India is Closing the Border with Myanmar by Fencing

India is closing the border with Myanmar by fencing

Delhi is going to close the India-Myanmar border with a fence. In this regard, the agreement with Myanmar will also be reviewed. India's Home Minister Amit Shah announced this.

Amit Shah announced this in his speech at the 'Passing Out Parade' of the Assam Police Commando today on Saturday.

 Amit Shah said, "The government has decided that our border with Myanmar will be fenced. The entire border will be fenced like Bangladesh. The free movement agreement we have with Myanmar will be reviewed by the Indian government. This system of coming and going between the two countries is going to stop.

There has been speculation for the last few years that the India-Myanmar border may be closed. Today, the Home Minister's announcement specifically stated that India is going to close the 1,643 km border.

Amit Shah praised the work of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Vishwa Sharma at the event. He said that the Home Minister commented that people are protesting during the Congress march in Assam.

Why not close for so long?

Of the 1,643 km India-Myanmar border, 1,472 km have been demarcated. This information was reported in the annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs of India last year. According to reports, Border Roads Organization (BRO), the border road construction agency of the Government of India, has been tasked with fencing the 10.023 km border at Moreh in Manipur. Out of that, 6.812 kilometers of border fencing has been completed. However, the fencing was supposed to be completed in 2023.

There have been attempts to close the border at various times in the past. But the work was stopped mainly due to opposition from various states of Northeast India. India has 520 km of border with Myanmar in Arunachal Pradesh, 215 km in Nagaland, 398 km in Manipur and 510 km in Mizoram.

The reason for the opposition is that an agreement was signed between India and Myanmar in the 1960s. The reason for this agreement is that there are blood and social connections between the ethnic minorities of different states of North East India and the ethnic minorities of Myanmar. As a result of this agreement, the people of the two countries can freely travel up to 16 km inside the other country. This agreement was renewed in 2016.

Two major social organizations in Mizoram and Nagaland have taken a stand against the closure of the border by rejecting the deal. They have opposed such initiatives in the past as well. The state government of Mizoram has also consistently opposed the abrogation of the agreement and closure of the border. That is why Amit Shah said that the issue is being reconsidered.

Citing various sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Indian media have said in the past that the state governments have no right to talk about whether the international border will be closed or not. So, if it is opposed at the state level, the Government of India will deal with it. It has also been reported in the past that the Indian government is already in talks with Myanmar on the issue.

Meanwhile, the Manipur government has stopped free travel with Myanmar since 2020. State Chief Minister Biren Singh told the media last September that he had already requested India's home ministry to stop free movement. He said that ethnic violence in Manipur could not be prevented due to free travel with Myanmar. The Government of India had a similar statement.

Members of the security forces have also said in the past that militants are using Myanmar as a base to come to India and carry out violence. At least seven people, including at least two Indian security personnel, have been killed in the 96 hours since Wednesday in Moreh, bordering Myanmar.

In this situation today Home Minister Amit Shah announced that India is going to close the border. Whether this leads to any opposition in Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland remains to be seen.

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