Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma discusses burdens of housing 40,000 displaced refugees amid political plans

Aizawl: Mizoram Chief minister Lalduhoma said that sheltering 40,000 refugees from neigbouring countries is a burden on the state. He said whether they will remain here permanently or not, that depends on the geopolitical situation.

Zoram People’s Movement’s (ZPM) , a regional party, is ruling the state. The party will contest the 2028 assembly polls on its own.

Talking to ET, “We got a lot of committed liabilities, which we inherited from the previous administration. So, the first thing we did was to take the measure of austerity, we reduced our facilities. The ministers, the MLAs, they became an example. They themselves have curtailed their facilities, and we reduced some facilities for our officials also. And we have been able to recover the committed liabilities. I think there are only a few liabilities which are remaining, and we are likely to be able to fulfil all these liabilities by the end of this year. And that is the steps we have taken, that we have. And the problem of these refugees, since India is not a signatory of this refugee protocol, we don’t call them officially as refugees. We call them displaced people. “


He added, “Most of them come from Myanmar. They are in thousands, and a few thousand from Manipur, and a few more thousand from Bangladesh. Altogether, at any point of time, we have around 40,000 dislocated people. It is a floating population, depending on the situation along the border. Sometimes they wander, sometimes more people come. So floating. We have identified them with this biometric identification system, and it’s a lot of burden for us. We have to feed them, we have to shelter them, and to some extent we have to educate their children also. So regarding whether they will remain here permanently or not, that depends on the geopolitical situation. The central government is cooperating with us. They understand our problems, particularly the Prime Minister and the Home Minister are quite interested in the problem."

The chief minister added, "Well, politically, our stand is, the political parties, NGOs, we are against having fencing in the border, because we belong to the same ethnic group. And in fact, we belong to the same people, and it’s only because of the divide-and-rule policy of the British that we have been divided into three countries: India, Myanmar, Mizoram. So in every, in the mind of every Mizo, there is a hope that one day the Mizos scattered into three different countries will be united under a common umbrella of administration. It’s not possible to stop them, because we have that human consideration has to be there, and the government of India also understands the problem, and we do not stop them. So it’s not possible to stop them at all, but we have to keep them there for some time, depending on the situation, and permanent citizenship is not given to them".

Asked about Mizoram’s claim for peace dividend, he said “ In one of the meetings I raised, a security-related expenditure issue, SRE money which is given to the rest of our neighboring states, because they are affected by the hostile elements. That Mizoram happens to be the most peaceful state in the country, we are denied that money . So I jokingly once said to our Union Home Minister that in order to get this SRE, we may start making some trouble. But they understand our problem, and they are helping us, even though it’s not definitely called a peace bonus or that kind of name, but we are receiving good cooperation from the central government."

When asked about the Assam-Mizoram border dispute, the chief minister said, “We maintain the status quo, and what myself and the chief minister of Assam has made commitment, there should not be any provocation from both sides. So, we maintain peace. We will also organise a border festival with Assam.”

The chief minister said, Our vision is to contribute one percent of the GDP of the country by 2047 when the country celebrates 100 years of Independence. So, it's going to be a long journey. We have another 20 years more. But this vision is meant for our Gen Z."

When asked if ZPM will continue to be an independent of NDA or an independent block, or there is a possibility that it may align with any of the national blocks the chief minister said, “Well, that will be decided by the party high command as and when the situation comes. As of now, ZPM is a regional party with a national outlook. And we are maintaining a good relationship with the central government. In the next election also, it's likely that we'll fight on our own. Because politics is the most unpredictable thing in the world. So it all depends on the situation.”

Following the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, refugees began entering Mizoram in search of shelter. The refugees from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur belong to the Kuki-Zo-Chin-Hmar-Bawm tribal community who also share ethnic, traditional, cultural and linguistic ties with the Mizos of Mizoram.