Cross-border movement of insurgents is only one of the several security challenges facing the policing of the border in North-East India. Examine the various challenges currently emanating across the India-Myanmar border. Also, discuss the steps to counter the challenges.

Use it to show that border-linked threats, including cross-border movement and narcotics, keep the security apparatus in place, and to suggest calibrated countermeasures.

• The 2026 extension covers most of Manipur and Arunachal's Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts; the security situation behind AFSPA includes cross-border movement along the Myanmar border and narcotics trafficking.
• Countermeasures: strengthen State police so the army can step back, as in Tripura, and tie every extension to published, measurable security indicators.

Use migration from Myanmar into Manipur and the pushback figures to illustrate non-insurgent challenges on the India-Myanmar border, and the border management steps proposed.

• Migration from Myanmar since the February 2021 military coup has driven a large movement of people towards India's north-eastern States.
• Manipur reports that 14,992 of 24,475 people detected as illegal immigrants have been pushed back into Myanmar, mainly from the border districts of Chandel, Kamjong and Tengnoupal.
• Counter-steps: faster border fencing and biometric tracking of cross-border movement, with any citizen verification run as a transparent, Centre-led process accepting multiple forms of evidence.