Bru Refugees Must be Re-settled in Tripura Itself: Pradyot Manikya to Amit Shah

Agartala, November 20, 2019:

Tripura's royal scion and indigenous people's leader Pradyot Manikya on Tuesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the Bru refugee problem in the State of Tripura.

Manikya, in his letter to the Home Minister, Shah, urged the Government to repatriate the Brus within Tripura itself, which is what the people themselves are desirous of. He further appealed that the re-settlement should be in clusters alongwith proper medical and educational facilities. He also stated that instead of trying to re-settle the Brus in Mizoram, where they originally belong, to Tripura instead.

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In a letter to the Home Minister, Manikya wrote that there is also no legal or constitutional basis for the displacement of the Bru peoples.

Under Article 21 of the Constitution, Manikya said, by way of which the right to life and personal liberty is guaranteed to each and every person within the territory of India, these people cannot be displaced without the authority of law.

"Furthermore, under the latest law declared by the honorable Supreme Court, a proposed legal fiat also needs to fulfill the test of due process. It is further pertinent to mention that these arbitrary displacement would also be a violation of the constitutional guarantee of the same constitution which guarantees the right to non-arbitrary treatment."

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Manikya also stated that according to the guiding principles of the on internal displacement published by the UN, which are deemed to be consistent with the various conventions and international treaties like the International Covenant of Civil and Political rights that India is party to.

He said that the indigenous Brus are guaranteed a supply of water and food. Furthermore, under another principle, they are also guaranteed the right to settle in whichever part of the country that they choose to settle.

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