Members of the Kuki-Chin Community

Context- As another round of refugee crisis was witnessed on the Mizoram-Bangladesh border, several members of the Kuki-Chin community were “pushed back” by the Border Security Force (BSF).

Key Highlights about Kuki-Chin Refugees

• Kuki-Chin, the Christian community from Bangladesh’s Chittagong hill tracts, share close ethnic ties with the residents in Mizoram. 
• The very first tranche of around 300 refugees came in November 2022. 
• The Mizoram government has also approved the setting up of temporary shelters and other amenities for the community, following an action by the Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion against some insurgents belonging to the group.

India’s Position 

• India is not a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 and the 1967 Protocol of UN and also it does not recognise refugees, and undocumented migrants are liable to be prosecuted for violating the Foreigners Act.
• Other than the Kuki-Chin, there are more than 40,000 refugees from Myanmar who have taken shelter in Mizoram since a military coup in the neighbouring country in February 2021.

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