FMR Scrapping, Border Fencing Along Indo-Myanmar Border Disrupts Tribal Community, Familial Bonds: ANSAM

ANSAM has termed the arbitrarily imposed Indo-Myanmar Border (IMB) as a historical injustice to the Naga people.

The All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) had termed the scrapping of Free Movement Regime (FMR) and construction of physical border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar Border (IMB) has adversely impacted and disrupted the natural flow of community and familial interdependent relationships.

In a press handout issued today, the ANSAM stated that the Naga people have lived as a free and sovereign community on their ancestral land since time immemorial, guided by their own traditional systems and customs long before the formation of India (1947) or Myanmar (1948).

It said, “We don’t want somebody’s land and never tried to grab or control even a piece of land that belongs to others, likewise, we don’t want anybody for that matter, any external forces having control over our land. We are the master of our land and we will never accept and surrender to such monstrous forces no matter how big they are.”

ANSAM has termed the arbitrarily imposed Indo-Myanmar Border (IMB) as a historical injustice to the Naga people.

It recalled how, in the 1950s, Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and U Nu had painfully divided the Naga homeland, an act ANSAM described as tyrannical.

The student body said that the scrapping of the FMR and the construction of border fencing are like rubbing salt into an old wound, calling it a highly unacceptable act of dehumanisation.

“As such, abrupt abrogation of FMR and construction of physical border fencing along the imaginary IBM has adversely impacted and disrupted the natural flow of community and familial interdependent relationship which is an intrinsic aged old tie of the people living straddle in border areas are at stake and facing a series of problems without any remedy. In many areas, there are instances of a family holding land on both sides of the border wherein, resulting in denial of access to their own ancestral lands. Ironically, it runs through the house of Longwa village chief leaving the sleeping rooms in the Indian border and the kitchen falling in Mayanmar,” said ANSAM in the statement.

ANSAM termed the scrapping of FMR & Border Fencing under the pretext of drugs and illegal immigrants as an illogical move.

ANSAM reminded that India, as a signatory to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), is obligated to uphold Article 36, which guarantees the rights of indigenous communities divided by international borders to maintain relations across them.

It said that the scrapping of FMR and the forced construction of border fencing in the Naga homeland is a clear contradiction of these international commitments.

ANSAM said that its plea is not anti-India, nor against the policies of the Government of India. It urged the centre to respect the historical and traditional boundaries of the Nagas, stating this would benefit both sides in fostering peaceful co-existence with mutual respect.

The Association called on the Centre to move beyond short-term measures and instead sincerely engage in political dialogue based on the Framework Agreement, to bring a permanent and logical resolution to the Indo-Naga issue and ensure lasting peace in the Northeast.

ANSAM stated that if the Indo-Myanmar border must be fenced, it should only be done after proper demarcation based on historical and traditional Naga boundaries.

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