Aizawl Some refugees who have taken refuge in the northeastern state are engaging in illegal business activities, and some individuals are already facing serious legal charges, Mizoram Home Minister K Sapdanga told the state assembly on Monday.
He said that the government takes a strict stance towards these refugees.
Responding to questions during the ongoing budget session, Sapdanga said that although the government has not received “official reports,” it is aware that some refugees are secretly running small-scale businesses in violation of the law.
The Interior Minister said: “The authorities are actively investigating these cases and have arrested several people. Some individuals are facing very serious criminal cases depending on the nature of the goods being sold or transported.”
Giving an update on the biometric registration process in the state, Sapdanga said a total of 26,381 refugees from Myanmar had been registered as of February 5, while 1,974 people were yet to be registered.
Mizoram currently hosts more than 38,000 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, as well as internally displaced people from neighboring Manipur.
Most refugees, as well as internally displaced people from Manipur, are from Zhou ethnic communities, who share close ethnic and cultural ties with the Mizos.
Although the government has plans to establish specific settlements or relief camps, it is still difficult to implement them effectively, according to Sabdang.
“They have arrived in Mizoram out of extreme fear and hardship. They cannot always stay where the government wants, and they cannot always stay where they themselves wish. They are scattered wherever they can find a place, some in schools and others with their relatives,” he added.
The Interior Minister added: “Although we have plans for certain settlements, it is often impossible to fully implement them. It is a struggle for planners as well as for the refugees themselves.”
Myanmar nationals, mostly from Chin State, fled to Mizoram after a military coup in the neighboring country in February 2021, while asylum seekers belonging to the Bum ethnic group, a Mizo tribe, from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts, arrived in the state after a military offensive against an ethnic rebel group in 2022.
The Kuki-Zomi-Hmar group fled from Manipur to Mizoram following ethnic violence that broke out in May 2023.
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