The Assam Rifles on Thursday said that a comment by its director general on the mapping of Myanmarese citizens in India had been misconstrued as referring to persons from the neighbouring country staying in India illegally.

The paramilitary force’s Director General Vikas Lakhera said on Wednesday that about 42,000 Myanmarese nationals in India have been mapped with the help of biometrics and other government mechanisms since December.

During a seminar at Manipur University on Wednesday, Lieutenant General Lakhera said that Myanmarese nationals entering the country via crossing points were being mapped after the new free movement regime policy came into effect.

Later on Wednesday, former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh cited Lakhera’s statement to claim that biometrics were being collected from “illegal entrants crossing the Indo-Myanmar border”, although Lakhera had been referring to temporary crossings under the free movement regime.

India and Myanmar share a 1,643-km-long border along Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

The free movement regime, which has been in place since the 1970s, allows visa-free movement for people living within 16 kms on either side of the largely unfenced border. They can spend a day across the border without any official documents, and stay up to 72 hours “with effective and valid permits issued by the designated authorities on either side”.

The regime was devised keeping in mind the traditional social relations among those living near the border and to facilitate cross-border trade between the kindred tribes on both sides. The state of Mizoram hosts nearly 40,000 Chin refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh who fled the conflict in Myanmar in 2021.

In February 2021, Myanmar’s military deposed the democratically elected government led by Aung Saan Suu Kyi. Since then, there has been an influx of refugees into Manipur and Mizoram.

The Union Home Ministry has repeatedly said that it will suspend the regime. But the pact is yet to be put on hold and no formal orders have been issued by the Union government.

However, the ministry on December 6 finalised new guidelines to regulate the movement of border residents with quick response code-enabled passes, The Hindu reported.

Forty-three crossing points were also finalised by the ministry as per the revised guidelines and Assam Rifles had been entrusted with the task of monitoring the movement of persons from across the border, according to the newspaper.

On Wednesday, Lakhera said that the data being collected by the Assam Rifles on Myanmarese citizens entering the country through the crossing points was being shared with all government agencies.

Experts have told Scroll that the collection of such biometrics from those fleeing conflict or persecution, without “clear rules on onward sharing and without securing free and informed consent, can leave entire communities at risk”.

The data could also be used to target critics of the junta in Myanmar sheltering in India, they said.

Also read: As Mizoram collects biometric data of Myanmar refugees, experts flag risks

Ex-Manipur CM claims 42,000 ‘outsiders’ entered state

Biren Singh on Wednesday cited Lakhera’s statement to claim that around 42,000 “outsiders” entered Manipur since December.

In a post on social media, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader claimed that the “very need for such a measure underlines an undeniable truth that the influx of outsiders into our region is real and ongoing”.

He added that it was equally reassuring that these persons were being kept under “close watch, accommodated only at secure locations, and monitored under strict authority”.

The former chief has earlier attributed the ethnic conflict in Manipur to the free movement of people from across the border with Myanmar. He has also urged the Union Home Ministry to permanently terminate the free movement regime and complete the border’s fencing to check the “illegal influx from Myanmar”.

At least 260 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the ethnic clashes broke out between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities in May 2023.

President’s Rule was imposed in the state on February 13, four days after Singh resigned as the chief minister.

Meanwhile, several news reports also cited Lakhera to state that 42,000 Myanmarese nationals had entered Manipur in December.

In response, the Assam Rifles issued a clarification, saying that the statement made by Lakhera was being misrepresented by certain media outlets.

It added that the lieutenant general had stated: “After the new FMR [free movement regime] policy came into effect, the Myanmarese nationals entering India through crossing points are now being mapped. Since December, 42,000 individuals have been mapped with the help of biometrics and various measures instituted by all concerned government agencies. The data of this is being shared with all govt agencies.”

The statement said that the Myanmarese citizens primarily stay temporarily in Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, and eventually return to their country as per the provisions of the new policy.

“Media houses are kindly requested not to misconstrue or twist the statement, and to reflect the facts in their correct context,” it added.

The Kuki-Zo Council also expressed concern over the “deliberate misinterpretation” of Lakhera’s statement.

“The DGAR [the director general of the Assam Rifles] had clearly stated that around 42,000 persons have crossed over into India from Myanmar due to the ongoing political and ethnic turmoil in that country,” it said in a statement. “These individuals have been sheltered across various North Eastern states, including Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland.”

The council claimed that Singh, “in his habitual haste and malice, twisted this fact to once again propagate his false narrative of ‘illegal immigrants’’’ in Manipur.

It added that the 42,000 persons cited by the Assam Rifles were not “illegal immigrants” but “victims of war and persecution” who have crossed the border seeking refuge and safety.

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