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.
