Mizoram, bordering Myanmar, has long been a place of refuge for ethnic Chin people, even before the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. The Mizo, part of the larger Chin community, share deep cultural, linguistic and familial ties with those living in Myanmar’s Chin State. Mizoram has thus responded to multiple refugee crises with compassion and solidarity. Many Chin refugees have built new lives in Mizoram, assimilating into the local society. But civil society has carried the weight of this humanitarian response and the strain on resources means that local support may be wavering owing to a complex struggle for balance between compassion and control, kinship and law, refuge and security. For the battle in the Chin Hills of Myanmar is not only between Chin ethnic armies and the junta, it is also internecine at times among the intricate maze of Chin forces themselves.
The Baptist Church of Mizoram started the Lydia Project in 2011 to assist displaced Chins and low-income local people, in partnership with two others. They focused on developing programmes to serve the most vulnerable and long-duration habitants in Mizoram. But most important, project leaders emphasised how critical it is not to separate the Chins from the local population for humanitarian assistance. By not singling out the refugees as a population in need, the Lydia Project has greater acceptance in the local community.
In the 1950s and the 1960s, many individuals migrated from Mizoram to Chin, viewing Myanmar as a land of opportunity that was more accessible than other parts of India. But this flow of people shifted in the 1990s when political turmoil in Myanmar escalated, coinciding with an improvement in Mizoram’s economy, supported by substantial financial aid from the Indian government. Today, it is estimated that around 10% of Mizoram’s population consists of individuals from Chin.
Local conflicts have inevitably resulted. Due to extreme economic hardship, many Chin migrants choose paltry, low-rung occupations, which make the locals unhappy. Many local Mizos have thus pleaded that the migrants be repatriated to Myanmar because they disturb peace in the region. Crime and illegal drug cartels have escalated. Violent protests against migration have even taken place.
The Chin-Mizo scenario demonstrates how heightened cross-border interaction has affected economic conditions on both sides of the border and highlights potential opportunities and challenges associated with increased commerce between Myanmar and India’s Northeast.
In 2022, the Aizawl district administration had issued a public order instructing Chin migrants not to buy land or run businesses without prior permission or obtain driving licences. In 2023, the Young Mizo Association had passed a resolution calling on the state government to place Chins who have sought refuge in designated compact zones. In March 2026, the home minister of Mizoram, K. Sapdanga, asserted in the assembly that Chin refugees trading illegally have been arrested and are facing trial. He reiterated that the large influx has been a burden for the state.
Despite these developments, the bonds between the Chins and the Mizos have grown much stronger over the years. While it is often seen as an ethnic conflict, the Chins have faced religious persecution as well. The military has made forced assimilation attempts, which have resulted in coercive conversions, churches being shut down, the arrests of pastors, and several other human rights violations. India is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, which defines the rights of asylum seekers and the responsibilities of host nations. But there is some inherent linkages that drive camaraderie and love that the Mizo society feels for the Chins.
