Guwahati: The Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) has urged the Arunachal Pradesh government to reconsider its plans to relocate the Chakma and Hajong communities, arguing that the state should instead share the responsibility of accommodating migrants from other northeastern states and strengthen its border regions in view of national security concerns.
In a statement issued on Friday, RRAG Director Suhas Chakma appealed to the Chief Ministers of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, and West Bengal, as well as Tripura’s Tipra Motha Chief Maharaja Pradyot Bikram Manikya DebBarma, to engage with Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on the issue. His appeal follows Khandu’s recent comments on the proposed relocation of the Chakma and Hajong communities after a meeting with local leaders on October 7.
“Arunachal Pradesh is one of India’s most sparsely populated states, with just 17 persons per square kilometre compared to the national average of 48. If the state expects others to share its so-called burden, it should also share that of others,” Chakma said.
He also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene in the matter, citing strategic concerns along the Indo-China border.
Chakma further stated, “Arunachal Pradesh must play a crucial role in safeguarding India’s national security, especially in light of China’s ‘Xiaokang Project,’ under which Beijing has constructed 628 villages along the Indo-China border, including 90 near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) adjoining Arunachal Pradesh.”
He stated, “At a time when China is populating its border areas, India cannot afford to depopulate its own by expelling Indian citizens, even if they belong to the Chakma community. This poses a serious national security concern for the entire country. When China is constructing villages along its border, India cannot depopulate its own frontier or mistreat the Chakmas, who were originally settled there to serve national security purposes”
Chakma recalled that after the 1962 Indo-China war, the Government of India had launched a plan to populate the sparsely inhabited North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), now Arunachal Pradesh. Under this initiative, around 2,000 Assam Rifles ex-servicemen were settled in Vijaynagar, and the Chakma and Hajong refugees were also relocated there for strategic reasons.
He cited the Supreme Court’s 1989 judgment in the Assam Rifles Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd. vs Union of India case, which observed that settlement in border areas like NEFA was in the “public interest and for the benefit of the public.”
However, Chakma alleged that both the Chakma-Hajong settlers and the ex-Assam Rifles personnel have faced persistent persecution and neglect. He pointed out that the Supreme Court, in a recent judgment on April 29, 2025, had to step in again to protect the rights of ex-Assam Rifles personnel in Arunachal Pradesh.
“The Chakmas who migrated in 1964 have still not been granted citizenship, despite the Supreme Court’s 1996 ruling. Their persecution seems endless,” Chakma said.
He further warned that under the same 1996 judgment, Arunachal Pradesh cannot relocate the Chakma-Hajong population until their citizenship applications are fully processed. “Their current population is around 3,000, and many descendants are citizens by birth under the Citizenship Act of 1955. They vote as Indian citizens and enjoy the same constitutional rights as any other citizen of Arunachal Pradesh,” he asserted.
Chakma cautioned the state government against conducting a separate census or relocation exercise targeting the community.
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“The Constitutional courts of this country will not permit such blatant violations of the right to life, equality before law, and freedom of movement,” he said.
“The Chakmas shall not allow the Arunachal Pradesh government to relocate them by presenting Chakma workers of a local MLA—as part of the ruling party coalition—as representatives of the community seeking relocation or an unauthorized census,” Chakma further warned.
