"Best Thing That Can Happen": Army Veteran On Ending India-Myanmar Free Movement

"Removing the FMR was an appropriate step. At the end of the day, if we keep the FMR, how many people are going to be affected? How many Indians are going to be impacted? But look at the challenges," Lieutenant General LN Singh (retired) told NDTV

Only a negligible number of Indians is likely to be impacted by the scrapping of the India-Myanmar free movement regime, while tightening the border with Myanmar will be immensely useful for the entire nation, a retired senior army officer who has been closely tracking the violence in Manipur and working on the ground told NDTV in an interview.

Lieutenant General LN Singh (retired), the third military officer from the northeast to have attained the second-highest rank in the Indian Army, pointed to problems caused by smugglers, insurgents and illegal immigrants who have been taking advantage of the free movement regime (FMR) to create trouble in Manipur.

"Removing the FMR was an appropriate step. At the end of the day, if we keep the FMR, how many people are going to be affected? How many Indians are going to be impacted? But look at the challenges. Insurgents can come, smugglers can come, there could be demographic invasion of the country. India, considering the security challenges and other factors, has done the right thing by removing the FMR," Lt General Singh told NDTV.