Aizawl: The Aizawl-based Zo Re-Unification Organisation (ZORO), which represents the Chin, Kuki, Mizo, and Zomi communities across India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, has vowed to intensify its resistance against the Centre’s proposed fencing of the India-Myanmar border and the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR). The decision was announced following a meeting held by the organisation on April 22.
According to ZORO General Secretary Lalramhluna, the move to erect a physical barrier and revoke the FMR is seen as a direct threat to the cultural unity and traditional ties of ethnic Mizos living on both sides of the border. The group maintains that such actions would infringe upon the historical rights of the transborder Mizo community and weaken long-standing familial and cultural linkages.
ZORO has also argued that fencing the border is not a practical or effective solution to curb cross-border drug trafficking. Instead, it has urged the Centre and the Mizoram government to boost the capacity of existing border enforcement agencies including the Assam Rifles, state police, and Customs, particularly at critical checkpoints.
Last week, leaders from key Mizoram civil society organisations, including the Central Young Mizo Association (CYMA) and ZORO, met Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan in Delhi to reiterate their opposition. Despite their concerns, the Centre has continued to push for the plan, with Mohan appealing to the leaders for their cooperation.
Mizoram shares a 510-kilometre porous border with Myanmar’s Chin State, where residents share deep ethnic and cultural ties with the Mizos in India. The proposal to dismantle the FMR, which currently allows people from border villages to travel up to 16 km into either country without a visa, has sparked significant unease among the Mizo population.
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