Mizoram was epicenter of influx of refugees into India in 2022: RRAG report

The report said at least 203 refugees were arrested in 2022 on various charges ranging from illegal entry into India to arms smuggling

With over 9,000 refugees from the conflict-hit Myanmar entering Mizoram for shelter in 2022, the small Northeastern state became the "epicenter" of influx of refugees to India, says a report by Rights and Risk Analysis Group (RRAG), a New Delhi-based think tank.

As per the report, instability in Myanmar and attacks on religious minorities in Afghanistan and Bangladesh caused the influx of over 10,000 refugees to India in 2022.

"These include over 9,000 refugees who entered Mizoram from Myanmar (8,149 refugees by February 2022 and 589 on August 31, 2022, and 300 Chin-Kuki refugees entered from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh), about 85 Burmese refugees who entered Manipur and about 100 Sikh and Hindu refugees airlifted from Afghanistan," said the report, titled 'India: Status of Refugees 2022'.

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"Ethnic or religious affiliation determined the treatment of the refugees. While the Sikh and Hindu refugees from Afghanistan were airlifted, India followed the 'detain and deport policy' with respect to the Rohingya refugees," said the report.

Mizoram decided to provide humanitarian assistance to the Chin refugees from Myanmar and Kuki-Chin refugees from Bangladesh, in defiance of the directions of the Centre, as the refugees have the same ethnic roots as the Mizos. In Manipur too, indigenous communities provided assistance to the refugees fleeing from Sagaing and Chin state of Myanmar despite the crackdown by Manipur police, said Director of RRAG, Suhas Chakma.

The report said at least 203 refugees (118 Rohingya refugees, 85 Kuki-Chin refugees in Manipur and 20 Myanmar refugees in Mizoram) were arrested in 2022 on various charges ranging from illegal entry into India to arms smuggling. Two Rohingya refugees, Haseena Begum and Jafar Alam were deported to Myanmar. India even prevented third-country immigration of the Rohingya refugees.

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In September 2022, Senoara Begum recognised as a refugee from Myanmar by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in New Delhi, sought an exit permit to reunite with her husband following the issuance of visas by the United States. India denied the exit permit on the grounds of no verification of the nationality of Begum and her children by the Embassy of Myanmar and its policy of deporting illegal foreigners to their country of origin and not granting exit to illegal migrants to a third country given bearing it can have upon similarly placed cases.

The RRAG report said by the end of 2022, India had about 4,05,000 refugees. This included 2,13,578 refugees recognized/registered by the government and housed in various camps/settlements and about 31,313 refugees belonging to minority communities from neighbouring countries, who had been given long-term Visas on the basis of their claims of religious persecution and about 1,60,085 unregistered refugees.

"As India’s refugee policy is mainly to detain and deport, and refugees are forced to operate in a clandestine and surreptitious manner, the actual number of refugee populations in the country are undoubtedly higher than the reported number of refugees," said the report.