GUWAHATI: The Mizoram government said it has not yet received any request for the asylum of people belonging to the Chin community of Myanmar allegedly affected by the coup.
“So far, none has applied to us seeking political sanctuary or political asylum. If at all there is a request and we take a decision, it has to be ratified by the government of India since the issue concerns two countries,” Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana told The New Indian Express on Tuesday.
Claiming that the Chin people have been affected by the civil unrest in Myanmar, the Mizo Students’ Union in Mizoram urged the state government to offer them political asylum in the state.
The Chin community and the Mizos in India belong to the Zo ethnic group and share the same ancestry. People from the Chin community are settled along the 404 km porous border in Myanmar’s Chin State bordering Mizoram.
Last week, the Chin National Army, which is a Chin nationalist insurgent group in Myanmar, had approached village authorities in Mizoram’s Champhai district seeking shelter for the Chin people in Mizoram. Subsequently, Champhai District Magistrate Maria CT Zuali brought the matter to the notice of the state government.
“If they need political asylum, they should apply as per protocol. As of now, we haven't received any request. We are not allowing the people to migrate. They are busy agitating on the Myanmar side. Nobody is serious about migrating. We learnt about their move on political asylum from village panchayats,” Zuali said.
She said since this is a very serious matter, she told the panchayats to make sure the people cannot cross over. She said if allowed entry, they would be confined to one place and given identity cards.
“People living on either side of the Champhai border are of the same ethnic group and they speak the same language. A lot of marriages also do take place between them,” Zuali added.
Over the past 40 years, thousands of Chin people have migrated to Mizoram and made it their home.