A day after Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma expressed hope that the Central Government cancels its plan to fence India’s border with Myanmar, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh has on Sunday told NDTV that the “boundary fencing is a must.”

“It is important to keep our borders sealed, safe and intact, for which appropriate fencing is needed. That’s the first basic step towards national security,” the Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, who is a Member of Parliament from Manipur, told NDTV.

India and Myanmar share a 1,643 km long border with Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Mizoram (510 km), Manipur (398 km) and Nagaland (215 km).

On 2nd January 2024, a government official reportedly disclosed Centre’s intention to suspend the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the border with Myanmar that allows nationals living within 16 kms from the border to freely travel up to 16 km inside the neighbour country’s territory without the requirement of visa.

The lifting of the FMR will help address the major issues faced in the North East including illegal infiltration, drug trafficking and insurgency. However, it will disrupt familial and cultural connections. Suspension of FMR and fencing of the border will also result in loss of livelihood for many along the border.

According to Times of India, during his visit to New Delhi last week, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma told Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar that the border between Mizoram and Myanmar was drawn by the British without consulting the indigenous people. The CM is said to have told Dr Jaishankar that the border divided the Mizo people living in both countries and if Centre builds the fence, it would mean accepting the blunder committed by the British colonial government.

“The Mizo people reject the proposal to fence the border,” TOI quoted Lalduhoma as telling the Union Minister.

Upon his return from New Delhi and Kolkata, the CM informed in a press conference held on Saturday that the Mizoram Government will continue to provide relief to the refugees from Myanmar and from Manipur “who are true citizens of India”, The Mizoram Post said.

According to State’s official reports, Mizoram is giving shelter to over 31,000 refugees from Myanmar since 2021 and over 9,000 internally displaced people from Manipur since May 2023.