The Mizoram State Government in India has started to issue ID cards to refugees from Myanmar, said an official on 9 April.

The cards will only be valid in Mizoram and they will facilitate speedier and easier identification of refugees, though they will not allow them to enrol in the state’s voter lists, according to a Home Department official who spoke to the Economic Times.

The north eastern Indian state of Mizoram borders Chin State and the Mizo people in Mizoram share strong ethnic ties with the natives of Chin State. They have the same ancestry and speak the same language. The Chin are ethnically far closer to the Mizos than to the Bamar of central Myanmar.

The majority of the 29,532 Myanmar refugees who have fled to Mizoram are from Chin State. Most of them live in refugee camps, but some are staying with relatives or renting houses.

The Mizoram State Government, village councils, NGOs, churches and individuals are providing food and other necessary assistance to the refugees.