North-east India: Displaced Brus split over repatriation process
| Publisher | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC) |
| Publication Date | 26 November 2010 |
| Cite as | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC), North-east India: Displaced Brus split over repatriation process, 26 November 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4cf35c162.html [accessed 23 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
India: Displaced Brus split over repatriation process
In mid-November, a road blockade and clashes between opposing groups of internally displaced Bru (or Reang) people in Tripura state interrupted the process of return of more than 30,000 Bru IDPs, including at least 12,000 children. Most of them have been in Tripura since 1997, when they had to leave their homes in Mizoram state due to ethnic violence. Others fled new violence a year ago.
The Mizoram state government was to provide each returning Bru family with 80,000 rupees ($1,800) and food rations for one year. In addition, schools and hospitals would be constructed and returnees would benefit from a special development package. In October, however, representatives of the IDPs split over the issue of repatriation and the question of security for returnees.
While the Bru Coordination Committee and the Bru Repatriation Implementing Committee supported the repatriation process, the Mizoram Bru Displaced People Forum (MBDPF) and the Mizoram Bru Displaced Welfare Organisation opposed it, demanding that the displaced be resettled together in Mizoram's Mamit district instead of returning to their homes in Mamit, Lunglei and Kolasib districts and being dispersed as a result. They also requested that the Tripura and Mizoram state governments, the Government of India and the MBDPF hold negotiations and sign a Memorandum of Understanding incorporating the MBDPF's demands.
See also the section on Mizoram-Tripura on the IDMC India country page
