Poonam Nath

FMR enactment; Biometrics—tracking begins at Indian border with Myanmar; 7,000 registered

Digital Desk: As part of the firm Free Movement Regime (FMR) in place at the border with Myanmar, India is said to have permitted the movement of 7,000 persons from the neighboring country after collecting their passports and biometric information, which are linked to the National Data Centre.

Last year, the Centre stated that it would abolish the FMR, but it was met with opposition not only from civil society but also from across the political spectrum, including the BJP, in Nagaland and Mizoram. Manipur's Naga and Kuki-Zo populations were also opposed to the proposal.

As opposition to its announcement remained, the Center wrote to the governments of Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland in late December, instructing them to replace it with a revised and stronger FMR.

According to a senior Assam Rifles officer, immigration from Myanmar will soon be controlled from 43 border posts instead of the existing 22.

The officer further stated security guards are granting "border passes" after obtaining their credentials, address, and biometric information.

People from either nation must provide proof of residency within 10 kilometers of the border, as required by the updated FMR protocol, which has been in effect since December. 

After they create this, the Assam Rifles men take their pictures and biometric information, including fingerprints, and award them a seven-day border permit, stated the official.

This single-entry pass is valid for seven days and within ten kilometers of the border. Users must deposit this pass at the same crossing location from where they entered. "They are not interested in going to other areas because they are mainly coming to meet their relatives," according to the officer.

The Manipur administration supported the Centre's announcement to scrap the FMR, but Mizoram and Nagaland were outspokenly opposed.

Since May 2023, the state government has identified alleged illegal immigration from Myanmar as one of the primary causes of ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zos.

India has a 1,643-kilometer border with Myanmar that runs through Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km), and Mizoram (510 km).

The division of the 1,472 km border has been finished. The Assam Rifles have been awarded two pilot projects for hybrid surveillance systems, and construction is underway.