Voice of protest against border fencing Noting the call for NRC

It is not Imphal or the State Government which has decided that the porous Indo-Myanmar border would be fenced, but New Delhi. This much must be clear to everyone and this is all that more important given the fact that a key meeting between Government representatives and Tangkhul civil society organisations drawn from Ukhrul and  Kamjong districts are set to meet and discuss issues surrounding the border fencing. The stand of the Tangkhul civil society organisations is understood and their opposi- tion to the border fencing should be appreciated in the backdrop of the fact that Tangkhuls are not known to have crossed the border and set up new villages on the Indian side. The primary objective to fence the international border should also be understood and appreciated in the backdrop of the current reality. Manipur did not raise the call to fence the border out of a whim or some fancy idea. The call for a National Register of Citizens with 1951 as the base year should be understood along with the need felt to fence the border. The primary objective is to check the entry of illegal immigrants from across the border and the Tangkhul folks must surely know and understand how the population strength of the Kuki-Zo people have ballooned in the last 40-50 years, a figure which is most clearly reflected in the number of MLAs the Nagas and the Kuki-Zos are able to send to the State Assembly. In fact the steady inflow of immigrants from across the border has been acknowledged by none other than a Kuki gentleman, Paolienlal Haokip. Back in 2002, Mr Haokip had written in a journal of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies that India and Myanmar (then Burma) share a long international border, much of which  is porous. As a result there has always been unrestricted trans-border movement of people from both sides, wrote Mr Haokip and referred to the Burmanisation programme of Ne Win back in 1967. It was under the Burmanisation programme that entire communities of which one was the Kuki group, were given marching orders. In the event around 20,000 Kukis are reported to have entered Manipur during this period. This was back in 1967 and while this is one example that has been quoted by Mr Haokip, the possibility of a steady stream of people crossing over and settling down here cannot be written off. A look at the mushrooming of new villages and the invasion into Protected and Reserved Forest areas should testify this. It is to check such infiltration that the Government of India decided to fence the border and remember it was no one less than the Union Home Minister who admitted that illegal infiltration is one of the prime reasons for the ongoing clash between the Meiteis and the Kukis. A point mirrored by External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker not long after.
It was with a reason why the United Naga Council (UNC) and the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) jointly submitted a memorandum to the Governor sometime in July this year demanding that the National Register of Citizens be implemented in Manipur. The finer point in submitting the said memorandum needs to be understood in the correct perspective and that is the need to detect and weed out all the illegal immigrants who entered Manipur after 1951, the base year set by different civil society organisations. The Government has said that the base year should be 1961. The difference in the base year is a different matter, but the need to identify and weed out all illegal immigrants should be noted and appreciated. The reason behind the call for an NRC and the decision to fence the international border should be understood. And as noted the people who are most affected by the illegal immigrants are the Nagas who settle in the hills. Again this is a point which should not be lost on anyone, particularly those who have raised their voice against the move to fence the international border. By all means monitor the progress of the border fencing work and keep a close tab on how things proceed. The Government should also note the circumstances under which the voice of opposition to the border fencing work has been raised. Ultimately the primary agenda behind the border fencing work is to check illegal entry from across the border and Manipur is today reeling under large scale, unchecked entry from across the border and this is a point which everyone should note.