The Centre’s agreement with various stakeholders means the Brus can return home from Tripura, where they fled after violent clashes in 1997.
On Tuesday, the home ministry signed an agreement with the governments of Mizoram and Tripura, and the Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF), the apex body of the Bru refugees, bringing an end to a 21-year for the displaced Bru tribe of Mizoram.
What happened to the Bru tribe in Mizoram?
The Bru tribe, also known as the Reang, primarily reside in the states of Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura, according to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Trouble started for the Brus in Mizoram in the mid-90s, when members of the tribe, who reside in Mizoram’s northern districts of Mamit and Kolasib, faced hostility from the Mizo majority.
In 1995, two organisations — the Young Mizo Association and the Mizo Student’s Association — reportedly demanded that the Brus be left out of the electoral rolls because they were not indigenous to the state. They demanded that the 1995 electoral roll be the basis of determining bonafide citizens of the state. The Reangs had strongly opposed this demand.
The Brus responded with a militant movement, led by an armed Bru National Liberation Front, which was supported by a political body, the Bru National Union (BNU). The two organisations demanded greater autonomy for the Brus of Mizoram and the formation of a Bru autonomous district council.
In 1997, the Bru National Liberation Front allegedly shot dead a Mizo forest guard at the Dampa Tiger Reserve in Mamit district. Following this, an outraged Mizo population launched violent attacks on the Brus on 21 October, 1997, which forced the Brus to flee to the nearby state of Tripura.
The BNU claimed that a total of 1,391 houses in 41 villages were gutted by Mizos and alleged that many women were raped and killed.
According to the Mizoram Police, 325 houses in 16 villages were torched. The police did not confirm the alleged rapes and killings. Nearly 32,000 people were displaced from Mizoram.
Camps in Tripura
The displaced Brus took to the Kanchanpur and Panisagar subdivisions of northern Tripura, adjoining the Mizoram border. They settled in seven relief camps across northern Tripura that were funded by the home ministry; they have been living here for the past 21 years. On several occasions, they have complained of poor living conditions
After many failed attempts at negotiations since 2005, the latest deal was anchored only in 2015 when negotiations between the Centre and the governments of Mizoram and Tripura along with the MBDPF began.
The new package
Under the final package granted by the Centre Tuesday, a total of Rs 435 crore will be allocated to the Brus.
As such, 5,407 Bru families comprising of 32,876 members will be granted a one-time assistance of Rs 4 lakh, along with a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 and free supply of ration for two years. An additional Rs 1.5 lakh would be handed over to the families to build houses.
For the security of the Brus, who fear attacks by Mizos, the government has decided to build police posts that will be funded by the home ministry. The Tripura government has been tasked with the job of ensuring that every Bru migrant gets an Aadhaar card, a bank account and ration cards before 31 September, 2018.
The Brus will be relocated to the respective villages from where they were displaced and inducted into the electoral rolls of Mizoram.
The Brus left Mizoram not because of ethnic cleansing, but because their leaders insists that they should leave. Those who didn’t leave will be treated as traitors. There are many Brus who want to settle in Mizoram, but their political leaders forbit them to do so.