Yimkhiung tribe in Nagaland protests Indo-Myanmar border fencing

Kohima, April 12: The Yimkhiung Tribal Council (YTC), the apex body of the Yimkhiung Naga community in Nagaland, organised a large protest rally in Pungro Town on Saturday, expressing strong opposition to the Centre's proposed border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar boundary and the recent abolition of the Free Movement Regime (FMR).

Hundreds of Yimkhiung community members, including school children, elders, and youth, participated in the peaceful demonstration. The protestors carried placards bearing slogans like “Nagas live in India and Myanmar,” “We oppose border fencing plan,” and “Restore Free Movement Regime,” highlighting the deep socio-cultural interlinkages across the international border.

The council submitted a memorandum addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah through the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Pungro. In it, they demanded an immediate reversal of the Centre’s February 6 decision that terminated the FMR and initiated the fencing of the border.

The YTC expressed grave concerns over the potential consequences of the fencing project and the abolition of the FMR, terming them threats to the cultural integrity, traditional rights, and livelihood of the Yimkhiung Nagas. The memorandum described the existing border pillars as “arbitrary and imaginary,” asserting that they had already fragmented the Yimkhiung community, which lives on both sides of the border.

“Our people on either side share ancestral land, and the idea of erecting a border fence is tantamount to snatching away our traditional, customary, and human rights,” the YTC stated. “We will never allow ourselves to be deprived of our social, cultural, martial, and economic ties by this artificial line.”

The council warned that the scrapping of the FMR would deal a serious blow to border residents, particularly those in Myanmar who depend on access to India for essential services, including healthcare, education, trade, and familial ties.

Terming the proposed fencing as "inhuman," the YTC said it would “permanently separate the already imaginary division of siblings on both sides of the country.” The memorandum also called for the immediate cancellation of the newly introduced border pass system, describing it as a direct violation of indigenous people's right to free movement across ancestral lands.

Urging the Union Government to reconsider its approach, the YTC appealed for policies that respect the unique historical, cultural, and geographic realities of border communities like the Yimkhiung Nagas.

The protest adds to a growing chorus of opposition from various Naga tribal bodies and northeastern civil society groups who view the recent border policies as detrimental to the region's socio-cultural harmony.