Nagaland tribal chief urges Centre to scrap Indo-Myanmar border fencing

A tribal chief in Nagaland's Mon district urged the Centre on Sunday, April 6, to scrap the decision to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and to reduce the area of the Free Movement Regime (FMR).

Forty-nine-year-old Chief of Angh ('king'), Tonyei Phawang, claimed that people on both sides of the border in Mon district belong to the Konyak Naga tribes, and they are inter-dependent as they have family members on both sides of the border.

"We do not want fencing of the Indo-Myanmar border," Phawang, the 10th generation chief of Angh, said at Longwa village in Mon district. He claimed that there are 35 villages under him, of which 30 are located on the other side of the international border and five are on this side.

"My own house, which was originally constructed centuries ago with traditional thatch structure but reconstructed into a concrete structure at the original location in 2016, has been split into India and Myanmar by the boundary post India's independence," he said.

"Movement of our family members within the house is also international," he said. Considering this simple fact, he wondered how the Centre can fence the international border without considering the ground realities. 

He also said that the Konyak villagers from the other side also come to this side for their household needs, as it is easier for them to reach Mon town for marketing and also their children come here to receive education in the five schools, including two state government-run institutes, instead of going to Myanmar side, which lacks such facilities. 

He said if the Centre reduces the area under FMR and fences the Indo-Myanmar border then Konyak Nagas would suffer a lot. He also expressed concern that his family members would require a pass to move around within the house.

"All these would be very unfair and therefore as the Chief Angh, I hope the Centre would reconsider its decision and think for the welfare of the people at the ground," he said. The Angh said instead of cutting down the existing 16-km Free Movement Regime (FMR) to 10 km, the Centre should consider expanding the area so that the Konyak Nagas can cross the border freely.

Phawang appreciated the Assam Rifles personnel posted in Longwa to man the international border and thwart any unwanted movement of suspected anti-social elements for supporting the villagers in various ways, including free health services and medicines.

Asserting that there has been no untoward incident with people of both sides crossing the border but they exist peacefully and continue to uphold the age-old relationship, he urged the Centre to drop the concept of border fencing and to allow the free movement regime to continue without hindrance. "We do not want fencing of the border at any cost," he asserted.

The Nagaland government is also against the Centre's decision to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and restrict the area of the FMR.