Government offices across the Naga-inhabited hill districts of Manipur remained shut on Monday, marking the start of a five-day “office picketing” campaign spearheaded by the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM). The protest is aimed at opposing the Centre’s decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and initiate border fencing along the India-Myanmar border in Naga ancestral lands.
According to Naga leaders, most government offices in Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong, and Chandel districts were non-functional throughout the day as the picketing took full effect.
Describing the agitation as a “people’s movement,” ANSAM stated that it is a collective stand against “the imposition of border fencing through our ancestral lands and the unilateral abrogation of the FMR along the imaginary Indo-Myanmar/Burma border.” The student body has instructed its constituent and subordinate units to strictly enforce the picketing within their jurisdictions, asserting that the campaign is “in defence of our ancestral homeland and the integrity of Naga families.”
ANSAM reiterated its long-standing position that the India-Myanmar border is an “imposed imaginary line” that arbitrarily separates Naga families and communities. “This artificial boundary has inflicted decades of historical injustice upon our people,” it said.
The Free Movement Regime, introduced in 2018 under the Centre’s Act East Policy, had allowed residents living within 16 kilometres on either side of the Indo-Myanmar border to travel freely without passports or visas. The policy aimed to boost local trade and cultural ties, particularly among cross-border ethnic communities.
However, citing national security concerns amid Manipur’s ongoing ethnic unrest, the Central Government recently scrapped the agreement and began fencing parts of the border. It argued that the move was necessary to check demographic changes and illegal infiltration.
The decision has sparked widespread backlash from tribal communities across Northeast India, particularly in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. Many tribal organisations have condemned the move as “biased” and detrimental to the interests of indigenous groups living along the border.
ANSAM said the picketing will continue until June 27, with further course of action to be decided based on the government’s response.
(With inputs from The New Indian Express)
