Displacements in South Asia

Table of Contents

Context

According to a report by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), in 2023 conflict and violence in South Asia led to 69,000 displacements, with the Manipur violence contributing to 67,000 of these.
This is the highest number of conflict-triggered displacements in India since 2018.

Details of the Manipur Conflict

On May 3, 2023, a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ in Manipur’s hill districts protested the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The march resulted in ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities, causing over 200 deaths.
The Manipur High Court had called for recommendations to grant ST status to the Meitei community in March 2022, which faced resistance from other local STs, including the Kukis.
Land disputes also fueled the tensions.
The violence spread from Churachandpur district to other districts like Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Tengnoupal, and Kangpokpi, causing around 67,000 displacements.

More than three-quarters of the displaced persons remained within Manipur, with others moving to Mizoram, Nagaland, and Assam.
The Union government imposed curfews, shut down the internet, and deployed security forces.
Relief camps were set up, and a peace committee was established, though its effectiveness was limited by disagreements about its composition.

Internal displacement refers to forced movements within a country’s borders and can occur multiple times for the same individuals.
At the end of 2023, India had 0.61 million internally displaced persons.
The report stated that 68.3 million people worldwide were displaced by conflict and violence as of 2023, with a 22.6 million increase in the past five years, mainly in 2022 and 2023.

Globally, 68.3 million people were displaced by conflict and violence in 2023.
Over the past five years, conflict-induced internal displacement has increased by 22.6 million, with the two largest increases in 2022 and 2023.
Fighting in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Palestinian territories accounted for most new conflict-related displacements in 2023.
Sudan witnessed 6 million forced movements due to violence in 2023.
- It is the second-highest number of forced movements within a year after Ukraine’s 16.9 million in 2022
Including displacements caused by natural disasters, the total number of internally displaced persons reached a record 75.9 million by the end of 2023.