Imphal/Guwahati:

An influential students’ body of the Maring tribe in Manipur’s border district Tengnoupal has alleged Myanmar nationals living in six Maring Naga villages have outnumbered the locals.

The Maring Students’ Union (MSU) in a statement said 1,428 Myanmar nationals whose biometrics have been taken are living in six Maring Naga villages, and it acknowledges the plight of the Myanmar nationals and expresses “heartfelt sympathy towards them”.

The MSU, however, said the Myanmar nationals have outnumbered the locals in these villages. The Myanmar nationals are actually refugees who fled from the fighting between the junta forces and pro-democracy insurgents.

“The Myanmar nationals being sheltered in the six Maring Naga villages (Saibol, Moirengthel, Chanringphai, Lamlong Khunou, Choktong, and Satang), numbering about 1,428 (only those whose biometrics were captured), have outnumbered the local residents, which is of great concern,” the MSU said.

The MSU’s statement comes over a month after Naga People’s Front (NPF) MLA Leishiyo Keishing in a letter to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on May 9 alleged Myanmar nationals living in shelter homes in eight villages “have outnumbered” locals, raising feelings of insecurity among the locals amid the ethnic tension in Manipur.

Responding to the claims by the NPF MLA, BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip had told NDTV that if the data quoted by Mr Keishing was correct, then it clearly indicated the number of refugees coming from war-torn Myanmar was highest in Ukhrul and Kamjong districts. Mr Haokip had alleged the state government focussed only on Kuki villages, and not the villages where tribes other than Kukis live.

The MSU alleged Rilram Area Maring Organisation (RAMO) have been targeted after a survey by its volunteers in the border district found refugees from Myanmar allegedly building houses without informing the state authorities.

“The Union demands an end to their intimidation to village leaders and dissemination of misleading reports, particularly those unjustly targeting RAMO,” the MSU said.

The Assam Rifles, which guards the border in this region, had in a statement to local media denied the existence of such “illegal settlements”, as alleged by RAMO.

Some refugees have indeed taken shelter in that area due to the war-like situation in Myanmar; however, they are immediately repatriated as the security situation improves across the Indo-Myanmar border, the Assam Rifles had said in the statement.

In fact, the accommodation arrangements for the refugees consist of self-help, bare essential thatched huts with polythene covers, the Assam Rifles said, adding the state administration is fully aware of the presence of refugees in the area and has also collected their biometric data.

Security sources have refuted the MSU’s allegations that security forces have been hindering movement of commuters in the Maring tribe’s areas.

RAMO on Tuesday had said it sent out volunteers to check their villages near border pillar numbers 82 to 89, following reports of a significant number of Myanmar refugees pouring into Maring tribe’s areas in Tengnoupal district.

RAMO said they told the authorities they found a considerable presence of Myanmar refugees building houses and other structures. The areas RAMO volunteers visited were Chanringphai, Choktong, N Satang, and Sangtong villages under Lamlong Khunou circle. Village chiefs in the area have complained they were no longer able to manage the influx of refugees from Myanmar, the RAMO volunteers said.

As highlighted by Kamjong MLA Mr Leishiyo Keishing, the total number of illegal influx touched 5800 in the area of Kamjong District, outnumbering the local populace, detection of such illegal migrants along with capturing of biometrics has been done for more than 5100 of them…. pic.twitter.com/08mIVhEWTn

— Rajkumar Imo Singh (@imosingh) May 13, 2024

Several Naga civil bodies and organisations in Manipur last week asked Home Minister Amit Shah to repatriate “illegal Myanmar immigrants”. After visiting border areas on a fact-finding mission, the United Naga Council (UNC), Naga Women’s Union (NWU), All Naga Students Association Manipur (ANSAM), and Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPM-HR) gave a memorandum to Mr Shah.

Mr Shah in August 2023 had told Lok Sabha the problem in Manipur started with the influx of Chin-Kuki refugees from neighbouring Myanmar after the military rulers there started a crackdown against insurgents in 2021. The refugees coming to Manipur raised fears of a demographic change in the region, Mr Shah had said, adding rumours that refugee settlements have been declared as villages was the final straw.

The ethnic clashes between the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes began over cataclysmic disagreements on sharing land, resources, affirmative action policies, and political representation, mainly with the ‘general’ category Meiteis seeking to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category. Over 220 have been killed, and more than 50,000 have been internally displaced.