Free movement regime

July 31, 2023

The border between India and Myanmar runs for 1,643 km in the four states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh.
The FMR is a mutually agreed arrangement between the two countries that allows tribes living along the border on either side to travel up to 16 km inside the other country without a visa.
The FMR was implemented in 2018 as part of the Act East policy at a time when diplomatic relations between India and Myanmar were on the upswing.
Background
- The border between India and Myanmar was demarcated by the British in 1826, without seeking the opinion of the people living in the region.
- People in the region have strong ethnic and familial ties across the border. In Manipur’s Moreh region, there are villages where some homes are in Myanmar. In Nagaland’s Mon district, the border actually passes through the house of the chief of Longwa village, splitting his home into two.
Concerns
- Although beneficial to local people and helpful in improving Indo-Myanmar ties, the FMR has been criticised for unintentionally aiding illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and gun running.