Aizawl: The Mizoram government has entered the final phase of collecting biometric and demographic data of more than 30,000 displaced persons from Myanmar and Bangladesh currently residing in the state, Home Minister K. Sapdanga informed the Assembly on Monday.
Deputy Commissioners across districts are supervising the concluding stage of the enrolment process.
“As of February 5, 93% of the biometric enrolment of Myanmar refugees has been completed,” Sapdanga said, adding that the remaining registrations would be concluded at the earliest.
According to the Minister, Mizoram is presently hosting 38,059 displaced persons. The figure includes refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, besides nearly 7,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from neighbouring Manipur who fled ethnic violence in 2023.
The enrolment of asylum seekers from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is also under way and is expected to be completed shortly, he said. A senior Home Department official indicated that around 13% of the approximately 2,300 Bangladeshi nationals in the State have so far been enrolled.
Among foreign nationals seeking refuge in Mizoram, Myanmar nationals constitute the largest group, numbering over 28,000 and spread across all 11 districts. In contrast, those from Bangladesh are largely concentrated in Lawngtlai and Serchhip districts.
The biometric drive commenced in late July last year through the ‘Foreigners Identification Portal & Biometric Enrolment’ system, following a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Officials acknowledged that the exercise has faced logistical challenges, including technical glitches and poor internet connectivity in remote villages, particularly in Lawngtlai district. Despite these constraints, the state government has expressed confidence that the process will be completed soon.
Mizoram shares a 510-km international border with Myanmar to the east and a 318-km border with Bangladesh to the west. The influx of refugees began in February 2021, when Myanmar nationals, largely from Chin state, crossed into Mizoram following the military coup in their country.
In 2022, they were followed by members of the ethnic Bawm community from Bangladesh, who fled military operations against an ethnic insurgent group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
The Chin, Bawm and Zo-Kuki communities share longstanding ethnic and cultural ties with the Mizo people, a factor that has shaped the state’s humanitarian response.