Following Nagaland, the Manipur government has followed suit and issued a memorandum for heightened vigilance against the “influx of illegal immigrants.”
While the Nagaland government, in an order issued on Monday, had cited apprehension of entry into the state by people displaced by the Assam government’s ongoing eviction drives, the Manipur Home Department memorandum cites “the turmoil situation in neighbouring countries.”
The memorandum directs the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of all districts to ensure vigil at international, inter-state and inter-district boundaries “to prevent anyone from crossing into the state’s boundaries illegally.” Manipur shares an international border with Myanmar and it has an Inner Line Permit regime, under which any Indian citizen, who does not belong to the state, is required to procure an official travel document called an Inner Line Permit (ILP), issued by the state government concerned, to visit or stay.
It also directs that District level Task Forces “for checking of illegal migrants” be made operational “at the earliest” comprising an ASP of the district, an officer from the district administration, a paramilitary representative and biometric staff.
The memorandum spells out steps to be taken in the event that any such “illegal movement” is detected: recording the biographic and biometric details of the persons; placing them in secured designated locations “without allowing them to get mixed up or naturalised with local populace”; and deporting after due procedure.
The question of alleged large scale illegal immigration from Myanmar into Manipur is one of the most contested issues in the state, particularly between the Meitei and Kuk-Zo communities which are in conflict with each other. Stakeholders from the Meitei community allege that illegal immigration of Chins from Myanmar, who are of the same ethnicity of the Kuki-Zos, is they key reason for the volatility in the region, a stance also expressed by the Union Home Minister.
