Imphal: The unrest in Manipur was being exacerbated by the open border with Myanmar. The migration of people from Myanmar to Manipur’s hill regions is one of the causes of the state’s 18-month-long unrest, despite the denials of many. To stop the inflow from the neighbouring nation, the Indian government is now physically closing the border with Myanmar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared that 30 kilometres of the Manipur border between India and Myanmar had been effectively fenced in less than 100 days, marking a significant step toward enhancing border security. The Indian government has approved funding to fence the entire 1,500-kilometre border in an effort to stop illegal immigration into Manipur, according to the Union Home Minister.
Concerns about regional security were also covered by the Home Minister, who emphasised the CRPF’s strategic placement at important points around the state. With recent tensions in the area, this program aims to strengthen security and advance peace in the northeast. Shah restated the administration’s dedication to maintaining long-term peace in the region and guarding the border. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Indian government is stepping up its efforts to end the present conflict in Manipur. At a news conference to commemorate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term’s first 100 days, Shah explained the government’s strategy for handling the challenging circumstance.
“A plan for resolving the problem has been developed,” said Home Minister Shah, highlighting the racial aspect of the dispute. He emphasised the value of communication between the Kuki and Meitei groups and disclosed that both communities are being actively engaged by the government. “Recently, violence went on for three days, other than that, in the last three months, no major incident took place,” the Home Minister said, highlighting recent progress. Home Minister Shah said that a major contributing cause to the disturbance was the border between India and Myanmar. Along this frontier, the government has started a fencing project, of which 30 kilometres have already been finished. “We have started the fencing of the root cause of the problem, the India-Myanmar border,” Shah said.
The strategic deployment of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) forces and the revocation of an agreement that had permitted unrestricted travel between India and Myanmar are two more measures. “To stop the infiltration, we have nullified the agreement between India and Myanmar which allowed the movement of the people, and now entry into India is allowed only by visa,” Home Minister Shah said. It should be mentioned that Nagaland and Mizoram governments and Kuki Zo organisations are opposing the Myanmar border fencing citing their cultural similarities with the people residing in other parts of the border. MEA officials are regularly consulting with the stakeholders on that issue. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is constructing the fencing along the Myanmar border which touches four Northeastern state including Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
