Rohingya Muslims, who came to India due to persecution in Myanmar, are not as lucky as the Chakma and Hajong refugees. While the former are treated as illegal immigrants in India and the Centre is planning to deport them, the latter will soon get Indian citizenship.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said the Centre will grant citizenship to all Chakma and Hajong refugees living in the Northeast.

The ethnic groups from Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, where they faced religious persecution, had fled to India in the 1960s.

In 2015, the Centre was directed by the Supreme Court to confer citizenship to these refugees.

The government now wants to find a "middle ground" so the Supreme Court order to grant citizenship to Chakma-Hajong refugees could be honoured without diluting the rights of the local population.

WHO ARE CHAKMAS AND HAJONGS?

The stateless groups have lived in Arunachal Pradesh for over 50 years. Many fled when their land was submerged by the Kaptai Dam in the 1960s. They entered India through the Mizoram in the 1960s.

The Chakmas are Buddhists while the Hajongs are Hindus.

While some of them stayed back, the government moved a majority of the refugees to Arunachal Pradesh later on.

Initially treated as refugees, the Indian government decided to grant them citizenship under Section 5(i)(a) of the Citizenship Act following a joint statement by the PMs of India and Bangladesh in 1972.

Based in Arunachal for over 50 years, there are over 1 lakh people from these ethnic groups today - up from around 5,000 in 1964-69.

LOCALS' IRE

All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) launched a mass movement against granting citizenship to Chakmas and Hajongs in the 1980s, which continues till today.

Indigenous tribal communities fear that they would be reduced to a minority and deprived of opportunities if the refugees are given equal rights.

They say the demography of the state will change as a result. The central government is trying to find a workable solution by proposing that the refugees will not be given rights, including land ownership, enjoyed by scheduled tribes in Arunachal Pradesh.

However, they may be given Inner Line permits required for non-locals in Arunachal Pradesh to travel and work.

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