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India’s Myanmar Dilemma
Context: Three years after Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, the junta continues its brutal crackdown—killing over 5,000 civilians and displacing more than 2.5 million people.
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- Despite this humanitarian catastrophe, India has continued formal diplomatic and commercial relations with the military regime, largely ignoring the pro-democracy resistance.
- The government remained disengaged from the National Unity Government (NUG) and associated ethnic and civil society movements that represent Myanmar’s democratic aspirations.
- India now has an opportunity to reframe its Myanmar policy to integrate values such as democracy and human security—without compromising on strategic goals.
How Can India Use Democracy as a Strategic Tool in Myanmar?
- Soft Power: India, as the world’s largest federal democracy, holds unique soft power in Southeast Asia.
- Support from Myanmar: Myanmar’s pro-democracy forces—including the National Unity Government (NUG), ethnic revolutionary organisations, trade unions, and civil society—have long viewed India as a model of federal cooperation and decentralisation.
- Democratic Movement: These groups are now aiming to replace Myanmar’s military-drafted 2008 Constitution with a genuinely federal democratic charter.
- India can support this transformative goal through capacity-building programs, technical assistance, and political backing.
- This would not only strengthen democratic norms in the region but also help New Delhi differentiate itself from Beijing, which is more invested in propping up authoritarian regimes.
- Diplomatic Edge: While both China and India can sell military hardware, only India can offer the vision of democratic federalism—providing New Delhi with a powerful diplomatic edge in its immediate neighborhood.
Should India Stop Military Supplies to the Myanmar Junta?
- India must immediately suspend all defense exports to the Myanmar military.
- Advocacy groups like Justice For Myanmar (JFM) have reported multiple instances of Indian military-grade supplies reaching the junta, including navigation equipment and diesel fuel for naval operations.
- These supplies indirectly support the military’s offensive operations against civilians.
- A clear policy directive to halt such sales would reinforce India’s commitment to peace and human rights, while also aligning with its global image as a responsible democracy.
What Can India Do to Address the Humanitarian Crisis Along the Border?
- Humanitarian Corridors: India should urgently open cross-border humanitarian corridors through Sagaing Region, Chin State, and northern Rakhine—three areas severely impacted by post-coup violence.
- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) confirms that Sagaing alone has the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Myanmar.
- To enable effective aid delivery, India must:
- Revoke its plans to fence the India-Myanmar border.
- Reinstate the Free Movement Regime (FMR), suspended in February 2024.
- Collaborate with local and international NGOs.
- Utilise Mizoram’s existing aid networks as a model.
- Follow best practices from Thailand’s successful cross-border aid efforts.
- Bypass Junta: Aid distribution must bypass the junta, as the military neither controls much of the border regions nor has a credible record of delivering humanitarian relief.
Why Should India Stop Deporting Asylum Seekers From Myanmar?
- Despite India not being a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, international law and humanitarian principles require the protection of refugees fleeing persecution.
- The government must immediately halt the detention and deportation of asylum seekers—particularly from conflict-ridden Manipur and Assam.
- For instance, 115 asylum seekers have been forcibly deported from Manipur, the latest being in June 2024.
- In Assam, 27 Chin refugees remain in detention. These individuals fled warzones and should be treated as refugees, not “illegal immigrants.”
- India must uphold the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits sending refugees back to places where they face grave danger.
- Creating humane refugee shelters and facilitating humanitarian access will enhance India’s credibility as a “Vishwabandhu” or friend of the world.
