Senapati, June 1, 2025, Virthli: The All Naga Students' Association, Manipur (ANSAM), has strongly condemned the ongoing construction of border fencing across Naga-inhabited areas, calling it "undemocratic, repressive, and unacceptable." In a press release issued from its office in Tahamzam (Senapati), ANSAM criticized the Government of India's (GoI) "indifferent and aggressive" approach, warning that the imposed fencing and the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) threaten to deepen the longstanding Indo-Naga political crisis.
The Association announced a 48-hour office picketing campaign in all Naga Hill Districts, beginning June 2, 2025. The decision follows resolutions passed during the ANSAM Presidential Council meeting on May 12 and further endorsed in a follow-up meeting on May 26. The picketing is framed as a united civil protest against the fencing project and the scrapping of the FMR, which previously allowed free cross-border movement for Naga communities across the India-Myanmar border.
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| File Photo - For representational purposes only. |
ANSAM emphasized that the sealing of the border and dismantling of FMR violates the cultural, historical, and familial ties of Naga communities living along the international boundary. “It is not only uncalled for, but it also triggers unprecedented human crisis,” the statement read.
Calling upon its constituent units and sub-ordinate bodies, ANSAM urged strict enforcement of the picketing in their respective jurisdictions, stressing that the movement aims to defend ancestral land and the integrity of Naga families. The Association further cautioned that any individual or entity found involved in transporting or facilitating materials for border fencing will be held accountable.
“The GoI must sincerely engage in negotiations to resolve the protracted Indo-Naga political issue,” the Association reiterated, demanding an immediate halt to the fencing work and reinstatement of the FMR.
The press release was jointly signed by ANSAM President Th. Angteshang Maring and General Secretary Isaac Charenamei.
