Nagaland union appeals to reconsider border fencing, retain Free Movement Regime

The Konyak Union, a prominent organisation in Nagaland, has submitted an appeal to the Governor of Nagaland, requesting the Centre to reconsider its decision to construct border fencing along the India-Myanmar boundary and revoke the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) provision of 2018.

In the letter, the Konyak Union expressed deep concerns over the "profoundly adverse impact" this decision would have on the Konyak Naga community, whose ancestral lands and people have been "inseparably connected on both sides of the border since time immemorial."

The union argued that the border demarcation between India and Myanmar was based on "arbitrary colonial decisions" made without the consent or knowledge of the Konyak Naga community. They asserted that the Konyak people have "always lived as one people, sharing land, resources, and kinship across this imposed border."

Highlighting the humanitarian impact, the union stated that the fencing would "severely disrupt" the livelihoods of Konyak villages within the Indian territory, depriving them of their farming lands situated in Myanmar. It would also lead to the "loss of vital connections" for Konyak families residing inside Myanmar who depend on the Indian side for their daily needs and necessities.

The union strongly asserted that if fencing is deemed necessary, it should follow the "traditional boundary lines of the Konyak Naga community" and not the "artificial lines drawn by colonial and post-colonial authorities." The Konyak community, they emphasised, "will not accept any forceful division of its land and people."

The appeal concluded by requesting the Government of India to take up this matter and advocate for a more just and compassionate resolution that protects the rights, land, and unity of the Konyak people.