Responding in writing to a question raised by opposition MLA K. Laldawngliana of the Mizo National Front (MNF), Sapdanga clarified that no final decision has yet been made regarding the exact stretch of border that would be fenced. He emphasized that while the issue rests under the authority of the Central Government, Mizoram has been extending full cooperation in ongoing consultations.
The home minister reiterated that the state’s position remains unchanged since February 28, 2024, when the Ninth State Legislative Assembly, during its second session, passed a resolution opposing border fencing and the abolition of the Free Movement Regime (FMR). A corresponding resolution was also adopted by the Council of Ministers on the same day.
Following this, the Assembly’s resolution was officially conveyed to New Delhi—first to the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha Secretariat on March 8, 2024, and later to the Union Home Ministry’s Deputy Secretary. Both communications underscored Mizoram’s firm opposition to the fencing plan and to the removal of the FMR, which allows free cross-border movement of ethnic Mizo and Zo communities living on both sides of the frontier.
Sapdanga further highlighted that resistance to the fencing project extends well beyond the government. Civil society organisations, students’ unions, and the Zo Reunification Organisation (ZoRO) have been leading strong campaigns against the move. A series of demonstrations and rallies have been organised, with protesters voicing concerns that fencing would divide families, sever ancestral ties, and disrupt centuries-old ethnic unity among the Mizo-Zo people.
With border security concerns on one hand and the preservation of cultural and ethnic bonds on the other, the debate over the Indo-Myanmar border fence remains one of the most sensitive and emotionally charged issues facing Mizoram today.
Source : NewsLink
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