Published: 4th Jan, 2022
Context
The Committee for Citizenship Rights of Chakmas and Hajongs of Arunachal Pradesh (CCRCHAP) has announced that Chakmas & Hajongs will not assist with any kind of census conducted on them.
About
Who are Chakmas and Hajongs?
- They are ethnic people who live in West Bengal, northeast India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
- Chakmas are mostly Buddhist, whereas Hajongs are Hindu.
- The Chakmas & Hajongs were originally from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of the earlier East Pakistan.
- In 1957, the Kaptai Dam was built in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, displacing the Chakmas and Hajong.
- The Chakmas, Buddhists by faith, endured persecution for their faith in East Pakistan with the Hindu Hajongs.
- In the 1960s, the Indian state formally established them in the region now known as Arunachal Pradesh.
- The clans reached India through the Lushai Hills area of Assam (now Mizoram).
Key points made by the community
- No Chakma or Hajong shall participate in any illegitimate census.
- Approximately 95% of Chakmas and Hajongs are Indian citizens by birth, and they are not subject to any discrimination.
- Any census conducted on them must fulfill the litmus test of conforming with Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, as well as the 1996 Supreme Court decision in the matter of National Human Rights Commission of India vs State of Arunachal Pradesh and Anr.
- In its order, the Supreme Court stated unequivocally that if the petition of any individual Chakma migrant from 1964 to 1969 is still under consideration, the state of Arunachal Pradesh will not evict or get rid of the concerned person from his occupation because he is not a citizen of India until the appropriate authority has made a decision in that regard.
- In its order, the Supreme Court stated unequivocally that if the petition of any individual Chakma migrant from 1964 to 1969 is still under consideration, the state of Arunachal Pradesh will not evict or get rid of the concerned person from his occupation because he is not a citizen of India until the appropriate authority has made a decision in that regard.
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