A Bru homecoming?

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates conservatively that at least 650,000 people in India are currently considered internally displaced persons (IDPs), as a result of armed conflict, ethnic or communal violence or human-rights violations. One situation in the Northeast, which has been particularly poorly reported upon, provides a useful demonstration of the challenges in returning India's IDPs to their homes. In May 2010, about 1115 displaced Reang indigenous people (also known as the Bru) returned home to Mizoram from camps in Tripura; on 3 November, an additional 53 families went home. These first two groups of returnees, it is hoped will be followed by the remaining of the 37,000 Reang, displaced in 1997 following attacks by the ethnic-majority Mizo in Mizoram.

The Reang, also known as the Bru, are a designated Scheduled Tribe spread through Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh. Because of their low socio-economic status, in Tripura they have official classification as a 'Primitive Tribal Group', which entitles them to special development and protection measures. In September 1997, a meeting was held by Bru political representatives, where the demand was put forward for Autonomous District Council (ADC) status, which would confer significant administrative, judicial and legislative powers to the community. The state's major parties (all Mizo-dominated) publicly opposed the demand. Mizo civil society, including the Young Mizo Association (YMA) and the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (Mizo Students Union, or MZP), began to aggressively demand that the Bru withdraw their request for ADC status. When the Bru groups refused, the MZP retaliated with thinly veiled threats to leave.