DIMAPUR, JANUARY 28 (MExN): The Nagaland Indigenous People’s Forum (NIPF) has voiced its continued support for the indigenous communities living along the imaginary border between India and Myanmar.
A press release issued by NIPF president Dr T Lima Jamir and general secretary Kikheto Sumi maintained that despite multiple appeals from various organizations to halt the ongoing border fencing construction and to restore the FMR as it was, the Government of India has remained steadfast in its decision, disregarding these concerns.
In the statement, the NIPF reiterated its solidarity with the Zo Reunification Organization (ZRO) and other civil society organizations (CSOs) advocating for the rights of the people in the border regions of India and Myanmar.
The forum highlighted that the indigenous populations living along the border were neither consulted nor informed when Burma was declared a separate crown colony on April 1, 1937, nor when the border between India and Myanmar was formally demarcated on March 10, 1967.
The NIPF emphasized the historical context, noting that these indigenous communities did not cross the border, but instead, the arbitrary "imaginary line" drawn by colonial powers traversed their lands, farms, houses, and villages.
This line, stretching for 1,643 kilometers from the tripoint of India-Burma-China in the north to the India-Burma-Bangladesh tripoint in the south, has disrupted the lives of these border inhabitants, according to the forum.
The NIPF has called upon the Ministry of Home Affairs to acknowledge the grievances of these communities, respect their sentiments, and address the issue promptly.
