Kohima: Longwa village sits right on the edge of the map. It is a single community of 6,000 people split in two by an international line. Now, the village council wants the government to stop a plan to build a border fence and scrap the Free Movement Regime. They sent a plea to Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Saturday.
The village has 990 households. The international boundary cuts through 170 of them, including the home of the Chief Angh. Locals also manage farmland and forests that sit inside Myanmar territory. The council says this border was drawn in 1970 without asking the people living there. As the memorandum stated, "Had the people been fully aware that their ancestral village would be divided, they would not have accepted such an arrangement."
Families here share one church and one traditional administration. They have lived this way since the 16th century. Fencing the area will destroy these ties. It blocks access to ancestral land and breaks apart family units that have coexisted for generations.
Nityanand Rai visited the Mon district to meet with officers and the local Chief Angh. While he spoke about security and development, the village remains focused on keeping its identity intact. They hope the minister will grant a special exception for their unique situation.
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