Mizoram MP says ‘not being allowed to raise issues’ with FMR removal along Myanmar border in RS

Mizoram MP raises concerns over India's decision to remove Free Movement Regime along Indo-Myanmar border.

Mizoram Rajya Sabha Member K. Vanlalvena, of the Mizo National Front, an National Democratic Alliance member, on Friday said he is not being allowed to speak in the House on the issue of India’s decision to remove the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Indo-Myanmar border despite submitting an application to raise it during Zero Hour four times. 

He said it was a “burning issue” in the States along the Indo-Myanmar border but Tribal MP’s from there are “not given a  single minute to raise this issue”. Mr. Vanlalvena added that he had sent a memorandum to Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday expressing “serious concern and resentment” over the decision to remove the FMR. 

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In the memorandum, he explained how the people of his State will loose access to their kin and to large swathes of agricultural lands and fishing grounds as a result of the fencing and the removal of the FMR, adding that the injustice imposed upon their people by the British’s “arbitrarily demarcated” borders continued to this day. 

“The Britishers during Colonial period had divided our ancestral land into three countries. The intention of making fencing between our ethnic communities by the Union Govt is just the acceptance of the unjust ruling of the colonial rulers,” he told The Hindu, adding, “The Union Government could accept the wrong-doing of the British administrators upon the North East tribal people.”

“I have visited many villages of the border area. They are all afraid of fencing the boundary because 80% of the long border is consisting of natural rivers which is their good fishing ground from the time of their ancestors,” Mr. Vanlalvena explained.

In the memorandum to the Home Minister, the Mizoram MP admitted that one may argue in favour of fencing with an intention to stop cross-border smuggling of arms, drugs, and illicit materials. But one must also note, he added, that such fencing had been done along the Indo-Bangladesh border, “but it has not achieved fruitful results” given how frequently security forces intercept such illegal consignments.