To Crackdown On Rohingyas, Drug Trade, Modi Govt To End 'Free Movement' Along Myanmar Border

With several states witnessing the influx of Rohingyas and some like Manipur witnessing tense situations due to insurgents, the Narendra Modi government is planning to end the 'Free Movement Regime' along the India-Myanmar border. The existing Free Movement Regime (FMR) allows residents living near the India-Myanmar border to travel 16km across either side without documentation. According to reports, the Modi government is working to fence the entire border in a bid to curtain insurgent activities, illegal migrants, smuggling and the drug trade.

The Indo-Myanmar border (IMB), spanning 1,643 kilometres and traversing states like Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, is presently governed by the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and protected by the Assam Rifles. This arrangement was established in 2018 under India's Act East policy, intended to invigorate the regional economy by enhancing India's trade relations with ASEAN and other Southeast Asian countries.

Once the FMR ends, anyone travelling on either side of the border will have to carry valid travel documents. The primary objective is to prevent the exploitation of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) by insurgent factions who conduct attacks within India and subsequently escape into Myanmar. It will also help curb the flow of illegal immigrants and disrupt the networks engaged in smuggling drugs and gold.

The FMR allowed members of the hill tribes on either side to cross the border on the production of a border pass having one-year validity. They are allowed to stay and engage in trade for up to two weeks per visit. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had also urged the Centre in September 2023 to end the FMR to limit insurgent activities. Manipur shares 390km of border with Myanmar. Mizoram has also recorded an influx of anti-Junta rebels since the military coup in Myanmar in 2021.