Recent news has been dominated by the opposition from Chakma organisations against the proposed deportation of 60,000 individuals from their community and the Hajong community, hailing from Arunachal Pradesh.
Ethnic Background of Chakma and Hajong Communities
The Chakma and Hajong communities are ethnic tribes who originally lived in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. These areas are predominantly located in Bangladesh but the communities are also found in regions of northeast India, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. The Chakmas are primarily followers of Buddhism while Hajongs are Hindus.
In 1964-65, these communities fled from erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and found refuge in India, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh. Their migration was largely triggered by environmental changes and religious persecution. The Chakmas lost their land due to the construction of the Kaptai Dam on the Karnaphuli River in Bangladesh. The Hajongs, being non-Muslims and Bengali non-speakers, faced religious discrimination.
Supreme Court’s Direction on Their Citizenship
In a landmark judgement in 2015, the Supreme Court of India directed the Central Government to grant citizenship to the Chakmas and Hajongs who migrated from Bangladesh in the period 1964-69. However, this did not include them under the ambit of the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 (CAA), because Arunachal Pradesh is among the states exempted from the CAA due to its Inner Line Permit, which regulates the entry of outsiders.
The CAA Act of 2019 amended the Citizenship Act of 1955, which allowed Indian citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religious minorities fleeing religious persecution from Muslim majority countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014. However, it excludes Muslims.
Struggle for Citizenship Recognition
While the original immigrants eagerly wait for their citizenship status, many of their descendants born in India and eligible for citizenship by birth face challenges in enrolling as voters. The refugees were granted voting rights only in 2004.
Local Opposition and Potential Repercussions
The local inhabitants of Arunachal Pradesh have long protested against the Chakma and Hajong communities because of their differing ethnicity. If these communities are expelled from Arunachal Pradesh, it is feared that Assam will become a dumping ground for all unwanted communities from states governed by the Inner-Line Permit (Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland along with Arunachal Pradesh) and regions covered by the Sixth Schedule, such as Meghalaya.
