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Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Mizoram gears up for biometric enrollment of Myanmar refugees
Aizawl, Preparations are underway for the biometric enrollment of over 32,000 Myanmar refugees currently sheltered in Mizoram, a senior official said on Wednesday. Mizoram gears up for biometric enrollment of Myanmar refugees State Additional Home Secretary Andrew H. Vanlaldika said the collection of biometric and demographic data of the refugees will be carried out across all eleven districts of the state within this month. He said training of officials had been held by district administrations recently, and they would be provided with equipment such as computers, webcams and other materials required for enrollment. "The biometric enrollment of the Myanmar refugees will begin this month, depending on the convenience of district administrations," Vanlaldika told PTI. "We have held training for officials for this purpose. The enrollment will be done online," he added. Vanlaldika clarified that the enrollment is strictly for identification purposes and should not be seen as a step toward deportation. "The biometric enrollment is specifically meant for the identification of Myanmar refugees and does not connote deportation to their country," he stressed. The enrollment will be carried out using the Foreigner Identification Portal, developed by the National Informatics Centre , he said. Vanlaldika also mentioned that a similar exercise may be undertaken later for Bangladeshi nationals staying in south Mizoram's Lawngtlai district, subject to instructions from the Centre. Aizawl deputy commissioner Lalhriatpuia said the enrollment exercise will begin in the district soon. He said the district administration may face challenges as the number of Myanmar refugees is not static due to their frequent movement to and from the neighbouring country. There are about 3,000 Myanmar refugees in Aizawl district, he added. According to data from the state home department, a total of 32,419 Myanmar nationals are presently sheltered in Mizoram's eleven districts. However, the numbers fluctuate almost daily, as many refugees return to their villages in Myanmar and later come back to Mizoram, another home department official said. The department also said 2,371 Bangladeshi nationals from the Chittagong Hill Tracts are currently staying in the state. In addition, 7,354 Zo ethnic people from Manipur — displaced by ethnic violence since May 2023 — have taken shelter in the state. The Myanmar nationals, mostly from Chin state, fled to Mizoram following a military coup in the neighbouring country in February 2021, while the asylum seekers from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts came to the state after a military offensive against an ethnic insurgent group in 2022. The Chins in Myanmar, Bawm tribe from Bangladesh and Kuki-zo people from Manipur share close ethnic ties with the Mizos. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
YMA reaches out to Myanmar refugee leaders in Mizoram
1 2 3 4 Aizawl: The central committee of the Young Mizo Association (YMA), the apex body of the Mizos and the largest community based organisation, has reached out to the leaders of refugees from Myanmar taking shelter across Mizoram. They informed the leaders that refugees involving in drug trafficking and other crimes will not be tolerated. General secretary of the central YMA Prof Malsawmliana told TOI on Sunday that the refugees have been told to adhere to the local societal rules and regulations of the places they are taking shelter, as well as the laws of the land and govt orders. "We have told all of them to have temporary identity cards issued by the state govt for the refugees and not try to obtain Aadhaar Card, EPIC, driving licence, residential certificate and others which are for the Indian citizens only," Malsawmliana said. The refugees are also informed that anyone indulging in illegal activities will be punished according to the Indian law. They were informed that as the refugees belonged to ethnic Mizos and blood brothers of Mizoram people, the YMA and its members will help them whenever needed and will never abandon them. President of central YMA Lalhmachhuana also urged the Myanmar refugees to help maintain peace in Mizoram, which is the most peaceful states in the country and not incite hatred among different sub-tribes of the Chins, originally from Chin state. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Aizawl district deputy commissioner Lalhriatpuia and Sr SP CID (special branch) Stephen Lalrinawma urged the refugees not to try to obtain documents meant only for Indian citizens. Assistant commissioner of state excise & narcotics department Pu VL Vura Ralte asked them not to indulge in drug trafficking and assist the authorities in combating the drug menace. The meeting, held on Friday, was attended by over 60 people representing different refugee organisations and relief camps as well as elected representatives of Chin state taking shelter in the state.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
250 Mizoram families relocated to safer spots
1 2 3 4 5 6 Aizawl: As extremely heavy rainfall continued to lash Mizoram on Sunday night, over 250 families across the state were evacuated to safer places, while the State Meteorological Centre predicted heavy rainfall on Monday and a few days after that, especially in southern parts of the state. Reports from Lawngtlai said 130 families of Myanmar refugees were shifted to safer places, including community halls at nearby villages after the relief camps where they are being lodge were inundated by rising river levels at Kakichhuah and surrounding villages from Saturday afternoon. The refugees lodged in the area are mainly Chins from Paletwa township of southern Chin state. However, the incident could not be officially confirmed. At least 25 families were evacuated from the banks of the river Tlawng in Bairabi town of Kolasib district bordering Assam till Monday as the state's largest river has been rising due to torrential rain. Kolasib district SP David H. Lalthangliana told TOI, "Due to the recent heavy rainfall, Tlawng River's levels had risen rapidly, resulting in the flooding of low-lying areas across several parts of Bairabi town. Although no hous was fully submerged, many were inundated by floodwaters, and people were evacuated as a precautionary measure. " Lalthangliana said majority of the affected families have taken shelter with their relatives within the town, while 4 families have been lodged in Mizoram Agriculture Solution warehouse, being used as a relief camp.
The Hindu
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Two Americans detained at Mizoram airport, sent back to Delhi
Two American nationals were detained at the Lengpui airport in Mizoram's Aizawal on May 2 and were sent back to Delhi on Saturday. The two had arrived in Mizoram as they wanted to visit the refugee camps of the Bawm community, a senior government official told The Hindu on Saturday (May 3, 2025). Intelligence agencies had received information that four U.S. citizens, including two of Bangladeshi origin, who are in India on tourist visas would be arriving at Aizawl on May 2. The agencies suspect that the Bangladeshi origin U.S citizens played a key role in raising Kuki-Chin National Front in Chittagong during its nascent stage. Several members of the Bawm community who had fled to India from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tract Area since 2022 have taken shelter in Mizoram, a senior government official said on Saturday. They started seeking refuge following a military offensive by the Bangladeshi Army against the Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA), an insurgent group. The U.S citizens (names being withheld) are said to be associated with Tearfund, an organisation which works with local churches and Christian organisations in more than 50 countries. The Chins, Kuki-Zos, and Bawms are ethnically related to the dominant Mizos of Mizoram. 'The man and the woman were detained at the Lengpui airport and were sent back to Delhi,' said the official, adding that none of them had a protected area permit (PAP) to enter the State. Protected Area Regime On December 17, 2024 the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had reimposed Protected Area Regime (PAR) in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram to monitor the movement of foreigners amid 'growing security concerns arising out of influx from neighbouring countries.' The relaxation was withdrawn after a gap of 14 years. According to the MHA guidelines, a foreigner is not encouraged to visit the protected areas unless there are 'extraordinary reasons to justify a visit.' The American citizens also worked with a number of non-government organisations in Bangladesh's Chittagong area, the official said, raising suspicions about the purpose of their visit to Mizoram. Earlier in March, Chief Minister Lalduhoma indicated that Western mercenaries who fought in the Russia-Ukraine war could be using his State as a passage to participate in the civil war in Myanmar. Following this, the security of the Lengpui airport was handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on April 21.
News18
30-04-2025
- Politics
- News18
Not Just Pakistan-Backed Terror: Is Trouble Afoot For India's Northeast With Bangladesh's 'Arakan Plot'?
According to highly placed sources, representatives of the Arakan Army and CNF were recently in Dhaka and held secret meetings with senior US diplomatic and military officials In the aftermath of the horrific terror attack at Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people, Sky News presenter Yalda Hakim grilled Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif for his rogue nation's role in backing terror. But what he said next shocked many and was known to a limited circle: 'We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about 3 decades… If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and later on the war after 9/11, Pakistan's track record was unimpeachable." But at a time when India is focused on Pakistan and the two nations are on the edge, decades after Islamabad allegedly did the 'dirty work" for the US against the USSR and thousands of kilometres away from Pahalgam, is a new cocktail of problems brewing for India, involving Rohingyas, Chins, and Arakan? Like déjà vu, sources say a US-backed plan is seemingly being hatched, with Pakistan being replaced by Bangladesh, and Pakistani terror outfits that Khawaja Asif referred to being replaced by militant groups of Myanmar, mostly espousing land for their respective ethnicities. Top sources have told News18 that the Bangladesh military is already in the process of establishing extensive military infrastructure in the Cox's Bazar and Teknaf areas. A large logistical base is being constructed on the Teknaf border to supply food, medicine, and other 'non-lethal" aid to insurgent groups like the Arakan Army (AA) and the Chin National Front (CNF), News18 has learnt. Meanwhile, the expansion of the Cox's Bazar airport is almost nearing completion. Sources have told News18 that Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus-led government will convert the facility into a drone base, which may deploy advanced Turkish-made drones with technical support from the United States. This drone hub, sources add, is expected to play a critical role in surveillance and intelligence gathering over the Rakhine State — the disputed territory of Myanmar, from where Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh and India. India, which is already grappling with its own Rohingya problem, may have another reason to worry, say sources. The union government estimated around 40,000 Rohingya living in India as of 2017, mostly in slums and detention camps across places like Jammu, Hyderabad, Nuh, and Delhi. The same year, the government told the Supreme Court that Rohingyas posed a security risk, citing intelligence reports alleging links between some Rohingya leaders and Pakistan-based militant groups. In 2021, the union home ministry reiterated this stance in the Lok Sabha, stating that illegal Rohingya immigrants were a national security threat, with some engaging in illegal activities. Cut to 2025, the Centre, which has enough on its plate after the Pakistan-backed Pahalgam terror attack, may have reasons to be worried about Rohingyas, along with other militant ethnic tribes from Myanmar. According to highly placed sources, representatives of the Arakan Army and CNF were recently in Dhaka and held secret meetings with senior US diplomatic and military officials there. Among those involved are Chargé d'Affaires Susan Stevenson, stationed in Naypyidaw, along with Nicole Chulick (Deputy Assistant Secretary, South Central Asia) and Andrew Herrup (Deputy Assistant Secretary, East Asia Pacific). Myanmar-based Susan previously served as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, which makes her a perfect fit for the job. The main goal of these discussions is to devise an effective militia-based warfare strategy against Myanmar's military junta, with which India shares good relations. Bangladesh will play the role of a crucial logistical and intelligence hub, it has been decided. Bangladeshi journalist Sahidul Hasan Khokon says the West's efforts were an open secret even during Sheikh Hasina's time, but little progress was made. 'Sheikh Hasina had said this in the media when she was in power. She expressed her fear that such a conspiracy was being hatched against Bangladesh and India. The West was involved in the process of forming a new state by breaking up Myanmar. In one of her statements, she alluded to the US and said that a white-skinned person had offered her the establishment of a new state in that region, including St Martin's Island in Bangladesh. Had she agreed to the proposal, she would be able to retain power for the rest of her life. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina, we can now see it in the open," he tells News18. Recently, ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army — a terror outfit) leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi and his associates were arrested in Narayanganj, near Dhaka. But sources in Dhaka told News18 the arrest was to coerce ARSA — a key faction—to set aside ideological divides and unite like all other militant factions of Myanmar under one umbrella to fight the junta government. While Rakhine State is the immediate goal, the ultimate goal is an 'Arakan Federation", from the militants' point of view. And here lies the problem. This envisioned federation considers parts of border regions such as Teknaf and Bandarban in Bangladesh and Manipur and Mizoram in India as its own, along with Myanmar's Rakhine state. 'The Arakan Army has already occupied the Bangladesh border. Not just that, they are moving around across Bangladesh. This has been admitted by the Bangladesh government. What we are hearing now is that this new state is being planned to include two districts of Bangladesh, especially Bandarban and Cox's Bazar, and a part of Mizoram and Manipur in India. Naturally, this issue is a matter of concern for both Bangladesh and India," adds Sahidul. The formation of such a state would not only threaten Bangladesh's territorial integrity but, sources say, could also pose a serious security risk to India's northeastern region, particularly at a time when Manipur has been reeling under ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities for the last two years, resulting in 258 deaths and 60,000 displacements. Since the strife-torn state shares its international border with Myanmar, much of its violence was credited to the influx of refugees from there after the outbreak of civil war in Myanmar's Chin State and Sagaing Region. With a hot LoC and sensitive Northeast, India may not just have a Pakistan problem, say sources, but a Rohingya-Arakan-Chin issue to contend with as well. First Published:
