THE ROMANCING
OF ‘FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURS’ OR ‘HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL TIES’ CAN NO LONGER
BE CONSIDERED THE BASIS OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS, SAYS NINGLUN HANGHAL
Following the meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union home
minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had with representatives of all political
parties in Manipur on 4 December over the happenings along the
Indo-Myanmarese border, a high-level team comprising officials of the
home ministry, the Survey of India and the state government visited
border villages in south-east Manipur on 7 December.
As of now, the ongoing work on border fencing along the 35-km Manipur-
Myanmar border remains suspended. The team recommended that the border
agreement be reviewed and, if need be, taken up with the Myanmar
government at the diplomatic level. Meanwhile, Myanmar has claimed that
since the land on which the Integrated Check Post in the border town of
Moreh (Manipur) is being constructed falls under its jurisdiction, the
work should stop forthwith. India is said to have invited the Myanmar
several times to discuss border issues but there has been no response.
The latter has also not positively responded for joint efforts in
tackling mutual insurgency problems. Because of this, major bilateral
development projects under India’s Look East Policy have not been
progressing as envisaged. Though there has been no major violence,
tensions along the Indo-Myanmarese border have been shimmering,
particularly in Manipur’s Chandel district. In July-August this year,
Haolenphai villagers saw Myanmar security personnel patrolling the area
and they even entered the village to construct barracks. Moreover, the
10-km fencing, work on which started this year, was found to be
entrenched within Indian territory and if work continues it would also
cover parts of the village.
In October, after government officials visited Mangkang (Haolenphai
village) and Thangbung Minou, political party representatives submitted a
memorandum to the Prime Minister. It said that since Manipur had been
incorporated into the Indian Union in October 1949, the Centre was
responsible for protecting international borders. The memorandum pointed
out that under the boundary delimitation agreed upon (April 1975)
there were to be 99 posts along the Indo-Myanmares border in the Manipur
sector. Today, several such pillars were missing while similar ones
with dual numbers had been fixed on both sides, it said. There were two
different lines and scales; the topo-sheet Map of 1973 and topo-sheet
Map of 1976 in the record of the Surveyor General of India.
Pillar Nos 64 to 68 and 75 to 80 are in a disputed area. About a dozen
more were found to be contentious. Pillar Nos 76 and 78 in Moreh had
disappeared and replaced by new ones with the Nos 23 and 21 and their
shape and size did not tally with the originals. Also, two border
pillars with the same number, 87, were found in Yangoupokpi village on
the Indian side and another similar pillar located at Oukrung village on
the Myanmar side. Similarly, pillar Nos 87, 88 and 89 were found on
both Indian and Myanmar soil. It is alleged that many pillars were
uprooted from the original sites and erected deep inside Indian
territory.
Territory and related matters in Manipur comprise an emotive subject.
The 1826 Yandaboo Treaty and the 1834 agreement on Kabaw valley have
always remained contentious issues. Reference to the loss of large
chunks of territory and Kabaw valley to Myanmar, or ethnic communities
divided across the border, were frequently made by Manipuris in their
socio- political discourses.
According to the bilateral agreement signed in Rangoon between India and
Burma in March 1967, demarcation of the international boundary line
demarcation was to be based on the traditional boundary line. Manipur
political parties alleged that at the time of the delimitation in April
1975 no responsible officers from the Indian side were present.
After more than 40 years, the 35-km stretch of common border in the
Manipur sector is yet to be demarcated on the ground. And after more
than 50 years of Independence, India is yet to ascertain and draw its
International boundary lines in the North-eastern sector.
India’s relations with its eastern neighbours have always been viewed
through the North-east prism. Though this appears to be positive, it is
but a mere strategic buffer zone. In actual diplomatic terms, the
relationship is between New Delhi and Naypidaw or New Delhi and Beijing,
while this periphery region remains vulnerable, underdeveloped and
never a subject of discussion in diplomatic circles.
While Delhi is preoccupied with Islamabad, Dhaka and Colombo, its
eastern neighbours have never actually figured in its consciousness. The
potential of Myanmar (case of insurgency) cannot be overlooked, nor the
Chinese aggression; the case of Arunachal Pradesh is an example. The
romancing of “friendly neighbours” or “historical and cultural ties” can
no longer be considered the basis of diplomatic relations and this
should be a wake-up call for Delhi.
THE WRITER IS A DELHI-BASED FREELANCE CONTRIBUTOR
The Statesman North East Page
December 16, 2013
