Governance
Protest Against Bru Resettlement
- 26 Nov 2020
- 3 min read
Why in News
Recently, parts of north Tripura have witnessed violent protests over the proposed resettlement of Bru tribals.
Key Points
- Background:
- Bru or Reang is a community indigenous to Northeast India, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram and Assam. In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.
- In Mizoram, they have been targeted by groups that do not consider them indigenous to the state.
- In 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Brus fled Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts of Mizoram and were accommodated in relief camps in Tripura.
- Since then, 5,000 have returned to Mizoram in eight phases of repatriation, while 32,000 still live in six relief camps in North Tripura.
- In January 2020, a quadrilateral agreement was signed by the Centre, the two state governments and Bru representatives to allow the remaining 32,000 to permanently settle in Tripura.
- 2020 Agreement:
- After the agreement was made in January 2020, the state has planned 12 resettlement spots across six districts with 300 families each.
- The Centre has announced a special development project with funding of Rs. 600 crore.
- Each resettled family will get an estimated 0.03 acres of land for building a home, Rs. 1.5 lakh as housing assistance, and Rs. 4 lakh as a one-time cash benefit for sustenance, a monthly allowance of Rs. 5,000 and free rations for two years from the date of resettlement.
- Reason for the Protest:
- The 2020 agreement led to protests from Bengali and Mizo groups in Tripura. They claim that settling thousands of migrants permanently in Kanchanpur sub-division of North Tripura district would lead to demographic imbalance, exert pressure on local resources and potentially lead to law and order problems.
- They alleged that 650 Bengali families from around Kanchanpur and 81 Mizo families from Jampui Hill range, who fled due to “atrocities” by Brus, were yet to be resettled two decades on.
- Conditions of the Brus:
- They are in fear and uncertainty as they suffer an economic blockade due to these protests.
- They haven’t received foodgrains as per their relief package this month and if the protest continues, their condition will deteriorate further.
