Manipur is still simmering. More than 180 people have been killed since violence erupted in the northeastern state in May. A student organisation, All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM), organised a tribal solidarity march in the 10 hill districts of the state to protest the demand of non-tribal Meiteis for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The rallies were peaceful in nature but during a march in Torbung area of Churachandpur district, an armed mob allegedly attacked people of the Meitei community leading to retaliatory attacks in the valley districts, which escalated the violence throughout the state, as per police.
The Manipur chief minister’s move to protect forest areas has been met with resistance from illegal immigrants and drug cartels. The Meiteis, who inhabit the valley, account for about a tenth of the state’s land area and claim they are facing problems in view of “large scale illegal immigration by Myanmarese and Bangladeshis”. They make up 53 per cent of the state population but the hill districts, which account for much of the state’s land, are inhabited mostly by tribals including the Nagas and Kukis. They are mainly Christians and are protected from encroachment by law. They make up 40 per cent of the population.
Illegal settlers
The state government had been concerned about the illegal settlers in forests, especially in Churachandpur district where the violence started in the first place. The government had applied a strict approach towards the illegal settlers with constant identity checks in the area for the last six months.
As reported earlier, data accessed by News18 shows an exponential increase in the number of villages in the region. In 1969, there were 216 villages in the Churachanpur district, which increased to 544 in 2021. Similarly, in the Kangpokpi district, the number of villages increased from 171 in 1969 to 534 in 2021. In Imphal, however, the number of villages decreased from 181 to 180.
Porous Myanmar border
Manipur shares a nearly 400-km border with Myanmar, which has been witnessing many transborder infiltrations since the military junta carried out a coup in 2021. Also, tribal Kukis, which reside mostly in the hills, share ethnic lineage with Myanmar’s Chin tribe.
According to a report submitted by the IGP (Intelligence, Narcotics and Affairs) to Manipur’s home commissioner earlier this year, 2,480 illegal immigrants (refugees) from Myanmar were detected in the state, of which 1,147 were in Tengnoupal, 1,175 in Chandel, 154 in Churachandpur, and four in Kamjong.
Chief minister N Biren Singh last month held a meeting with officials of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to discuss plans to erect fencing along a section of the India-Myanmar border.
Free movement regime
The CM earlier told reporters that his government had urged the union home ministry to cancel the free movement regime along the India-Myanmar border and complete its fencing.
The free movement regime allows people residing close to both sides of the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km deep into each other’s territory without any documents.
In a post on X, the CM said: ”Held a meeting with the officials of BRO and deliberated the plan to begin construction of an additional 70 km of border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border. I was joined by Chief Secretary, DGP & officials from the Home Department.”
“In view of the rise in illegal immigration and drugs smuggling from the neighbouring country, safeguarding our porous borders has become an urgent necessity,” Singh added.
Smart fencing
The union home ministry this month announced plans to install an advanced smart fence system along a 100-kilometre section of the India-Myanmar border to supplement existing monitoring systems, according to its 2022-23 annual report.
The report stated that in 2022, out of the 201 insurgency-related incidents registered in the entire Northeastern Region, as many as 137 incidents were registered in Manipur.
Between April and December 2022, the Assam Rifles apprehended 128 Myanmar nationals, 330 civilians, and 140 dealers and drug peddlers at the Myanmar border, it added.
The construction of fencing for a border length of 10.023 km at Moreh in Manipur has already been awarded to BRO.
“Work is in progress and 6.812 km of fencing has already been completed. The total construction is scheduled to be completed by 2023,” the MHA report said.
Less than 10% of Manipur’s 400-km international border with Myanmar is fenced which leaves the region open for cross-border illegal activities. Due to the difficult topography of the region among other reasons, fencing the entire border is challenging. However, it is believed that fencing of areas where most illegal activities are carried out can be done easily. And analysts feel this can go a long way towards preventing the illegal influx of immigrants in the state and future violent flare-ups.
Border infra boost
India has been rapidly ramping up its border infrastructure in recent years. Home minister Shah mentioned recently that the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s establishment of the “One Border, One Force” approach has substantially facilitated India’s border guarding forces in evaluating geographical dynamics, political affiliations with neighbouring countries, and potential threats.
Several initiatives are being rolled out in pursuit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a “secure border”. Last year, the PM had asked all ministries to depute senior officers for at least a one-night stay near border villages for the ground assessment of challenges.
A major border infrastructure revamp is underway across the Northern and Western borders with the creation and revamp of ditch-cum-bandhs, repair of damaged border fencing, upgrade of BSF ‘morchas’ and installation of surveillance tech.
(With agency inputs)
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