Inner Line Permit (ILP)

The Inner-Line Permit (ILP) had been the Centre’s biggest gift to Manipur since its statehood.
Implemented under the British-era Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, the ILP is an official document issued to let an Indian citizen enter a protected area for a limited period.
Pressure groups in the northeast view this permit as a shield against the entry of illegal immigrants.
A concept drawn by colonial rulers, the Inner Line separated the tribal-populated hill areas in the Northeast from the plains
The concept originates from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act (BEFR), 1873.
The BEFR prohibits an outsider’s — “British subject or foreign citizen” — entry into the are beyond the Inner Line without a pass and his purchase of land there.

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