Centre has to take appropriate steps to stop chaos in North-East
By Tirthankar Mitra
KOLKATA: Mizoram has received a flood of Chin refugees. It is a reminder that India’s eastern borders can no longer be left to the whims of foreign instability.
Intense clashes between two armed groups namely People’s Defence Forces (PDF) and Chin National Defence Forces (CNDF) in Myanmar have spilled over to the border town of Zokawthar in the state’s Champai district. More refugees are expected given the ongoing clashes in the neighbouring country.
India once again is forced to absorb a neighbour’s chaos. In Mizoram the ethnic and cultural bonds with the Chin people run deep leading the fleeing populace from Myanmar being welcomed with open arms.
So far, so good. But sentiments cannot be the sole pillar of state policy. Indian borders are being tested and it is not only by external threats. Internal tension between empathy and national interest is the other factor which needs to be looked upon with caution.
Indian authorities cannot lose sight of the fact the conflict is no longer binary. This makes the current refugee wave more unsettling.
Factionalism within Chin resistance is turning villages into battle grounds. Civilians being pawns in it are fleeing their own country and seeking safety even in uncertain conditions. This is not to be viewed as Myanmar’s junta actions. It poses a threat to Mizoram’s frontier districts in the form of a long term instability.
If the dynamics are ignored it would only deepen the risks to Indian citizens in the border areas and refugees in it. India is alive to the threat and has sealed parts of the Indo-Myanmar border.
The outdated Free Movement Regime is also being reconsidered. Such steps are essential as India cannot afford to allow porous borders from being launch pads for militants and illegal trafficking.
The fallout of illegal trafficking is already visible in Manipur. It is a dangerous situation. This is not a humanitarian spillover. It is a creeping security crisis.
It is time India asserted greater diplomatic leverage with Myanmar’s fragmented opposition. Factional violence that threatens our borderland must be contained.
India must actively associate with Chin political leaders and resistance groups. After all, national stability cannot be outsourced to collapsing actors.
India must shape peace that affects our national security. This is to be achieved through backchannel talks, conditional aid or cultural diplomacy through Mizoram’s community leaders.
Strategic patience has its limits. If the unrest is allowed to fester, it won’t be long before criminal elements and arms traffickers exploit the chaos and undermine our sovereignty and destabilize the North East.
But the ground realities are not to be overlooked. Mizoram needs Central support and not lectures. Refugee inflow needs to be tracked. It’s preconditions are better coordination mechanism, funds and medicines.
India is a regional power and a civilisational state. It’s response to the Myanmar situation must reflect both strength and strategy. Compassion is our strength. But security is our duty. (IPA Service)
