Arunachal Pradesh plans census; Chakmas and Hajongs cry racial profiling

The Arunachal Pradesh government will conduct a special census of Chakmas and Hajongs from December 11. The Deputy Commissioner of Changlang has issued a circular stating that a special census would be conducted in all the Chakma/Hajong inhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh and a report would be submitted before December 31. The circular stated that enumerators would be appointed by December 10 and survey work could be completed by December 20. The census would collect details on the name of the person, sex, date of birth, education qualification, Aadhaar and mobile number, bank details, among others.

The Chakmas are an ethnic group who came to northeastern India from former East Pakistan in the 1960s. The Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI) has sought intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagat alleging racial profiling of the 65,000 Chakmas and Hajongs by conducting an exclusive census with the 'ultimate aim of displacing and expelling them' from the state.

"The state government is only targeting the Chakmas and Hajongs in clear violations of the Constitution of India and the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ratified by India." stated Suhas Chakma, founder of CDFI. In 2017, there was violence in the state to protest the move to give citizenship to Chakma-Hajongs.