Description
The seven States of North-East India, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, are connected to the rest of India through a narrow strip of land called the 'chicken neck' or the Siliguri corridor. These States feel they have been neglected by mainstream Indian consciousness. The distance between this region and the heartland of India goes far beyond geography. The culture, language, religion and customs create an impossible barrier in these periphery states. The North Eastern Region shares a more significant international boundary of 5182 km, 99 per cent of its geographical boundary with other countries like China, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar than with Mainland India. There are over 220 tribes in North East protecting their land against the 'outsiders'. Since India does not have a common law or policy on dealing with refugees, each state has variant responses.
Arunachal Pradesh houses nearly 100,000 Chakmas and Hajongs refugees who migrated from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of present-day Bangladesh. Mizoram Shelters more than 30,401 refugees from Myanmar and is now facing trouble with incorporating them. In Tripura, there is a power tussle between the original Tripuris and the Bengali population who came to settle after the partition. Meghalaya has raised concerns over the state's 'lakhs of Rohingya refugees'. The problem arises when these refugees start claiming land, smuggling drugs, selling illegal arms and ammunition and other illegal products through the porous boundaries. Illegal infiltration lends to the added burden on resources and the economy. These neighbouring countries have become a safe haven for insurgency and militant outfits.
Leaders from this region have urged the central government to assist them in dealing with these refugees on humanitarian grounds and to grant financial aid. These are the least developing states in India and are grappling with a financial crisis following the pandemic. Assimilation of these refugees has caused a lot of resentment amongst the local tribal population, who feel threatened by these and see it as a blatant attempt to overshadow and overtake the indigenous people in the social and political landscape.
Some refugees, like the Chin Tribe of Myanmar, share deep ethnic ties with the Mizos of Mizoram. They are seen as 'family' and are not turned away. Also, Christian refugees have not been driven away as States like Mizoram and Nagaland are dominantly Christian states. In a globalised world, the proximity with these countries is an opportunity for the North East Region to engage in trade and commerce.
This paper is centred on how the different North East India states respond to the influx of refugees. It also seeks to identify the various problems that emerge in the accommodation of the new entry into a tribal community.
