Enigma of ‘Brus’ in Mizoram: Displacement, Repatriation and Livelihood

The construction of ethnic identity and perpetuation of ethnic consciousness among various communities of India‘s Northeast often legitimises the dominant position of some communities in exercising control over resources and accessing government jobs and thereby depriving the marginalised ethnic communities of their basic needs and survival. Territorial concentration and the making of ethnic boundary enable the dominant community to assert their rights over the smaller communities and put a strong demand for the homeland through Autonomous District Councils (ADCs). The simmering discontent and recurring tensions between the major and the minor communities often lead to violent conflicts resulting in the displacement of the latter and migration to neighbouring states as refugees. However, the government‘s failure to ensure safe repatriation for refugees who are fearing retaliation from the majority community hampers the process. The ethnic conflict between the Mizo ethnic majority and Brus minority in Mizoram is a classic example of how assertion and mobilisation of the majority and their access to political power and resource control leads to violent conflict, inhuman displacement and deprivation of the minority from the homeland.