Given the ethnic and cultural similarities between India on one hand and Bangladesh and Myanmar on the other, the “ethnic-cultural space‟ of each intrudes into the “geographical-territorial space‟ of the others. It is natural that ethno-cultural contiguity and continuity give opportunities and scope to immigrants to India to relate to their respective country of “origin‟.

India- Myanmar

• Since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, the ruling junta has launched a campaign of persecution against the Kuki-Chin peoples. This has pushed large numbers of Myanmarese tribals across the country’s western border into India, especially into Manipur and Mizoram, where they have sought shelter. Mizoram, where a large section of the population has close ethnic and cultural ties with people across the border, has set up camps for more than 40,000 refugees, despite protests from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
• A Free Movement Regime (FMR) exists between India and Myanmar. Under FMR every member of the hill tribes, who is either a citizen of India or a citizen of Myanmar and who is resident of any area within 16 km on either side of the Indo-Myanmar Border (IMB) can cross the border with a border pass (with one-year validity) issued by the competent authority and can stay up to two weeks per visit.
• The regime has been reviewed from time to time, and most experts agree that the FMR needs better regulation. As the crisis in Myanmar escalated and the influx of refugees increased, India suspended the FMR in September 2022.
• Given the interests of the local population, however, neither the complete removal of the FMR nor full fencing of the border may be desirable. Livelihoods will be impacted, and essential travel for health care and education may be hit. Oinam’s paper argued that “it is imperative for New Delhi to tackle the issue by pursuing ‘killing the snake without breaking the stick’ approach.”
• It is not easy to plug illegal immigration or drug trafficking across an unfenced border in treacherous terrain.

India- Bangladesh

• The Chakmas and Hajongs are ethnic people who lived in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, most of which are located in Bangladesh. Chakmas are predominantly Buddhists, while Hajongs are Hindus. They are found in northeast India, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
• The Chakmas and Hajongs living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts fled erstwhile East Pakistan in 1964-65, since they lost their land to the development of the Kaptai Dam on the Karnaphuli River. In addition, they also faced religious persecution as they were non-Muslims and did not speak Bengali. They eventually sought asylum in India. The Indian government set up relief camps in Arunachal Pradesh and a majority of them continue to live there even after five decades. According to the 2011 census, 47,471 Chakmas live in Arunachal Pradesh alone.
• The Chakmas and Hijongs opposed their inclusion in undivided Pakistan during Partition. They later opposed their inclusion in Bangladesh when East Pakistan was fighting the Liberation War with West Pakistan, on grounds that they are an ethnic and religious minority group. A group of Chakmas resorted to armed conflict with Bangladeshi forces under the name ''Shanti Bahini''. The conflict increased the inflow of refugees to India.
• Illegal migration and cross-border activities are major challenges along the India-Bangladesh border, which is marked by a “high degree of porosity”. According to the annual report of the home ministry, to curb infiltration, smuggling and other anti-national activities from across the India-Bangladesh border, the government has undertaken the construction of a fence along it.
• The non-physical barrier will comprise technological solutions, while sanction has also been accorded to replace the old design fence with a new design fence.
• There have been some problems in the construction of fencing in certain stretches on this border due to riverine and low-lying areas, habitations within 150 yards of the border, pending land acquisition cases and protests by the border population, which have delayed the completion of the project, the report said.
• Border roads have been constructed for better communication and operational mobility in border areas. So far 3,750.87 km of border roads have been constructed out of the sanctioned length of 4,223.04 km. The ongoing work is to be completed by March 2024.