KOHIMA, April 28: A wave of mass public rallies swept across all districts of Eastern Nagaland on Monday, as residents protested the Government of India’s decision to implement border fencing and revoke the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Indo-Myanmar border.
Organised under the banner of the Eastern Naga People’s Organisation (ENPO), the rallies witnessed widespread participation and solidarity from various tribal communities. The ENPO had earlier declared a complete shutdown of all educational institutions and business establishments within Eastern Nagaland from 6 am to 6 pm in support of the demonstration.
Speakers at the rallies voiced fears that the new policies would divide their people and dispossess them of ancestral lands they have inhabited “since time immemorial long before independent India.” Demonstrators strongly opposed the revocation of the FMR, arguing it threatens indigenous rights, cultural ties, and long-standing ancestral connections across the international border.
Simultaneously, rallies were held across Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak, and Shamator districts, led by apex tribal bodies, with memorandums submitted to the Home Ministry through Deputy Commissioners, stressing that the planned border fencing and scrapping of the FMR threaten the unique history, traditions, and political aspirations of Eastern Nagas, and urging the government to uphold the land rights and dignity of indigenous communities along the Indo-Myanmar border.
The leaders demanded the immediate reinstatement of the Free Movement Regime and warned that fencing the border would severely disrupt traditional ways of life and worsen historical injustices rooted in colonial-era demarcations.
The rallies concluded peacefully, with participants displaying unwavering determination to safeguard their ancestral land, cultural heritage, and identity.
