India Myanmar Border Research Articles

The Indo-Myanmar Borderlands: Border Trade, Urbanisation and Ethnic Politics in Mizoram, India

Since the 1990s, the Government of India has undertaken several policy initiatives to facilitate cross-border flows. Such initiatives can be read as an effort to transform ‘battlefields into marketplaces’. This paper examines the rise of the border town of Champhai, located on the India-Myanmar border in the state of Mizoram in Northeast India. The formation of a new urban centre in a frontier region based on border trade reveals different dimensions of transition in Northeast India’s borderlands. The paper explores two key themes: how border trade, comprised of legal and illegal flows, has transformed Champhai into Mizoram’s third-largest city, and how increasing trade across the border reorients the interethnic dynamics with strong implications for ethnic and citizenship politics in Mizoram. The paper concludes by highlighting the different aspects discussed in the article that would determine the borderland dynamics in Mizoram.

India’s Economic Relations with Myanmar: A Study of Border Trade

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to analyze the nature of border trade between India and Myanmar. India is an emerging power with fast economic growth, geographic size, natural resources, and dynamic population. It has adopted a new foreign policy and economic orientation towards its South East Asian bordering neighbors including Myanmar. China, however, initiated a global strategy-the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. This study looks into the geopolitics of the Sino-Indian rivalry in the context of the global power configurations and inter-state economic relations. To this end, the methodology of a case study for Moreh-Tamu border trade along the Indo-Myanmar cross-border region has been applied in this paper. The findings reveal growing trade relations and bilateral economic engagements of both India and Myanmar. India’s Northeastern border issues, ASEAN connectivity, the BCIM economic corridor of the BRI, India’s neighborhood policy, as well as the geo-political dynamics, among other factors, are the principal factors affecting India-Myanmar border trade. The problems of the Sino-Indian rivalry, weak borderlands infrastructures and ethnic insurgencies have emerged as the major obstacles to border trade along the Moreh-Tamu border region. This study concludes that India and Myanmar are increasingly engaged in cross-border trade and economic cooperation.

India–Myanmar Border Fencing and India’s Act East Policy

The Manipur–Myanmar border is a fine example in establishing that cross-border linkages are far more central to historical change than previously acknowledged. Fencing of the Manipur–Myanmar border created barriers to economic exchanges and livelihood while dividing cultures and families. Therefore, understanding the ways in which the fencing affects the border communities is important and crucial for comprehending the role of the border communities living along the Manipur–Myanmar border in India’s Act East Policy (AEP), together with in examining the ways in which they can be engaged for the successful implementation of the policy.

Security Challenges and the Management of the India–Myanmar Border

Being highly porous, poorly guarded and located along a remote, underdeveloped, insurgency-prone region and proximate to one of the world’s largest five opium producing areas, the India–Myanmar border is vulnerable to the activities of insurgents and drugs and arms traffickers as well as criminals. Although the Indian government has been alive to the threats that emanate from a poorly guarded India–Myanmar international border, its attention towards the problem has been woefully inadequate. Given that poor security along the India–Myanmar border poses a challenge to India’s security, it is imperative that India strengthens security of the border and redoubles its efforts to meaningfully engage Myanmar to effectively manage this border.

Parallel governance and political order in contested territory: Evidence from the Indo-Naga ceasefire

ABSTRACTThe reconstruction of stable political order after violent conflict is a central concern of peacebuilding theory and practice. While much of the literature on this subject is based on cases where there has been state collapse or international intervention, this article draws on a case study from India’s northeast, where a long-standing separatist insurgency has given way to a stable and protracted ceasefire. Drawing on fieldwork from Ukhrul district in the India–Myanmar border, the article studies the parallel military structures and civilian governance institutions and the nature of their interaction. In doing so, it evaluates the consequences of the ceasefire political equilibrium in terms of the larger project of conflict resolution and a permanent political resolution.

The Proto-Tibeto-Burman*gV-nominalizing prefix

Matisoff (2003) reconstructs an “adjectival prefix” *gV-, based on work by Wolfenden (1929). As a result of surveying grammatical descriptions of more than 90 Tibeto-Burman languages, the present study provides evidence to reconstruct Matisoff’s adjectival prefix as a nominalizer whose functional range includes (but is not limited to) the adjectival marking. Evidence for the prefix is found in three major genetic subdivisions. Within Bradley’s (2002) Western branch, Baram (Newaric) has a particularly versatile nominalizerki-~gi-, and Eastern Kiranti languages have *gV-…-pa nominalizing circumfixes. In Bradley’s Eastern branch, rGyalrongic languages have velar prefixes that function as the main nominalizers. Further, in DeLancey’s (2015) Central branch of Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan), we find reflexes of *gV- in many languages, most notably the versatile nominalizerkV-in Lamkang (Northwest Kuki-Chin). Other languages of the India-Myanmar border with unresolved phylogenetic status within Tibeto-Burman also have reflexes of *gV-, most prominently Karbi and Tangkhul (Konnerth 2012).

Narendra Modi and Northeast India: development, insurgency and illegal migration

ABSTRACTAt this stage, it would be premature to assess the performance of the Narendra Modi-led Government of India and its policies towards the country’s Northeast region, but there are some indications to address key issues of the region, such as infrastructure development, insurgency and illegal migration. Apart from taking necessary steps for ensuring speedy implementation of infrastructure projects initiated by the previous government, a spate of new infrastructure projects has been launched. Shortly after assuming office a peace agreement was concluded with an important insurgent group, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak-Muivah so as to ‘empower’ the Naga people as well as conducted an operation against insurgents along the India–Myanmar border in the immediate aftermath of the killing of some military personnel. The agreement is expected to help restore normalcy and promote development in the region. At the same time, the signing of another agreement for exchange of territories with Bangladesh will ensure many stateless people the liberty to choose the citizenships of either India or Bangladesh. However, the approach towards the larger issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh into the region is still unclear, but the new government has expressed keenness to welcome members of minority communities of Bangladesh should they suffered persecution there. This article will discuss some of these issues.

Application of a ramp/flat-fault model to interpretation of the Naga thrust and possible implications for petroleum exploration along the Naga thrust front

The Assam-Arakan thrust belt extends along the India-Myanmar border, from the Chinese border on the north to the Bay of Bengal on the south. Tertiary nonmarine sediments dominate the stratigraphy within the frontal zone of this fold and thrust belt. Thrust-fault flats occur in the upper Barail Group coaly interval, and ramps are localized by preexistent normal faults and stratigraphic discontinuities. As a result, the frontal zone of the thrust belt is characterized by multiscale imbricate structures. The Jaipur anticline occurs at the foreland edge of the Naga thrust imbricate zone, at the northeastern end of the Assam valley. Application of flat/ramp geometric models, with a limited data set from the Jaipur anticline, allows creation of geometrically viable models for interpreting the general structure of the Jaipur anticline and for developing hydrocarbon exploration leads. The results of this method indicate that (1) the proven productive foreland trend extends several kilometers beneath the Naga thrust, and (2) zones of high dip in the thrust belt mark the location of prospect leads probably related to local thrust imbrication. The method provides a testable process of identifying prospective areas; therefore, it can minimize exploration expense and optimize exploration planning.

The b value before the 6th August, 1988 India-Myanmar Border Region Earthquake—a case study

Smith (1981, 1986) and Wyss et al. (1990) have observed that intermediate-term quiescence is often associated with an increasing b value. This study pertains to the temporal behaviour of the b value before the earthquake of 6th August, 1988, which occurred in the India-Myanmar border region. The b value in the preparation zone of the earthquake (21°–25.5°N, 93°–96°E), as identified by Gupta and Singh (1986, 1989), is found to have increased gradually from 1976 to a maximum value of 1.33 during July, 1987, followed by a short-term drop before the occurrence of the earthquake. The quiescence period observed by Gupta and Singh (1986, 1989) for this earthquake is better reflected by the intermediate-term increase in the b-value. A drop in the mean magnitude since 1978 is supported by a CUSUM plot.