Ukhrul, August 29: Mizoram’s home minister told the State Assembly on Thursday that surveys are under way to assess the feasibility of fencing the Indo-Myanmar border, even as the state continues to oppose the plan.
Home Minister K. Sapdanga said the surveys are being conducted by the Centre in collaboration with the Assam Rifles and the state government. He stressed, however, that no decision has been made on which stretches of the frontier might eventually be fenced. “The matter lies with the Central Government,” Sapdanga noted, adding that Mizoram is extending “full cooperation” to the process.
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The state’s opposition to fencing remains firm. On February 28, 2024, the Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution against both the construction of a border fence and the abolition of the Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allows cross-border travel for ethnic Mizo and Zo communities. The Council of Ministers endorsed the resolution the same day.
The Assembly’s decision was formally conveyed to New Delhi in March 2024, first to the Lok Sabha Secretariat and later to the Union Home Ministry. Both communications reiterated Mizoram’s view that fencing would harm cross-border ties and erode cultural unity.
Sapdanga noted that opposition is not limited to the state government. Civil society groups, student unions, and the Zo Reunification Organisation have staged rallies and demonstrations, warning that a fence would divide families and sever ancestral bonds.
The issue has become one of the most charged debates in Mizoram: a clash between New Delhi’s security concerns and the state’s determination to preserve ethnic and cultural links across the frontier.
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