Table of Contents
CURRENT AFFAIRS
- A four party agreement among the Centre, Mizoram Government, Tripura Government and Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF) which seeks to end the 22-year-old Bru refugee crisis is signed
Background
- More than 30,000 Bru tribes who fled Mizoram, are residing in Tripura’s refugee camps
Topics Covered
- Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security
What to study?
- For Prelims: Who are Brus and issues associated
- For Mains: Agreement in this regard and the recent demands for relaxation of the norms in the agreement
Who are Brus?
- The Brus, also referred to as the Reangs, are spread across the northeastern states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur, and Mizoram
Background
- Bru or Reang is a community indigenous to Northeast India, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram and Assam
- In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group
- In Mizoram, they have been targeted by groups that do not consider them indigenous to the state
- In 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Brus fled Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts of Mizoram and were accommodated in relief camps in Tripura
- In June 2018, community leaders from the Bru camps signed an agreement with the Centre and the two state governments, providing for repatriation in Mizoram
- But most camp residents rejected the terms of the agreement
- The camp residents say that the agreement doesn’t guarantee their safety in Mizoram
- In October 2019, the supply of ration to relief camps was stopped on instructions of the Home Ministry in a bid to hastily complete the repatriation of refugees to Mizoram
- Civil society outfits had alleged that at least six refugees died due to starvation
Highlights of the agreement
- Under the agreement , the centre has announced a package of Rs 600 crore under this agreement
- As per the agreement the Bru tribes would be given land to reside in Tripura
- A fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh will be given to each family as an amount of government aid
- They will be able to withdraw this amount after two years
- Each of the displaced families will be given 40×30 sq ft residential plots
- Apart from them, each family will be given Rs 5,000 cash per month for two years
- The agreement highlights that each displaced family will also be given free ration for two years and aid of Rs 1.5 lakh to build their houses
Significance
- This agreement will bring a permanent solution for the rehabilitation of thousands of Bru-Reang people in Tripura
- The government believes that this agreement will bring a bright future for them
- Bru-Reang people will be able to enjoy the benefits of all social-welfare schemes of governments