Being neighboring countries, India and Myanmar share historical, ethnic, cultural, and religious ties. They share a long land border of 1643 km and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Indian states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh share a border with Kachin State, Sagaing Region, and Chin State of Myanmar. Myanmar was earlier called Burma. (Its official name was changed from "Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989). Like other neighboring countries, Myanmar (erstwhile Burma) had cultural and historical relations with India. 90% of the Burmese population follows Theravada Buddhism. Burma was formally made a part of India by Britishers in 1886 after the third Anglo–Burmese war in 1885. However, it was separated from British India in 1937.
In the post-independence era, India established diplomatic relations with Burma in 1948 after it gained Independence from Britain. In 1951, both countries signed a Treaty of Friendship. For many years, Indo-Burmese relations were strong due to historical and cultural connections along with the presence of a significant Indian community in Myanmar. A large population of Indian origin (according to some estimates about 2.5 million) lives in Myanmar. Also, as the land of Lord Buddha, India is a country of pilgrimage for the people of Myanmar.
India provided considerable support post-independence when Myanmar struggled with regional insurgencies. In 1962, there was a coup in Myanmar (then Burma) and the military overthrew the elected government. (It should be noted that during 1958-60, the military was in charge of the country as the caretaker government). The overthrow of the democratic government by the Military led to strained ties. Like much of the world, India condemned the suppression of democracy. The Burmese Military government ordered the expulsion of the Burmese Indian community leading to strained ties with India and also further isolation from the world. The relations continued to be cold till 1987. However, during the same period, the two countries signed the Land Boundary Agreement (1967) and the Maritime Boundary Agreement (1986).
A breakthrough in relations occurred in 1987 when the then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Myanmar. However, relations worsened after the military government’s reaction towards pro-democracy movements in 1988, which resulted in an influx of Burmese refugees into India. However, the relations started improving in the 1990s, especially after 1998. Indian Prime Ministers P.V. Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee tried to establish warmer relations between the two nations as part of a wider foreign policy of increasing India's participation and influence in Southeast Asia. This suited both India and Myanmar as India could increase its reach in Southeast Asia while Myanmar was able to reduce its external dependence on China and its world isolation while boosting its international image.
The period of the late 1990s saw relations with Myanmar starting to mature as Myanmar started to diversify its foreign policy by reducing its dependence on China. Myanmar became a member of ASEAN and BIMSTEC in 1997. In 2001, the India-Myanmar Friendship Road was inaugurated. The 160 km Road was built by BRO and provides connectivity from Moreh (in Manipur) to Kalewa (in Myanmar). This was inaugurated during then external affairs minister Jaswant Singh's visit to Myanmar. This was the first high-level visit to Myanmar after Rajiv Gandhi’s visit. This road became the basis of a much larger project of the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway providing India land connectivity to southeast Asia. There were various high-level visits in the decade of the 2000s. Myanmar supported India for the permanent seat in UNSC and India restrained its response to the pro-democracy uprising of 2007 in Myanmar. Two countries also signed the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project in 2008, to connect Kolkata with Sitwe in Myanmar and then to Lashio in Myanmar via Kaladan river and then onto Mizoram in India. The project is partially operational with the inaugural vessel recently flagged off from Kolkatta to Sitwe Port.
The relations between the two countries improved further in the last decade as well. The military rule ended in 2011 and then President of Myanmar Thein Sein visited India. (Please note the military rule was reimposed in 2021). The visit was reciprocated by PM Manmohan Singh’s visit in 2012 wherein an MoU regarding the line of credit of US $500 million was signed along with other agreements including air connectivity between the two countries.
The relations got further boost with visits of State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi and the President of Myanmar in President Htin Kyaw in 2016. Various agreements, including developments of various bridges in Myanmar on the Indo-Myanmar Friendship Highway, construction, and upgradation of the Kalewa - Yagi Road section which is part of the India-Myanmar – Thailand trilateral highway project, were signed. Prime Minister Modi’s visit in 2017 focused on security and strategic interests between the two countries. India refused to comment on Rohingya issues against the Myanmar government (nowadays, the Rohingya issue is becoming a menace for India as well). The visit was reciprocated by then Myanmar President U Win Myint in February 2020 further deepening relations for both countries.