Mizoram opened its doors to ‘kin’ fleeing Myanmar. But now the mood is turning against refugees The fear of immigrants driving up crime rates and eating into the State’s scarce resources is spreading
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Rokibuz Zaman (Courtesy scroll.in)
Contd from previous issue
In a village in south Mizoram's Lawngtlai district, refugees have been asked to take permission before travelling out of the village and report any new tenants, after the seizure of 56,000 methamphetamine tablets, The Times of India reported.
Data, however, does not support the allegations of refugees fuelling crime in Mizoram.
Between Sept 2023 and Dec 2024, the Mizoram Police conducted an extensive crackdown on crime, resulting in the arrest of 3,210 individuals. According to an analysis, the cases in which arrests were made involved theft and burglary (42%), followed by violations under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (16%), and breaches of the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Act (14%).
“Of the total arrests, 96% of the individuals were Indian Nationals, while 4% were from Myanmar,” a statement issued by the Mizoram police on January 21 said. “Among the Indian nationals, 92% (2,833 individuals) were local to Mizoram, with the remainder hailing from neighbouring states such as Assam (5%), Manipur and Tripura.”
“Every small crime by someone from Myanmar leads to an uproar and evokes 10 times the anger on social media compared to a crime by a state resident,” an Aizawl-based journalist told Scroll.
The refugee leader from Aizawl pointed out that several immigrants, under extreme pressure to fend for themselves, may have been involved in petty crime. “These are very poor people,” he said. “But a small issue is being portrayed in a big way.”
Political scientist Chhakchhuak said that “manufactured narratives” were being spread in the media and social media to “demonise the refugees” and accuse them of “horrible crimes”. “There are incidents when some refugees are involved in crime. But that is not a big number. You cannot use these random incidents to paint the whole refugee community with one brush,” Chhakchhuak said.
The refugee leader accused the Zoram People’s Movement government of making refugees a “scapegoat”. “They promised development and came to power,” he said. “But they are not doing enough to address the economy’s problems. In order to escape from responsibility, they blame refugees.”
Observers pointed out that many Mizos believe that the state governments – be it the previous Mizo National Front or the current one led by the Zoram People Movement – have been too lenient and soft on refugees and illegal immigrants.
Political scientist Lalmalsawmi pointed out that the Government’s support for refugees was rooted in the complex social dynamic of the state. The state government “works in close tandem with the civil society in Mizoram, which is protective of Chin refugees based on the ‘brotherhood doctrine’ and are also actively lobbied by Chin organisations and churches from abroad,” she said. “It has to cautiously balance these divergent interests and demands.”
The contest over housing
One of the areas of conflict between the immigrants and the natives is housing and rentals.
The YMA leader said that in Champhai town, the more recent arrivals from Myanmar can no longer be accommodated in designated camps built for them. “Without funding from the government and other sources we cannot build big enough camps to house all of them,” he said.
As a result, the refugees are renting homes in the town, in the process driving up rents. “If it was Rs 3,000 before the coup, then nowadays it’s Rs 6000,” he said.
In other urban areas, too, rents have skyrocketed, as Chin refugees spread out.
Malsawmliana, general secretary of YMA, pointed out that the association had asked “the government to arrange proper shelter homes or accommodation for the people currently sheltered in different districts of Mizoram after they fled from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur,” he said.
The central YMA had submitted a proposal to the state department to formulate guidelines for managing, supervising and helping the refugees.
“This is to prevent the refugees from scattering throughout the state which might create more problems,” Malsawmliana said.
Though many have asked that refugees should be confined to areas near the border, a senior journalist from the state said that it “is easier said than done” because many have relatives among the Mizo population.
Fault lines in the family
Though the people of Mizoram feel a sense of brotherhood with Chin people in neighbouring Myan- mar, fault lines exist within the larger Chin-Zo community.
Political scientist Lalmalsawmi said that the Chin people often assert and celebrate a separate identity, nationhood and history, making integration difficult.
In a 2009 report, the Human Rights Watch had examined the “discrimination” and “abuses” Chin people faced in Mizoram allegedly at the hands of voluntary associations and Mizoram authorities, and the continuing lack of protection for Chin refugees there.
“This undercurrent of xenophobia was always there,” said a researcher who has done work on Mizo identity and cross-border politics.
He explained that the Mizo society’s perception of Chin refugees is “complex”.
“There is a formulation of kinship but that kinship is heavily bordered with strict red lines,” he said. “This is the inherent character of Mizo society which does not tolerate an outsider's presence for long.”
The conspicuous involvement of a sizeable number of Chin people in the drug trade and narcotics smuggling from Myanmar, which has seen a significant rise in the post-coup period, “contribute to the deepening of chasms between the refugee and host,” said Lalmalsawmi.
The researcher, however, contended that the anxiety about drugs and crime were ruses. “They are excuses only. There is actually a deep-seated discomfort with the fact that there is a huge population of the Myanmarese Chins sitting in a closely guarded Mizo territory.”
The refugee leader appealed to the Mizo society to recognise the humanitarian crisis of the immigrants. “Day by day, their situation is becoming more difficult – with shortages of food, shelter, education, and medical care,” he said. “This crisis needs urgent attention and collective action from both the authorities and the public.”
Contd from previous issue
In a village in south Mizoram's Lawngtlai district, refugees have been asked to take permission before travelling out of the village and report any new tenants, after the seizure of 56,000 methamphetamine tablets, The Times of India reported.
Data, however, does not support the allegations of refugees fuelling crime in Mizoram.
Between Sept 2023 and Dec 2024, the Mizoram Police conducted an extensive crackdown on crime, resulting in the arrest of 3,210 individuals. According to an analysis, the cases in which arrests were made involved theft and burglary (42%), followed by violations under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (16%), and breaches of the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Act (14%).
“Of the total arrests, 96% of the individuals were Indian Nationals, while 4% were from Myanmar,” a statement issued by the Mizoram police on January 21 said. “Among the Indian nationals, 92% (2,833 individuals) were local to Mizoram, with the remainder hailing from neighbouring states such as Assam (5%), Manipur and Tripura.”
“Every small crime by someone from Myanmar leads to an uproar and evokes 10 times the anger on social media compared to a crime by a state resident,” an Aizawl-based journalist told Scroll.
The refugee leader from Aizawl pointed out that several immigrants, under extreme pressure to fend for themselves, may have been involved in petty crime. “These are very poor people,” he said. “But a small issue is being portrayed in a big way.”
Political scientist Chhakchhuak said that “manufactured narratives” were being spread in the media and social media to “demonise the refugees” and accuse them of “horrible crimes”. “There are incidents when some refugees are involved in crime. But that is not a big number. You cannot use these random incidents to paint the whole refugee community with one brush,” Chhakchhuak said.
The refugee leader accused the Zoram People’s Movement government of making refugees a “scapegoat”. “They promised development and came to power,” he said. “But they are not doing enough to address the economy’s problems. In order to escape from responsibility, they blame refugees.”
Observers pointed out that many Mizos believe that the state governments – be it the previous Mizo National Front or the current one led by the Zoram People Movement – have been too lenient and soft on refugees and illegal immigrants.
Political scientist Lalmalsawmi pointed out that the Government’s support for refugees was rooted in the complex social dynamic of the state. The state government “works in close tandem with the civil society in Mizoram, which is protective of Chin refugees based on the ‘brotherhood doctrine’ and are also actively lobbied by Chin organisations and churches from abroad,” she said. “It has to cautiously balance these divergent interests and demands.”
The contest over housing
One of the areas of conflict between the immigrants and the natives is housing and rentals.
The YMA leader said that in Champhai town, the more recent arrivals from Myanmar can no longer be accommodated in designated camps built for them. “Without funding from the government and other sources we cannot build big enough camps to house all of them,” he said.
As a result, the refugees are renting homes in the town, in the process driving up rents. “If it was Rs 3,000 before the coup, then nowadays it’s Rs 6000,” he said.
In other urban areas, too, rents have skyrocketed, as Chin refugees spread out.
Malsawmliana, general secretary of YMA, pointed out that the association had asked “the government to arrange proper shelter homes or accommodation for the people currently sheltered in different districts of Mizoram after they fled from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur,” he said.
The central YMA had submitted a proposal to the state department to formulate guidelines for managing, supervising and helping the refugees.
“This is to prevent the refugees from scattering throughout the state which might create more problems,” Malsawmliana said.
Though many have asked that refugees should be confined to areas near the border, a senior journalist from the state said that it “is easier said than done” because many have relatives among the Mizo population.
Fault lines in the family
Though the people of Mizoram feel a sense of brotherhood with Chin people in neighbouring Myan- mar, fault lines exist within the larger Chin-Zo community.
Political scientist Lalmalsawmi said that the Chin people often assert and celebrate a separate identity, nationhood and history, making integration difficult.
In a 2009 report, the Human Rights Watch had examined the “discrimination” and “abuses” Chin people faced in Mizoram allegedly at the hands of voluntary associations and Mizoram authorities, and the continuing lack of protection for Chin refugees there.
“This undercurrent of xenophobia was always there,” said a researcher who has done work on Mizo identity and cross-border politics.
He explained that the Mizo society’s perception of Chin refugees is “complex”.
“There is a formulation of kinship but that kinship is heavily bordered with strict red lines,” he said. “This is the inherent character of Mizo society which does not tolerate an outsider's presence for long.”
The conspicuous involvement of a sizeable number of Chin people in the drug trade and narcotics smuggling from Myanmar, which has seen a significant rise in the post-coup period, “contribute to the deepening of chasms between the refugee and host,” said Lalmalsawmi.
The researcher, however, contended that the anxiety about drugs and crime were ruses. “They are excuses only. There is actually a deep-seated discomfort with the fact that there is a huge population of the Myanmarese Chins sitting in a closely guarded Mizo territory.”
The refugee leader appealed to the Mizo society to recognise the humanitarian crisis of the immigrants. “Day by day, their situation is becoming more difficult – with shortages of food, shelter, education, and medical care,” he said. “This crisis needs urgent attention and collective action from both the authorities and the public.”