Noting merits of border fencing Review the opposition
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Border fencing stretching 27 kilometres on the Churachandpur sector set to commence with the State Cabinet having taken a decision to this effect. This much is clear and this falls in line with the decision taken by the Centre some time back to fence the Indo-Myanmar border covering the North Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. The decision to fence the porous Indo-Myanmar border should also be seen and understood in the backdrop of the growing call against infiltration and the need to weed out illegal immigrants. The call to update the National Register of Citizens with 1951 as the base year also falls along this line. Significantly, news on the Cabinet decision to fence the border along the Churachandpur sector came a few days after cadres of the KNA (Burma) sneaked in from the other side of the border and set ablaze the villages of Namlee, Wanglee and Choro. Border fencing may not be the ultimate answer to stopping illegal movement across the border, but it can go a long way in checking such movements and more importantly it also underlines the fact that the Government of India has acknowledged infiltration from across the border. This is a point which the indigenous people of Manipur must understand and accordingly respond to the unfolding situation. If at all there is a lesson to be learnt from the incident at Namlee, Wanglee and Choro, it is that unchecked movements from across the border can cause havoc and mayhem. Given the unfolding geo-politics in the North Eastern region, in the neighbouring country and the contesting claims over land and resources, especially in the hills of Manipur, the merit of fencing the border should be acknowledged. It is also important to note that the Free Movement Regime (FMR) has not been totally done away with, but that some new restrictions have been put in place to regulate the to and fro movement across the international border. The first group of people to be heavily impacted by the large scale incursion from across the border is undoubtedly the Naga people and this is perhaps best reflected in the number of MLAs they get to send to the Assembly, down the decades. The Sangai Express has already written many times on this and to get back to another reference which has been made more than twice or thrice in this column, is the article submitted by a certain Paolienlal Haokip to a publication of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies back on May 23, 2002. In the said article, Mr Haokip talked about the large scale incursion of Kuki people into the North East region, including Manipur during the Burmanisation programme of Ne Win in the neighbouring country in 1967. Over 20,000 Kukis made their way into Manipur during the Burma-nisation programme and in due course of time many of the immigrants took to drug and arms smuggling to earn some easy money, wrote Mr Haokip.
This was year 1967 and the same pattern also followed during the 1988 democracy movement in the neighbouring country when a large number of Burmese refugees had to flee the country and take shelter in the North Eastern States of India, including Manipur. Now the question is, of the 20,000 or so odd Kuki immigrants who entered Manipur, how many of them actually returned to their native places or were absorbed into the local population, people with whom they share close filial ties ? The porous border only made it easier for the mass human movement across the international border and the decision of the Government of India to fence the border should be seen and understood in its correct perspective. If India had properly fenced its border with Myanmar, then it is unlikely that such a huge number of well armed KNA (B) cadres would have been able to enter Indian territory and let loose mayhem, torching three villages and in the process abducting some people. The merit of the decision to fence the border should be seen in its correct perspective, for it is about protecting the geography and politics of the indigenous people of the land. Time also right for the Government of India to take the attack on Indian soil with the seriousness it deserves.
This was year 1967 and the same pattern also followed during the 1988 democracy movement in the neighbouring country when a large number of Burmese refugees had to flee the country and take shelter in the North Eastern States of India, including Manipur. Now the question is, of the 20,000 or so odd Kuki immigrants who entered Manipur, how many of them actually returned to their native places or were absorbed into the local population, people with whom they share close filial ties ? The porous border only made it easier for the mass human movement across the international border and the decision of the Government of India to fence the border should be seen and understood in its correct perspective. If India had properly fenced its border with Myanmar, then it is unlikely that such a huge number of well armed KNA (B) cadres would have been able to enter Indian territory and let loose mayhem, torching three villages and in the process abducting some people. The merit of the decision to fence the border should be seen in its correct perspective, for it is about protecting the geography and politics of the indigenous people of the land. Time also right for the Government of India to take the attack on Indian soil with the seriousness it deserves.