India scraps ‘Free Movement Regime’ with Myanmar

New Delhi: In view of the spree of violence in the northeastern states of the country that border Myanmar, the violence in Manipur being the latest case in point,  the Indian government has decided to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) stated here today.

The Free Movement Regime between India and Myanmar allows tribes living along the border to travel 16 km (9.9 miles) across either side of the border without visa restrictions.

The decision to scrap FMR is a follow-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s instructions to secure India’s borders. Union Home Minister  Amit Shah stated that since the Ministry of External Affairs is currently in the process of scrapping it, the MHA has recommended the immediate suspension of the FMR.

In his post on the social media platform ‘X, Shah stressed that said that the decision was taken to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India’s North Eastern States bordering Myanmar.

It may be mentioned that India shares a long land border of over 1643 km with Myanmar as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Four northeastern states – Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, have a boundary with Myanmar. Following ethnic clashes in Manipur, where the role of the porous border between Manipur and Myanmar also came under scrutiny, Manipur was declared a “disturbed area” and this status was extended up to April 1, 2024.

There has been civil unrest in Myanmar ever since a state of emergency was imposed in the country on February 1, 2021, and the state power was taken over by the State Administrative Council, headed by the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Armed Forces Senior General Min Aung Hlaing who is the current Prime Minister of the Provisional Government.

Thereafter, the border state of Manipur saw an influx from Myanmar, reportedly also of many insurgent elements, who found it convenient to hide in the hills that comprise about 90% of the area of the border state. It is on the hills where the state government of late cracked down on illegal opium farming much to the discomfiture of the locals involved in such activities – one of the reasons that contributed to fanning violence in the state. Following this, Indian Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane raised matters relating to India’s security with the senior leadership of Myanmar during his two-day visit to Myanmar between June 30 and July 1, 2023.

There are varying estimates of 1.5-2.0 million people of Indian origin living and working in various parts of Myanmar. A large number of the Indian community (nearly 150,000) live in Bago (Zeyawaddy and Kuayktaga) and Tanintharyi Region and Mon State, primarily engaged in farming.