Rallies were held across Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak, and Shamator districts on Sunday, as tribal apex bodies led coordinated protests against the Government of India’s move to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Indo-Myanmar border and introduce fencing. Memorandums reflecting the concerns of the indigenous communities were submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs through the deputy commissioners of each district.
The rallies, marking the fifth mass mobilization against the policy shift, follow earlier protests held in Longwa, Pangsha, Pungro, and Kohima. Protesters carried placards reading “Protect Our Ancestral Land,” “Respect Our Indigenous Rights,” and “Do Not Test Our Patience.”
Addressing the gathering, Island Peace Yangthsaba, Joint Secretary of the United Sangtam Likhum Pumji (USLP), explained the implications of the policy changes. “India shares a 1,063-kilometre border with Myanmar, of which 215 kilometres lie with Nagaland,” he said. “The FMR was introduced in 1968 to facilitate cross-border movement based on ethnicity, family ties, and tribal affiliations. Initially, it allowed movement up to 40 km from the boundary; this was reduced to 16 km in 2004, and further to 10 km in 2016.”
Yangthsaba pointed out that the FMR was re-extended to 16 km in 2018 under the Act East Policy, but the current proposal seeks to dismantle this framework altogether. “The revised plan would establish 22 gates and 43 crossing points, where QR-enabled passes and proper documentation would be mandatory. Of these, at least five gates are expected to be operational in Nagaland, with similar arrangements in Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.
Critics of the move argue that it would fundamentally alter the everyday lives of border communities who have lived with uninterrupted familial and cultural ties for generations.
Aketo V Sangtam, Executive Chairman of the United Sangtam Students’ Conference (USSC), linked the policy shift to recent ethnic violence in Manipur. “Based on the Manipur clashes, they now seek to shut down our free movement. But according to our historic records, 40% of Khiamniungan people live in India and 60% in Myanmar. The Konyak people too, in their majority, are in Myanmar,” he said.
Speakers across the districts repeatedly stressed the need for collective resistance, cautioning against complacency. Several warned against the false comfort of online activism. “It may or may not affect you deeply now, but just because you are not directly affected, will your brother’s hurt not hurt you?” one speaker asked. “We must be mentally prepared to sacrifice — whether over the FMR or border fencing. We must be ready to fight.”
The Indigenous communities view the fencing and revised border controls not simply as a technical security issue but as a direct threat to their land, culture, and existence. As the government pushes forward with its plans, opposition from the ground in Eastern Nagaland shows no sign of abating.