MHA scraps Free Movement Regime between India and Myanmar: Amit Shah

According to Amit Shah, the choice was made to preserve the demographic structure of the northeastern Indian states that border Myanmar.

The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has decided to terminate the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar in order to protect the nation's internal security, according to a statement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday.

Two days prior, Shah declared that India had made the decision to fence the whole 1,643-kilometer border between India and Myanmar. There is currently FMR along the India-Myanmar border, which runs through Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. As a component of India's Act East policy, it was put into effect in 2018. The Meitei groups based in the Imphal valley have consistently demanded fencing along the border, citing the porous border as a common entry point for tribal militants entering India. Additionally, the Meitei groups claim that drugs are being smuggled into India by means of the open international border.

In addition to building a fence all the way along the Indo-Myanmar border, the home minister announced on Tuesday that a patrol track would also be paved to improve surveillance. Additionally, two trial projects utilising hybrid surveillance systems for fencing are currently being carried out. "They will fence off a one-kilometer section in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, respectively. In addition, fencing projects totaling about 20 km in Manipur have been approved, and construction is scheduled to begin shortly," he had previously stated. Manipur and Myanmar share a porous border spanning approximately 390 km, of which only 10 km have been fenced to date.