Dimapur, July 4 — The Longwa Village Council in Mon district, Nagaland, has appealed to Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai to reconsider the Centre’s decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and erect fencing along the Indo‑Myanmar border, saying the move would split a community that has lived as “one people” for centuries despite the international boundary. The memorandum, submitted on Saturday, warned that fencing and the FMR’s withdrawal would sever family ties, restrict access to ancestral lands and “severely affect the traditional way of life” of Longwa residents.
Longwa, the council said, is home to about 6,000 people who live on both sides of the border but remain united “under one Anghship, one Church, and one traditional administration.” Of roughly 990 households in the village, some 170-including the residence of the Chief Angh, a government primary school, a church, morungs, shops and other public properties-sit directly astride the boundary. The village also has eight jhum farmlands and two forest reserves, four of the farmlands and one reserve lying inside Myanmar.
Tracing Longwa’s roots to a 16th‑century migration from Pongchau in present‑day Arunachal Pradesh, the council noted that the international boundary was imposed only during a joint India‑Myanmar demarcation exercise in 1970–71 and, it alleges, was drawn “without the informed consent of the village inhabitants.” The memorandum says residents on both sides have nonetheless maintained peaceful coexistence and preserved shared history, culture, traditions and family links.
The Centre announced plans to fence the Indo‑Myanmar border and end the FMR on January 20, 2024. The FMR had allowed border communities limited cross‑border movement without visas-a facility the council described as vital for preserving social, cultural and familial ties in border areas. The council warned that fencing would physically divide the settlement, separating relatives and cutting off access to farmlands and forest resources.
The appeal was signed by Longwa Chief Angh Tonyei Phawang and council chairman Yanlang Konyak, who said they were hopeful the minister’s office would “sympathetically consider” the village’s request for special treatment given its unique historical, cultural and geographical circumstances. They asked Rai to intervene and recommend reconsideration of policy insofar as it affects Longwa.
On Saturday, Union MoS Nityanand Rai visited the Tek headquarters of the 42 Assam Rifles and the Company Operating Base of E/42 Assam Rifles along the India‑Myanmar border, according to a post on his X account. Rai held discussions with Brigadier Rajiv Singh and other officers, interacted with deployed soldiers, and visited Longwa to meet Angh Tonyei and local residents. He reiterated the government’s focus on the Northeast’s development, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the region as “Ashtalakshmi,” and praised the Assam Rifles for their role in regional security and welfare under Home Minister Amit Shah’s guidance.
Original Source: https://www.morungexpress.com/6000-people-one-identity-longwa-appeals-against-border-fence
Category: Nagaland
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Publish Date: 2026-07-04 23:25:00
