To Safeguard Local Ethnic Communities, CM Biren Singh Announces To Deport Those Who Came To Manipur After 1961

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced a decision on Monday (12 February) to deport those individuals who arrived and established residence in the state after 1961, Hindustan Times reported.

Swarajya had suggested last month that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur should be updated for detection of all those who had entered the state illegally from Myanmar over the past few decades.

The CM's decision aims to safeguard the ethnic communities of Manipur, which have been hit severely by the violence that began in May 2023.

Singh also praised Union Home Minister Amit Shah's announcement of scrapping the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar.

The Manipur CM had blamed the drug mafia and illegal migrants, especially from Myanmar for the violence in the state. He described the current situation in the state as a battle for survival and identity.

Stating that the government is working to make the future secure, Singh said that the deportation will be irrespective of caste or community and curb illegal trade of drugs and weapons.

"The insecurity we have today will not be faced by the generations to come. That is why we are bearing all the criticisms," Singh was quoted as saying by PTI.