Similar demonstrations were reported from different parts of the state. TSF leaders said that the Centre as well as the state government must act on the long-pending demands of indigenous groups to implement the Ministry of Home Affairs’ directives on checking migration.
Photo: IANS
The issue of illegal immigration once again came to the fore in the Northeast as student groups in Tripura and Mizoram, both affiliated to the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), staged coordinated protests demanding strict action to detect and deport undocumented migrants.
In Tripura, members of the Twipra Students’ Federation (TSF), a constituent of NESO, staged a sit-in demonstration near the Circuit House in Agartala.
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Similar demonstrations were reported from different parts of the state. TSF leaders said that the Centre as well as the state government must act on the long-pending demands of indigenous groups to implement the Ministry of Home Affairs’ directives on checking migration.
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“Illegal immigrant issue is not new in Tripura or in the North East. For more than 40 years, the indigenous people have been facing this problem. As NESO has resolved, we are protesting and demanding that migrants must be detected and deported. We will also submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister,” said TSF vice-president John Debbarma.
Debbarma further cautioned that the ongoing eviction drives in neighbouring Assam could push migrants to shift into Tripura unless coordinated measures are taken.
“We want the state government to strictly implement MHA’s directives and to coordinate with other states. Since eviction is under process in Assam, those evicted will try to relocate. Preventive steps are needed to stop them from entering Tripura,” he added.
The Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) — the apex student body in Mizoram and also a NESO constituent — organised a protest rally in Aizawl against what it described as unchecked cross-border migration from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Mizoram, which shares a porous border with Myanmar, has witnessed a steady inflow of refugees in recent years due to the political crisis and civil conflict across the border.
MZP leaders demanded that the Centre and the state government formulate a clear policy to distinguish between refugees fleeing conflict and illegal immigrants, and to ensure that the demographic balance of the state is not altered.
NESO, which represents student unions from across the Northeast, including the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), MZP, and others, has long raised the alarm about demographic changes in the region.
The organisation has consistently linked the question of immigration to threats to indigenous identity, culture, and political rights.
The protests in Tripura and Mizoram are part of a wider NESO campaign across the Northeast, which has seen demonstrations in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Nagaland as well.
The call for detection and deportation also dates back to historic movements like the six-year-long Assam Agitation (1979–1985), which culminated in the Assam Accord.
Yet, decades later, indigenous groups across the region argue that the problem remains unresolved.
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