Bru refugees in Tripura continue to stage blockade over deaths in relief camp

News:Bru refugees have begun a road blockade in Tripura demanding that the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) resume the supply of rations to refugee camps where displaced people are allegedly starving.

Facts:

Who are Bru’s?

• The Brus are also called Reangs.They are scattered across Assam, Mizoram and Tripura.
• In Mizoram,they inhabit small pockets of Mamit,Lunglei and Lawngtlai districts but the largest section is in Mamit bordering North Tripura.
• They are are one of the 21 scheduled tribes of the Indian state of Tripura. 
• They speak the Reang dialect of Bru language which is of Tibeto Burmese origin and is locally referred to as Kau Bru.
• The Hojagiri folk dance of Reang sub tribe is well known all over the world.The most popular festival of reang tribes is Buisu.

What is the conflict?

• In 1995, a clash broke out between Mizos and Brus which led to the demand by the Young Mizo Association that Brus be removed from the state’s electoral rolls contending that the tribe was not indigenous to Mizoram.
• This led to an armed movement by the Bru National Liberation Front which had killed a Mizo forest official in 1997.
• As a consequence,many Bru villages were burnt down which had led to the displacement of 40,000 bru people.Thousands of Brus fled to North Tripura where they were given shelter in relief camps.
• The people of the Reang tribe are set to be repatriated to Mizoram after a tripartite agreement was signed between the Centre, Tripura and Mizoram.