Meghalaya group wants Assam CM to help bring NE under restrictive British-era law

A Meghalaya-based organisation has urged Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to help bring the entire Northeast under a restrictive British-era law.

The Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO) stated that the Northeast, comprising eight States, needs to be brought under the Inner-Line Permit (ILP) regime due to constant threats from political leaders in Bangladesh to destabilise the strategic region.

The ILP, implemented under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873, is a temporary travel document for non-native Indians seeking to enter certain States sharing international borders.

The ILP is applicable in four northeastern States – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland. Both Indians and foreigners need to acquire the Protected Area Permit, a variant of the ILP, to visit the border or protected areas of Sikkim.

In a letter to Mr. Sarma on Monday (December 29, 2025), HITO president Donkupar Dkhar said that repeated references to India’s strategically sensitive Siliguri Corridor by Bangladeshi leaders, including the country’s interim head, Muhammad Yunus, make the ILP all the more relevant today.

The Siliguri Corridor, also known as ‘Chicken’s Neck’, is a narrow strip of land in West Bengal connecting the northeast to India’s mainland.

Mr. Dkhar said threats to cut the northeast off from India and destabilise the region were misleading, objectionable, and inimical to the country’s sovereignty and national interest. He also highlighted the political instability in Bangladesh and the frequent detection and arrest of Bangladeshi nationals in several northeastern States.

“In this (threats from Bangladesh) context, we respectfully urge you, in your capacity as the Chairman of the Northeast Democratic Alliance, to take the lead in demanding the extension of the ILP... to the entire Northeast region,” the HITO leader said.

The HITO and other organisations in Meghalaya have been demanding the implementation of ILP in the State for decades.