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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Small state with a big heart: Mizoram shelters thousands fleeing conflict from Manipur, Myanmar & Bangladesh; hosts 40,000+ despite challenges
Mizoram is showcasing an extraordinary tale of resilience and compassion as it grapples with one of the region's most significant humanitarian crises. Nestled between Myanmar and Bangladesh, Mizoram has become a safe shelter home for tens of thousands fleeing political turmoil and ethnic violence since 2021. This includes around 33,000 Chins from Myanmar, 2,200 Bawms from Bangladesh, and over 5,500 internally displaced Kuki-Zo people from Manipur , collectively making up 3% of the state's population as per the 2011 census. However, the influx presents complex challenges for the small state, straining its resources and testing its capacity to manage such a large humanitarian burden. In response, Mizoram is embarking on a crucial mission to collect biometric and demographic data of the refugees from Myanmar, starting in July. The tiny state of Mizoram, wedged into Myanmar on its east and south and Bangladesh to the west, is experiencing one of South Asia's biggest humanitarian challenges, sheltering tens of thousands of displaced persons from the two neighbouring countries, and Manipuris fleeing political unrest, ethnic conflicts and violence. This crisis underscores both the remarkable solidarity shown by Mizos towards those who are ethnically part of the generic 'Zo' people, as well as the complex challenges that arise when a small state bears the burden of a major humanitarian emergency. According to official figures, the total number of displaced people who have found shelter in Mizoram since 2021 account for around 3% of the state's estimated population: approximately 33,000 Chins from Myanmar, 2,200 Bawms from Bangladesh and over 5,500 internally displaced people (Kuki-Zo IDPs) from Manipur. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo "The figures are dynamic," says Mizoram home minister K Sapdanga. "Some return whenever the situation becomes normal, but many others from different regions enter when things deteriorate." Mizoram is set to begin biometric and demographic data collection of displaced people from Myanmar amid rising security concerns and continued influx. The biometric identification drive is a response to both humanitarian needs and security challenges posed by the large population of displaced people from Myanmar. 'Priority is staying alive' The refugees are not concentrated in formal camps, but dispersed in 11 districts of Mizoram: Serchhip, Saitual, Mamit, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Champhai, Lunglei, Kolasib, Khawzawl, Hnahthial and Aizawl. Many stay with relatives or in rented accommodation. Zokwathar, the border trading point between India and Myanmar in Champhai district, has over 6,000 Myanmarese people, half of them cramped into five makeshift camps. The rest - those who can afford it - have rented houses. "Life is difficult, but secure. Our only priority is staying alive," says 44-year-old Lal Ram Mawi at the Bethel main camp in Zokhawtar. Mawi, a driver, arrived here from Kalaymyo, the westernmost district in Myanmar's Sagaing Division. He gathered his family and whatever little belongings they had in a hired car and fled after his house was bombed by the military in Sept 2021. They drove for one day to reach the border and crossed over to Zokhawthar, walking down the bridge over the Tiau river, which defines the boundary between the two countries. There were thousands of others who crossed the bridge - on that day, and for several days after. The local village authority collected money and set up camps built of bamboo and tarpaulin sheets, with compartments that serve as living spaces. With limited resources, the specifications were clear: a family of four or fewer would get a compartment measuring 6ft x 8ft; larger families would get 6ft x 12ft compartments. Life in the camps is spartan. Residents sleep on bamboo platforms. Kitchens are long corridors with separate units for each family; cooking is with firewood or charcoal. Residents get medical support and rice from govt and drinking water from village authorities. All other essentials are via donations. For anything else, residents earn money as daily labourers. Sapdanga explains that since India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, camp residents cannot be classified as "refugees", but "displaced people". "Only when Myanmar has a stable govt can we have discussions with it for giving meaningful treatment to their people. Now, neither the Centre nor the state can have budgetary provisions for them." The Young Mizo Association (YMA), Mizoram's biggest NGO, is reaching out to the displaced people with food, warm clothes and medicines. But despite initial generosity, support for refugees has diminished, and contributions are falling. "How much longer can people contribute? I don't know," says Malsawmliana, general secretary, central YMA. IDPs from Manipur Life is a little better for the "internally" displaced from Manipur. Thousands of people from Manipur have sought refuge in Mizoram, escaping ethnic clashes in their state that started in May 2023. But many have returned to Manipur in the recent past. Until violence erupted, Robert Gangte used to run his kindergarten school, Jonidas Kidsdom, at Sugnu in Manipur's Chandel district. On the night of May 28, 2023, he and 35 other families from his village fled to an Assam Rifles camp after they were fired at and their houses burnt down. One month later, they were all in Mizoram. Gangte today earns his livelihood from a relief camp at Rajiv Awas Yojana housing colony in Aizawl's Falklands locality. "I earn about Rs 600 if I get work, and the locals are quite helpful in giving work," says Gangte, a father of three. Sapdanga points out that Manipur's displaced Kukis also avail themselves of ration facilities. Shared identity, cultural bonds Mizoram govt's response to the refugee crisis is deeply rooted in historical and ethnic connections between Mizos and refugees, particularly those from Myanmar's Chin state and Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts. The Mizos of India and Chins of Myanmar and Bangladesh share common ancestry, with closely related languages and customs. This shared identity forms the foundation of Mizoram's welcoming approach towards the Chin refugees. The 510km border between Mizoram and Myanmar's Chin state has historically facilitated cultural exchange and family connections that transcend national boundaries. "The Tiau river is the border between Myanmar and India; it doesn't matter on which side of the river people reside - they're the same," Sapdanga says. "We are of the same tribe, and it is very difficult to differentiate one from the other," he adds, rejecting the Centre's proposal for fencing the border. "We cannot accept this fencing." Political engagement Mizoram's involvement in the refugee crisis extends beyond humanitarian aid to political engagement with the conflict in Myanmar. In Feb, chief minister Lalduhoma facilitated the merger of two Myanmar-based pro-democracy rebel factions - the Chinland Council and the Interim Chin National Consultative Council. This mediation led to the formation of the Chin National Council, an entity aimed at consolidating Chin resistance against Myanmar's military junta. This political involvement demonstrates Mizoram's stance - addressing the root causes of the refugee crisis, rather than merely managing its symptoms. The state's approach often diverges from the Centre's official policy on Myanmar. In March 2021, the ministry of home affairs directed chief secretaries of border states to take appropriate action to check illegal influx from Myanmar into India, emphasising that India, as a non-signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, does not grant refugee status to foreigners. However, Mizoram govt explicitly rejected this approach. Former CM Zoramthanga, in a letter to PM Narendra Modi, stated that the directive was not acceptable to Mizoram and insisted that the humanitarian crisis could not be ignored. CM Lalduhoma has maintained this stance of prioritising humanitarian considerations over strict enforcement of immigration policies.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
Dalit profs at BU allege discrimination
Ten Dalit professors of Bangalore University alleged that they were discriminated against by only being given in-charge duties in administrative work. While they point out that they were given administrative responsibilities in addition to their academic work, in recent times, it has been restricted to just in-charge work, and are deprived of earned leave. In case their cases are not heard, the professors have threatened to relieve themselves from the administrative work. | TNN
New Indian Express
13 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Manipur's moral imagination takes off after a crash
Twenty-five months after a violent ethnic conflict broke out between Meiteis and KukiZo tribes, and four months into president's rule, the guns have more or less fallen silent in Manipur. There are sighs of relief everywhere, yet none is fooled into believing that this is peace. It is, at best, the proverbial peace of the graveyard. There is little to be surprised about this. The inferno that raged in the state for two years was unprecedented and bloody, claiming over 260 lives and displacing an estimated 60,000 people. There has also been a matching scale of losses of properties to arson attacks, and worse still, the two sides have mutually cleansed each other from their traditional home-grounds. The Meiteis are primarily in the Imphal valley and the Kukis-Zo in the foothills adjoining the valley. In the higher reaches are the Nagas. Probably fatigue and a realisation of the senselessness of continued hostility are ensuring this semblance of calm. But for this 'negative peace', as Johan Galtung called it, to transform into 'positive peace', a reconciliatory process is vital. There can be no gainsaying that horrific atrocities have happened, but in paving a path to reconciliation, both warring sides must first overcome their victimhood syndrome and have the courage to acknowledge they have been both the victims as well as the perpetrators, depending on the locations of riots. Casualty figures bear testimony to this. From day one of the conflict, social media has played a key role in igniting and fueling inflammatory passions. If not for it, in all likelihood, the trouble could have been arrested at Torbung area itself where arson rampages first broke out on the afternoon of May 3, 2023. Terabytes after terabytes of misinformation and disinformation have flooded social media space ever since, making the overall atmosphere corrosive and toxic. Then suddenly, an event of 'terrible beauty' happened to temporarily cleanse Manipur's social media spaces of this toxicity. In a devastating tragedy, on June 12, the London-bound Air India flight crashed soon after take-off from Ahmedabad. Among the cabin crew were two flight attendants from Manipur—one a Kuki, Lamnunthem Singson, 26, and the other a Meitei, Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma, 20.
