After initial hesitancy, Mizoram govt starts collecting biometrics of Myanmar refugees

Guwahati: After initial hesitancy and rejections of Centre's directives, Mizoram government has finally started collecting biometric details of Myanmar nationals, who had taken shelter following the military takeover in 2021 and frequent conflicts.

A source in the state home department said the process to collect the biometric details such as finger prints and photographs have started in all the 11 districts and nearly 2,000 Myanmar nationals have already been covered.

"The drive is being conducted by the district administration under the supervision of the home department. Local NGOs and other civil society organisations who have been providing humanitarian assistance to the refugees are also helping in the collection of biometric details," said the source.

More than 30,000 Myanmar nationals have been provided shelter in community halls or in their relatives' homes. Military takeover and frequent action by the military on the rebel groups and the "pro-democracy protesters" forced the Myanmar nationals to flee to Mizoram, the small hilly state that shares 510-km border with Myanmar.

Initial hesitancy

Mizoram government and the local organisations provided shelters to the Myanmar nationals despite the Centre's directive against doing so as the migrants belonging to the Chin tribe share ethnic ties with the Mizos.

Former Mizoram CM Zoramthanga and the present CM Lalduhoma had even opposed to the Centre's directives for collecting of biometrics. They argued that biometric collection could push them towards forceful deportation.

Sources said Lalduhoma government agreed for biometric collection after Home Minister Amit Shah assured him during a meeting in New Delhi that the Myanmar nationals would not be forced to return till normalcy returned to the neighbouring nation. "Another reason could be the involvement of many such Myanmar nationals in criminal activities and the growing concerns among the Mizos," said the source.

Mizoram home minister K Sapdanga in June said that the Myanmar nationals were found involved in nearly 50 per cent of the criminal cases in the state. This increased concerns among the locals, who also pressed the Lalduhoma government to go for collection of the biometrics. The drive, according to an official, would help the government in sending them back after restoration of peace in Myanmar.

Manipur government too started collecting biometrics of the Myanmar nationals who had similarly taken shelter due to the conflict.