Kuki-Chin Community
Why in news : Members of kuki-chin community from Bangladesh who entered Mizoram are referred as “officially displaced persons” in state government records.
Who are kuki-chins ?
- The Kuki people are an ethnic group native to the Mizo Hills.
- The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In Northeast India, they are present in all states except Arunachal Pradesh.
- The Chin people of Myanmar and the Mizo people of Mizoram are realated tribes of the Kukis. Collectively, they are termed the Zo people.
Distribution of kuki-chin community
India’s policy on refugees :
- India does not have an official law on refugees.
- India is neither a party to UN refugee convention 1952 nor its 1967 protocal.
India stance on non- refoulment policy :
It is a debate whether India should abide by the principle of non refoulement or not since we are not party to the 1951 convention on refugees.
- The Supreme Court of India on 8 April 2021 in Mohammad Salimullah and Anr Union of India and Ors., case clarifies that India is not a signatory to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention and Protocol, indicating that this is sufficient for the non-compliance of the non-refoulement policy.
- But the principle of non-refoulement is a matter of International Customary Law; which means that it applies to every nation regardless of whether they are party to a particular agreement or not.
- This view was iterated by the Supreme Court of India in People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India, where the court highlighted the importance of customary laws and held that their application should be encouraged in domestic legislation.
Therefore, while deciding the refugee status of any illegal migrants the supreme court involves and decides the title based on the merit of the case considering domestic implications and international agreements.
Syllabus : prelims- culture- tribes in news
