Protected Area Regime, PAP, FMR—All Steps To Curb Violence In Manipur

A boundary of over 1,600 kilometers divides India and Myanmar with many stretches along it remaining porous. The elongated Indo-Myanmar boundary passes through the north eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. According to governments, both at state and the centre, the border and few of the policies regarding it are responsible for the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur to a great extent.

The world remains aghast to watch the degree of violence and loss of human lives and properties in Manipur for over one and a half years now with harrowing news of new incidents pouring in regularly. The ethnic clashes in the state involve people from the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities.

The government narrative is that the influx of people from the Myanmar who share ethnic ties with Zo-Kukis of Manipur may have surged the violence. The military coup in Myanmar in 2021 indeed paved the path for undocumented migrants to enter India. According to reports nearly 40,000 refugees took shelter in Mizoram while around 400 such refugees could have entered Manipur in the post-coup scenario in Myanmar.

Not only the governments, but also most sections of the Meitei civil society have been alleging that the uncontrolled influx of “illegal immigrants” from the Zo Kuki community from neighbouring Myanmar is one of the main reasons for the instability and the conflict in the state.

Viewing it, the center has recently (December 17) come out with a stricter monitoring system of the movements of foreigners in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. All these three states are interconnected and share border with Myanmar. This monitoring is the re-imposition of the PAR (Protected Area Regime) in these three NE states under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order 1958. 

What is the 1958 Order & What the changes Would Entail?

The Order stated that no foreigner shall enter into or remain in any protected area without a permit issued by the Central government or any office authorised by the Central government. The permit has to include the following details — place of entry, place of residence and period of stay. The places that were declared as Protected Areas are parts of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand and the whole of Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim (partly as protected areas and partly as restricted areas). Notably, another such order of 1963 declared entire Andaman & Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim as restricted area.

In 2011, during UPA II regime, the PAR was lifted from Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. The then government lifted the restriction saying that the security problem had gone down and lifting the restrictions would improve tourism in these states. The UPA government also said that there was a request from the state governments to relax the restrictions. 

With re-imposition of the PAR, now the foreign tourists that want to visit any one of these states would require obtaining a PAP (Protected Area Pass) issued from the government. The permits can be obtained from the MHA, district magistrates, resident commissioners of a State, Home Commissioners or Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) among others.

The Withdrawal of FMR

The mutually agreed Free Movement Regime (FMR) with Myanmar allowed people living along the border on both sides to travel up to 16 km inside the other country without a visa and to stay up to two weeks. In January this year, the Centre announced that the FMR has been cancelled. Along with it, the center declared that the entire length of the porous Indo-Myanmar which runs along Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh would be fenced.

The FMR was signed in 2018 after India proposed a formal agreement with Myanmar in 2014. However, the FMR has a long history that dates back to the period right after India’s independence from the Colinial regime. This had moved through thick and thin depending upon the tensions on both sides of the border.

Perceivably, the decision of withdrawing the FMR has seen welcome from the Manipur government, but it suffers resistance in Nagaland and Mizoram. The Indo-Myanmar boundary cuts through both Naga and the zo-Kuki communities residing on both sides of it.

However, there remains doubt of how far this measure will help in curbing violence in Manipur. First, it is unlikely that people crossing a border will apply for a permit to do that. Second, the completion of the gargantuan task will require a long time.

Above all, the tourism will also suffer. Any kind of restriction puts a bar on the wish of foreign travelers to visit to these sates. Restrictions incur doubt amongst foreign tourists anywhere in the world. It is important to consider that in the recently held Hornbill Festival, which happens to be Nagaland’s biggest tourist draw, had about 2.05 lakh visitors, 2,527 of whom were foreigners.

Also Read: A Grim Toll of Wars: A World in Crisis