Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur now open without permit...

@Shafique: Thanks for clarification ... but does it mean sballer33 is wrong? he too has travelled a lot in these areas and so I was feeling he may be correct.

I am a bit confused now. Esp since I was planning to visit some Burma border areas like Moreh suggested by sdsudarshan.
.

I dont personally think it will be re-instated, and the logic is #1. Permit system was abolished primarily for promoting tourism in these states, and #2. Extremism issues are moderating -places are relatively peaceful now #3 Border issue with china are almost none other then with AP. So dont think any reason whatsoever why it should be re-instated unless any new issue crops up

I always traveled free to Nagaland from my School, college day's untill I marry my wife from Nagaland :-), there is no check-post like AP, is Sballer indian? if yes I am also interested to know when and how he/she faced this permit issue - really strange.

Moreh is the Burma border - I've not visited ever. Only thing I know its the route smart people use to enter Barma without visa . So my assumption - if there is such relaxation till the boarder you shouldnt have any problem. And may be because of the presence of some defense installation you may go through a check-post. Better to check - I'll try to get info for you

As per websites of Nagaland and Mizoram Governments, Indians require ILP unless these websites are out of date.

What is the basis for your information that Indians do not need ILPs for the 3 states referred to in the title of this thread? The official communique of the GOI's Press Information Bureau is silent on the subject of withdrawal of ILP requirement for Indians -
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=68824
I have dredged the PIB site for subsequent releases re Indian citizens, there are none. What the concerned state govt sites say as of even date has been mentioned by Sadanand. The ILP requirement for Indians is well-documented on the web, including this site. You on the other hand have provided not a single link. If you have any authentic info to support your statement, other than hearsay or conjecture, please mention your source.



I'm going to wait a bit for confirmation/refutation, but I think not.



Always possible (I think not though), but unlikely that there would be no PIB release to the effect, wouldn't you agree?

I have travelled extensively in North-East for a couple of years. Manipur never had a system of Inner-Line Permit. But definitely both Mizoram and Nagaland requires the permit. The only exception is Dimapur in Nagaland where you do not need any permit to visit, because it is on the border with Assam and this relaxation is given only to this town of Nagaland.

I have also travelled by bus from Imphal(Manipur) to Gauhati(Assam), but had to take the Inner-Line Permit for Nagaland since the bus goes through Nagaland..via Kohima(Nagaland).

For Mizoram, you can either take the permit from Mizoram House in Kolkata, or from Silchar(Assam) which is on the border with Mizoram.

Note: I do not know if the permit system has been scrapped in the last 2 years!

Just impossible! Unless you have only visited Dimapur in Nagaland. There is a check-post outside Dimapur town on the road to Kohima.

Manipur/Tripura/Meghalaya/Assam -- Never had any system of ILP
Mizoram - ILP was required(don't know now)
Nagaland - ILP was required except Dimapur(don't know now)

If ILP exists even now, it is very simple to get from the respective State offices.

The source and the documentary evidence for ILP is ‘Bengal EF Regulation Act 1873’ – yes 1873. If in ground reality practice is different then what the age-old norms says, then no proper govt notification about the change practice can be expected. IMike is the best document I guess. The practice in Nagaland is to let Nagaland registered vehicle move freely, unlike AP. I have even called up my local friend to cross-check if there is any change to this practice, and he confirmed – NO. (Graspani after Dimapur is the entry to the rest of the Nagaland)

Long back I’ve written to Tourism Department about keeping a proper clarification on these permits (RAP/PAP/ILP) in their websites very prominently, as I felt lack of info is the main culprit then the issue of extremism, remoteness etc. (remoteness is in fact a boon for tourism) But I didn’t get any response, nor do I see any change. Hence IMikers need to rely on each others information about this region.

KS mega trip can highlight many change practice – I am sure he’ll get interesting updates.

http://www.explorenagaland.com/pages...-PAP,-ILP.html

I don't have any latest updates but I can tell a few things (for Indians) from my Feb - March 2010 trip to North East.

1] Arunachal Pradesh - ILP is required (I visited Namdapha) & the permit gets checked.
2] Nagaland - Visiting diampur does not require permit. However visiting places like Kohima, Khonoma etc., permit is required which you can get from Dimapur on any working day. There is a check post on the Dimapur - Kohima road to check the permits, however during my 7 days stay in Nagaland not even once I was asked to show my permit.
3] If you are travelling by road to Manipur (from Guwahati) officially you needed to have permit since the vehicle passes from Nagaland, but again no one checked our permits when we boarded the bus from Kohima till we landed in Imphal.

All the above is from my personal experience in 2010 Feb - March, I am not aware of the latest developments. Good for tourism if the permits are abloshied as in any case they were mere formalities especially for Nagaland.

Ronak.

Actually it did, although not in recent times:
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=19..191110.nov10

Again, never say never. The original regulation mostly covered Assam (including present-day Meghalaya). I'm not able to determine when the requirement was removed, I'm guessing also in 1950. We already know Manipur had it. Seems only Tripura was never included.



The question wasn't what the basis for establishment of ILPs was in the first place, the question was what is your basis for saying the requirements are removed for the states concerned.

Hmm, I don't think "ground reality practice" can be the basis for the rest of us ignoring the law while planning a trip (to Mizoram and/or Nagaland), considering the ILP requirement is very much in place. If there were no requirement as you claim, why would the state govts' offices be issuing ILPs, as both funny and Ronak have reported? That they are not checked en-route cannot be a good reason for ignoring the law.

Wow! What research! My father was not born in 1950, how would I know these things existed in history! Anyway, good to know something new.
Mizoram ILP is defintely checked from each individual in all vehicles at Vairangte checkpost as soon as you enter Mizoram on the Silchar-Aizawl road.

Interesting info -- As soon as you enter Vairangte(Mizoram border town), you pass through the 'Counter-Terrorism and Jungle Warfare School' situated on both sides of the road. This is supposed to be the biggest in Asia. Armymen from different units are regularly sent here for training. I have heard even US Marines are sent here for training. I once stopped here and talked to a colonel. He pointed out the firing ranges among the deep forests in the hills. He also said that training included dropping trainees(with just survival equipment) from helicopters deep in some forest in another hill, and then time his reporting back to base.

I wasn't around in 1950 either ......... Google is your friend.

It's true that armies of many countries including US send personnel to Vairengte for training.

In the summo I took to Aizawl from Silchar (this year) all the Indians (non-tribals) in the vehicle had inner-line permits checked, a mizo told me that keeping inner-line permit was a provision in peace treaty that was signed back in the 80s. In fact the some Mizos were against removing the PAP for foreigners because they thought it would lead to a removing of the inner-line permit.

In Nagaland my understanding is that it is still officially required but I never saw it checked while I was there this time. The summo I took from Kohima didn't stop to have permits checked nor when I took the bus to Manipur via Nagaland on a separate occasion.

Will this be extended to 2012?

I will backpack through Northeast India in January. I will have an OCI but am a Canadian, so I assume I should just show my Canadian passport to be treated as a foreigner. However, my Canadian passport will contain the OCI stamp. I wonder if I should follow the rules of an Indian or of a foreigner?

My fiance and her brother will accompany me, who are both citizens of the Republic of Korea.

I also wonder what is better for my safety, because there have been travel advisories in the area previously: to look Northwest Indian or European? I can look the part of either one very well.