How long Mizoram will bear refugee burden depends on geopolitics, says Lalduhoma

AIZAWL

The geopolitical situation in the neighbourhood will decide how long Mizoram will bear the burden of refugees from Bangladesh, Manipur and Myanmar, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma said on Wednesday (October 14, 2026).

Political parties, including the Zoram People’s Movement that he heads, and social organisations in Mizoram continued to be against fencing the India-Myanmar border due to ethnic affiliations, he also said.

The Mizoram government had inherited fiscal liabilities when his party took over the reins in 2023, Mr. Lalduhoma said. The liabilities increased when the Chin people began crossing over after the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, followed by the Bawms of Bangladesh due to a military offensive.

The expenditure on the refugees increased after the ethnic conflict between Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities erupted in Manipur in May 2023. The Chin, Bawm and Kuki-Zo people are ethnic cousins of the dominant Mizos of Mizoram.

“The Mizo people were divided into three countries — India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar — because of the divide-and-rule policy of the British. Every Mizo has a vision to unite under a common umbrella of administration,” Mr. Lalduhoma told a select group of journalists on the sidelines of the three-day Mizoram Travel Fest.

“Because we belong to the same ethnic group, our political parties and NGOs are against fencing the border. We cannot stop them from coming due to humanitarian considerations, and the Government of India understands our problem,” he said.

Mizoram has been feeding and providing shelter to about 40,000 “dislocated people” from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur at any given time in the past five years, Mr. Lalduhoma said. “Their return depends on the geopolitical situation around us, but it seems we will have to keep them for some time,” he said.

The Mizoram and Assam governments have decided to maintain the status quo on their inter-State boundary dispute that has claimed several lives over the decades, Mr. Lalduhoma said.

In light of Assam resolving at least 50% of its boundary disputes with Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, he said that he had been in touch with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to ensure that “there should not be any provocation from either side” to maintain peace along their 164.6 km border.

“We are organising a border festival in which stakeholders from Assam and Mizoram will celebrate together,” he said.

On the political front, Mr. Lalduhoma indicated that the Zoram People’s Movement would remain equidistant from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance by 2028, when the State polls Assembly election is due.

“Our party leadership will decide [about joining any bloc] when the situation arrives. As of now, we stand on our own legs as a regional party with a national outlook,” he said.

Mr. Lalduhoma declined to comment on the Cockroach Janata Party’s protests seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He said he had no complaints with the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in Mizoram.