Union Minister Kiren Rijiju's recent remarks that over 60,000 Chakma-Hajong "refugees" could be relocated from Arunachal Pradesh to neighbouring Assam has reignited the emotive issue of Citizenship Amendment Act in Assam.
The Union minister’s statement forced Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to offer an immediate clarification saying no talks have taken place between the Centre and Assam government over the issue.
Rijiju, who is seeking re-election from Arunachal West Lok Sabha seat, had claimed at a press conference in Itanagar last week that CAA has been a 'big blessing' as it has closed doors for citizenship to any foreigner or refugee in his state.
Who are Chakma-Hajongs ?
The Buddhist Chakmas and Hindu Hajongs were settled in the 1960s in parts of Changlang and Papum Pare districts of Arunachal Pradesh after they had fled Chittagong Hill Tracts of present Bangladesh following an ethnic clash and a dam disaster. Population of the two communities are now estimated to be around 65,000.
Why Assam witnessed massive anti-CAA protests?
Most of Assam (which shares a 263-km border with Bangladesh) does not come under either the Sixth Schedule or the ILP regime. And that is why there’s unrest in these areas against the CAA. Anti-immigrant sentiment is strong in both states, which share long, porous borders with Bangladesh, and have had streams of refugees coming in from the neighbouring country from before the time when it was known as East Pakistan.
After the partition of the country, the Chakmas who remained in East Pakistan (present Bangladesh) were displaced massively. The displacement was primarily due to the construction of the Kaptai hydroelectric project over the river Karnaphuli in 1962
Himanta Biswa Sarma’s immediate clarification
The Assam chief minister immediately came before the media and clarified that there has been no such proposal to relocate Chakma-Hajong from Arunachal Pradesh to Assam. “I don’t know what Mr Kiren Rijiju said to media, there is no such proposal. Neither Chakma-Hajong leaders met me nor central government has ever contacted me on this issue. I have agreed to provide Permanent Residence Certificate to few hundred Assamese people living in Arunachal Pradesh,” said the CM.
Supreme Court’s on Chakma and Hajongs
In 1996, the Supreme Court directed the Centre and the Arunachal Pradesh governments to grant citizenship to Chakma and Hajongs. Still, the state government has refused to accept the judgment and has refused to implement it.
The Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI) has reportedly urged Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu not to “perpetuate prejudices” against the Chakma and Hajong communities by terming them ineligible for settlement in Arunachal Pradesh and proposing their relocation across India.
Suspension of residence proof certificates
In 2022, the Arunachal Pradesh government announced that it would no longer be issuing “residence proof certificates” to the state’s Chakma and Hajong refugees. As the name suggests, these documents attest to people’s place of residence.
Many Chakmas and Hajongs in the state are not Indian citizens and, therefore, ineligible for official identification documents. These certificates are usually issued by the district administration on a case-to-case basis on the request of Chakma-Hajong refugees.
In 2022, before the suspension of the residential proof certificates, the Arunachal government had announced a special census of the two communities. This, too, was in response to a demand by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union.
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