Imphal: The Kuki Inpi Chandel (KICdl) is pushing back against plans to swap land along the India-Myanmar border. The group specifically rejects a reported proposal to trade 1.4 square miles of territory. This disputed 2.8-kilometer stretch lies between Boundary Pillars 65 and 68. The area sits within the Khengjoi Sub-Division, near Myanmar’s Kabaw Valley.
General Secretary Shokhogin Mate issued a statement following an August 4, 2026, report from the Ministry of External Affairs. The KICdl argues that officials are ignoring the people living there. They claim indigenous communities and village chiefs were left out of talks. The group demands the government halt unilateral moves. They want a seat at the table. Any decision must secure the “free, prior and informed consent” of the locals. The KICdl warns that changing the boundary risks destroying homes, agricultural land, and sacred sites.
Social activist Shanjoy Ahanthem also weighed in on the controversy. He claims the Manipur government must protect the state’s original territorial boundaries. These borders existed before the 1949 merger with India. He points to the Merger Agreement signed on September 21, 1949, between Maharaja Bodhachandra Singh and the Governor-General of India. Ahanthem believes this pact prevents the Union Government from giving away state land.
“If the Manipur Government is bold enough and firmly committed to protecting the territorial boundary of Manipur as it existed before the merger with India, the Government of India will not dare to exchange any portion of Manipur’s territory with Myanmar,” Ahanthem stated. He warned that the state must send a clear message to New Delhi.
Reports from the magazine The Diplomat suggest a land swap could resolve disputed border segments. Demarcation work started on May 26 and could finish by August. Critics insist that Manipur’s situation is unique compared to other northeastern states. They argue the state cannot be treated as a bargaining chip in international negotiations.
Comments