The Mizoram government has begun collecting biometric data of Myanmar nationals in the northeast state of India, according to reports in the local media.

A similar process has been going on in Manipur State, Mizoram’s southern neighbour.

The local government is carrying out a pilot exercise of this process in all 11 districts of Mizoram State, with special focus on relief camps where over 30,000 Myanmar nationals have been taking shelter since the military coup in February 2021.

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued a directive to both Mizoram and Manipur in April for the collection of illegal immigrants’ biometric data. In June it reminded that the process must be completed by the end of September.

Ongoing armed clashes between the Myanmar military and local resistance forces in Myanmar have caused an influx of displaced people to India’s border states. The majority of them are currently living in camps, and others are in rented accommodation or living with relatives.

The Mizoram government has profiled Myanmar nationals and issued them with identity cards.

The Chief Minister of the Mizoram State Government, Zoramthanga, objected to the Indian government’s instructions to deport Myanmar nationals as they belong to the same ethnic group as the people in his state.