Mizoram yet to collect biometric data of refugees

The Mizoram government is yet to collect biometric data of refugees from neighbouring countries taking shelter in the state, a state assembly was informed on Wednesday. In a written reply to a query of opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) Robert Romawia Royte, Home Minister K. Sapdanga said that the matter is being discussed with the Centre. “The state government is currently in talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs over the collection of biometric data of the refugees,” the home minister said. Sapdanga said that 33,724 Myanmar nationals and 2,014 Zo ethnic people from Bangladesh took shelter in the state as per the record of state home department, as of August 13. Besides, 7,999 internally displaced people from Manipur also took refuge in the state, he said. The Myanmar people mostly from the Chin state, who share ethnic ties with the Mizo, have been taking shelter in Mizoram since the military takeover in February 2021, while the Bawm people, one of the Mizo tribes, from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) migrated to the northeastern state in November 2022 due to the alleged military offensive by the Bangladesh army during its crackdown on an ethnic insurgent group in CHT, officials said.

The Kuki-Zo people from Manipur, who also share ethnic ties with the Mizos, have been taking shelter in Mizoram since May 2023 due to ethnic violence between  majority Meiteis and the minority Kuki-Zo communities in the neighbouring state, they said. Earlier, chief minister Lalduhoma had said that biometric enrollment portal has been in place for collection of the data and it will be utilised in near future. He had said that the biometric enrollment portal was prepared in accordance with the advice of prime minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah. In April last year, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had directed the governments of both Mizoram and Manipur, which share borders with Myanmar, to capture the biometric and biographic details of “illegal immigrants” in their states. In June, it directed the states that the campaign be completed by the end of September and directed both to prepare a plan and initiate the process.

Although the Mizoram government had initially processed the initiative towards the Centre direction by conducting training and appointing nodal officers, the Council of Ministers in its meeting held in September last year decided not to conduct biometric and biographic enrollment for refugees citing it is not advisable to undertake biometric and biographic preparation due to the state assembly polls to be held in November that year. Lalduhoma said that the Myanmar and Bangladesh nationals, who took refuge in the state, feared deportation due to the Centre’s directive to collect biometric data from them.  During his meeting with Shah in January, the latter had assured him that no refugees would be deported until peace is restored in the neighbouring countries, the chief minister said.