Why in the News?

The report by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) termed it the highest number of displacements in India triggered due to the conflict and violence in India since 2018.

Key highlights on Internal Displacement in India (2009-2023):

• The above image shows the Internally Displaced People (IDP) currently living in India.
  • This term focuses on the individuals who have been displaced till the end of every year. At the end of 2023, there were 0.61 million such persons in India.
• Globally, India was among the top five countries with the highest number of new internal displacements in 2022 due to disasters, with 2.5 million displacements.
• Causes:
  • Natural: In 2023, India experienced over half a million internal displacements due to floods, storms, earthquakes, and other disasters.
  • Artificial: Over the past five years (2009-2023), the number of internally displaced people resulting from regional conflict and land disputes has increased by 22.6 million, with the two biggest increases in 2022 and 2023.
  • Over 1/3rd of the displacements took place within Manipur, with almost a fifth moving to the neighboring state of Mizoram and smaller numbers to Nagaland and Assam.

Regional Scenario (2009-2023):

• In 2023, conflict and violence triggered 69,000 displacements in South Asia, with Manipur violence alone accounting for 67,000, the highest number since 2018.
• The violence erupted after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized in Manipur’s hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
• This led to ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities even in bordering areas of Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Global Scenario (2009-2023):

• The number of IDPs has grown by 50% in the last five years. The report said that 68.3 million people worldwide were displaced by conflict and violence as of 2023.
• By the end of 2022, at least 8.7 million people in 88 countries and territories were internally displaced by disasters, with India being one of them.
• Conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Palestine accounted for nearly two-thirds of new conflict movements in 2023
• 3.4 million new movements in the Gaza Strip in the last quarter of 2023, leaving 1.7 million internally displaced by the end of the year.

Way Forward: 

• Dialogue and Mediation: Facilitate dialogue between conflicting communities, such as the Meitei and Kuki, to address underlying issues like land disputes.
• Legal Framework: Strengthen legal frameworks to protect minority rights and address grievances that may lead to violence.
• Peacebuilding Initiatives: Implement peacebuilding programs that promote social cohesion and understanding among different ethnic and community groups.

Mains PYQ:

Q How far are India’s internal security challenges linked with border management particularly in view of the long porous borders with most countries of South Asia and Myanmar? (UPSC IAS/2013)

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