Aizawl: The Mizoram government has begun collecting biometric data of refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh who have been living in the state for the past four years, according to a recent report by Scroll.
The report states that Mizoram is currently home to nearly 40,000 Chin refugees who fled conflict in their home countries in 2021. According to Scroll, former Chief Minister Zoramthanga had in 2023 refused to comply with the Centre’s directive to collect biometric and biographic data of the refugees. His successor, Chief Minister Lalduhoma, also declared in the state assembly in February 2024 that his government would not take part in the exercise.
However, Scroll reports that in March this year, the state government reversed its position and began registering refugees by collecting their biometric details. The move came as public support for the refugees reportedly began to decline.
Quoting Mizoram’s Additional Home Secretary Andrew H Vanlaldika, Scroll said the data collection is being carried out across 11 districts and includes iris scans, fingerprints, photographs, as well as personal information such as occupation, home addresses, and names of relatives. The data is being stored on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Foreigner’s Identification Portal.
In Champhai district, which borders Myanmar and has the highest refugee population, officials reportedly asked refugees to fill forms that include parental details, address in Myanmar, and current residence in India. A local officer told Scroll that the hard copies of these forms remain with the state’s Home Department.
Several legal experts and activists quoted in the Scroll report raised concerns about the risks of such data collection. Delhi-based lawyer John Simte warned that collecting biometrics from people fleeing persecution, without informed consent or rules on how the data may be shared, could endanger entire communities.
Digital rights activist Srinivas Kodali told Scroll that the collection appears intended to prevent refugees from accessing Indian identity documents such as Aadhaar. He pointed to the Supreme Court’s Aadhaar judgment, which empowered the government to ensure illegal immigrants are excluded from the Aadhaar database.
The Scroll report also raised the alarm about India’s agreement with Myanmar’s military junta, formally known as the State Administration Council, to assist in creating a digital identity system. Human rights advocate Salai Dokhar told Scroll that this collaboration could be used to target opposition groups and critics of the junta, particularly if sensitive refugee data is leaked or shared.
Other experts told Scroll that any breach of this data could also lead to targeting of refugees’ families back in Myanmar, or put them at risk within Mizoram, where anti-refugee sentiment is reportedly on the rise.
The Scroll report also questioned whether proper consent was being obtained during the process. While Vanlaldika told Scroll that refugees had been informed, a refugee leader claimed that officials and police collected data without seeking explicit consent.
Experts also raised concerns about legal gaps. Researcher Angshuman Choudhury told Scroll that India’s data protection law does not explicitly cover cross-border sharing of data, meaning refugee biometrics could, in theory, be transferred to authorities in Myanmar if requested.
Scroll further cited digital rights lawyer Apar Gupta, who warned that without safeguards, biometric data could be reused across systems, from identity verification to policing, normalising the surveillance of displaced persons. He cautioned that such systems could even be used to enable forced repatriation, a practice known as “refoulement.”
Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch told Scroll that while biometric data is often collected to deliver humanitarian aid, it poses serious risks when individuals are fleeing from hostile or abusive governments.
The Scroll report also cited historical precedents, including a case where the United Nations refugee agency shared biometric data of Rohingya refugees with Myanmar authorities, leading to fears of forced repatriation and further persecution.
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