With the Manipur assembly passing the resolution last week seeking reinstatement of the Permit system, the legacy of territorial framework bequeathed by the British has raised its head again.

Before 1947, an Inner Line delineated the limits of fully administered sovereignty of the British India. Beyond the Inner Line, the Raj drew an Outer Line that was a claimed boundary. Post-independence, India adopted the Outer Line as its formal border. In the largely tribal regions between the Inner and Outer lines, the British Raj did not exercise full sovereignty. It had loose arrangements with the tribes who were left free to look after their own affairs, but would contribute to the security of the frontiers.