New Delhi, Nov 22 (TIWN): The All India ChakmaSocial Forum (AICSF), an apex body of the Chakmas of India, today stated thatit opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill as it has become an instrument tovilify the Chakma community as “foreigners” and beneficiaries of the CABdespite the Chakmas being citizens of India and notified as Scheduled Tribes bythe President of India in 1950 in Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and West Bengal.“There were 2.2 lakh Chakmas in India as per2011 census.

Out of these 96,972 Chakmas were in Mizoram, 79,813 were inTripura and 2,032 were in Assam and in all these States, Chakmas are citizensof India,” stated Mr Paritosh Chakma, Secretary General of the AICSF.

“The Chakmas have been living in the WesternBelt of Mizoram from time immemorial and in 1898, a portion of then ChittagongHill Tracts covering the current Western belt of Mizoram inhabited by theChakmas was included into the Lushai Hills for administrative purposes. TheChakmas were accorded the Chakma Autonomous District Council under the Sixth Scheduleto the Constitution of India in 1972. There is not a single Chakma foreignerresiding in Mizoram as per the statement of then Home Minister Mr R.Lalzirliana in the State Assembly on 15 November 2017. It is a fact that thereare over 100,000 Myanmarese Chin refugees in Mizoram, out of which 4,000 havebeen granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees in New Delhi”. – further stated Mr Chakma.The Mizos (Lushais), Tripuris and Chakmas liveon both sides of India–Bangladesh borders.

“There were 47,073 Chakmas and Hajongs inArunachal Pradesh as per 2011 census and most of them are citizens by birth asper the existing Citizenship Act 1955. There are about 4,500 surviving Chakmaand Hajongs migrants who migrated during 1964 to 1969 and their citizenshipapplications are not being processed despite two Supreme Court judgments andmonitoring by the Supreme Court. The CAB is not applicable to the Chakmas andHajongs of Arunachal Pradesh even though there are acts of racial discriminationand non-compliance with the Supreme Court orders.” – stated Mr Santosh Chakma,General Secretary of the Committee for Citizenship Rights of the Chakmas andHajongs of Arunachal Pradesh.

“There is a vested interest to vilify theChakmas in the North East. Since the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 wheneverChakmas sought refuge in India, they were always housed in camps in Tripura andrepatriated to Bangladesh with the last repatriation taking place in 1998following the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord of 1997. TheChakmas are the only group of refugees in India who have always beenkept in camps and repatriated to Bangladesh while all other refugees whetherTibetans, Sri Lankan Tamils, Myanamarese Chins and Myanmarese Rohingyas havenever been repatriated to their country of origin,” further stated Mr ParitoshChakma.

“The time has come for many communityorganizations in the North East India to stop xenophobia against the Chakmas asforeigners in the North East. The entire population of the Chakmas in the worldis about 5.5 lakhs including 3 lakhs in Bangladesh, 2.2 lakhs in India and30,000 in Myanmar. The Chakmas do not pose any threat to any community and theChakmas are fighting for their rights wherever they are residing. However,xenophobia against the Chakmas has reached such an insane level that Chakmaswhose population in Assam was 2,032 persons as per 2011 census are targeted bya few local NGOs as threat to over 3 crore population of Assam.” - also statedMr Paritosh Chakma.