President, Phom Union Kohima (PUK); Wachusie Katiry, President, Pochury Union Kohima (PUK); DB Kaisii, President, Poumai Naga Union Kohima (PNUK); K Gwanilo Himb, President, Rengma Public Organisation (RPOK); Thsapongse Sangtam, President, Sangtam Union Kohima (SUK); James Luiram, President, Tangkhul Union Kohima (TUK); Tsiithong, President, Tikhir Union Kohima (TUK); and Akum Yimkhiung, President, Yimkhiung Union Kohima (YUK).