Refugee influx into Mizoram from all around and new concerns

Mizoram has seen an influx of refugees from Myanmar and recently from Bangladesh and now Manipur in recent years.

In the last couple of years, Mizoram has seen an influx of refugees from Myanmar and recently from Bangladesh and now Manipur, adding to the internal security situation there. There is a variation in numbers from Myanmar given by the State government and security forces while there are over 8,000 from Manipur and over 900 people from Bangladesh which officials said was expected to go up further. Officials on the ground say that the influx from Bangladesh is particularly worrying with potential for smuggling of narcotics and weapons opening a new front for security forces to deal with.

As per the State government, there are around 40,000 Myanmar nationals who have crossed into the border districts of Mizoram since the military takeover and crackdown by the Myanmar army. Of them, about 8,000-10,000 had gone back and about 30,000 had been registered and issued identity cards as refugees, an official monitoring the situation said.

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However, according to assessments by security forces on the ground there are over 18,000 Myanmar nationals as 8,000-10,000 have returned, which is accepted by sources in the security establishment. The State government had set up camps for them, however a majority of them were not staying in there, having moved out to stay with relatives or looking for work, officials said.

Mizoram shares a 510-km boundary with Myanmar and the population along the border have common linkages and share similar ethnicity which makes it difficult to stop people coming in. The State government has stated that anyone coming in from Myanmar would be let in, with the Centre directing that they should be duly registered.

Three Assam Rifles Battalions deployed in border guarding duties along the India-Myanmar Border (IMB) were also monitoring the situation, a source in the security establishment said. A particular concern on the IMB is smuggling, especially of narcotics the seizures of which have been growing year on year. For instance, This year, the total worth of contraband and narcotics seized in Mizoram is ₹603.43 crore, up from ₹355 crore for the whole of 2022. This is in addition to war-like stores such as ammunition, explosives and other military equipment that have been seized.