Relooking At Myanmar

Context: Myanmar crisis is India’s opportunity to develop a long-term refugee policy.

The historical affinity between India and Myanmar

• Chins in Myanmar and the Mizos and Kukis (and sub-groups) in Mizoram and Manipur are kin; a historical affinity connects them by ethnicity, religion, language.
• In the aftermath of the 1988 army crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, which killed thousands, many Chins and other refugees fled to Manipur and Mizoram.
• Local leaders and non-government groups, with the unspoken support of central and state agencies, allowed refugees to live, work and even settle.

Background: Recently, the Myanmar military has grabbed power in a coup, the third time in the nation’s history since its independence in 1948. A one-year state of emergency has been imposed, and democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained.

India’s concern towards Myanmar: India believes that the rule of law should prevail and stands for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar. This change in the approach is led by the following factors:

• Increasing disorder: Having tasted the freedom of expression, assembly, and association for the first time in decades under Suu Kyi, people are determined to hold on to protests, escalating as Civil Disobedience Movement.
• Future stability and security of the North-east: Various insurgent groups from the northeast have a history of relations with ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, where they have taken shelter.
  • Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram — have long borders with Myanmar, and the last two states have taken some 1,500 persons, including a number of junior police officials, fleeing from the crackdown in the bordering Chin State (raising issues in Centre-State relations).
• Lack of a National Refugee Law: Moreover, India is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees.
  • While India allowed Tibetans, Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka, Chakmas of Bangladesh, the Lothsampas of Nepali origin from Bhutan, Afghans, Somalis etc., the approach has remained ad-hoc in nature.

Way forward:

• Opportunity to develop long-term refugee policy: The present crisis in Myanmar provides a prospect for India to develop sound strategies to address the issue of refugees.
• Needs-based assessment: For e.g. Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 doesn’t cover political refugees, and hence a national mechanism needs to be developed to handle rapid inflows of persecuted persons.