‘No IDs for refugees’

Guwahati, Mar 21
The Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Aizawl, Lalhriatpuia, has issued a directive prohibiting refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, currently sheltered in Mizoram, from acquiring Indian identity documents such as Aadhaar cards, Voter IDs, or residential certificates.
The order comes in response to growing concerns over a potential demographic shift in the region due to illegal immigration, particularly from Myanmar.
Mizoram, sharing a 510-km porous border with Myanmar, currently hosts 33,505 Myanmar refugees, predominantly from the Chin ethnic group, alongside 2,217 from Bangladesh, as per Home Minister K Sapdanga. The influx, triggered by Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, has strained resources and sparked fears of a broader regional impact.
In Manipur, former Chief Minister N Biren Singh has repeatedly blamed illegal immigration from Myanmar for fuelling ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities, displacing over 50,000 people since May 2023.
There are around 8,000 refugees from Manipur who have taken shelter in several districts of Mizoram after the ethnic violence broke out in the neighbouring State in May 2023.
The Kuki-Zomi-Chin-Bawm tribes in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur share ethnic ties, and cultural and linguistic similarities with the Mizo people.
The Economic Times