India to grant citizenship on Chakma, Hajong refugees

Modi government  has decided to grant citizenship to around 1 lakh Chakma and Hajong refugees living in the north-eastern states in line with the directives of the Supreme Court, but minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju assured that the government would ensure that the rights of indigenous people are not diluted.
The issue was discussed at the home ministry at a meeting attended by home minister Rajnath Singh, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Prema Khandu   and national security advisor Ajit Doval, besides Rijiju among others.
Rijiju said a “middle ground” would be adopted so that the 2015 Supreme Court order to grant citizenship to Chakma-Hajong refugees could be honoured without diluting the rights of the local population. “The Supreme Court order has to be honoured. Chakmas have been settled in Arunachal Pradesh since 1964. But ST status and indigenous people’s rights won’t be diluted,” he said.

The initiative on the Chakma and Hajong refugees comes amid the ongoing row over the central government’s plans to deport Rohingya Muslims, who came to India due to alleged persecution in Myanmar. Rijiju, who belongs to Arunachal Pradesh, has said Rohingyas are illegal immigrants and should be deported.