Railway
Chakma refugees came to India mainly from:
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Answer: Option C — Bangladesh
Detailed Solution
The Chakmas who came to India as refugees migrated from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
About the Chakmas:
- They are an indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, in south-eastern Bangladesh.
- Most of them are Buddhists (Theravada).
- They speak the Chakma language, an Indo-Aryan language with its own script.
- They are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
- Chakmas also live in the Indian states of Mizoram (where there is a Chakma Autonomous District Council, set up in 1972), Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Why they migrated:
In the 1960s, the "Kaptai Dam" was built on the Karnaphuli river in the Chittagong Hill Tracts by the Government of East Pakistan. It flooded about 40 per cent of the cultivable land in the area and displaced about one lakh people, mostly Chakmas.
They also faced religious persecution as non-Muslims.
Many of them migrated to India around 1964-65, and the Government of India settled them, along with Hajongs, in the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), now Arunachal Pradesh.
Later, in the 1980s, conflicts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts between the Bangladeshi army and the "Shanti Bahini" (an armed group of the hill people) led more Chakmas to flee to Tripura.
The "Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord" was signed in 1997, after which many refugees in Tripura returned to Bangladesh.
Citizenship issue:
- In 2015, the Supreme Court of India directed the government to grant citizenship to Chakma and Hajong refugees in Arunachal Pradesh.
- The issue remains sensitive because of local opposition in Arunachal Pradesh.
Other refugee groups in India:
- Tibetan refugees: came after the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959; the Central Tibetan Administration is in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
- Sri Lankan Tamil refugees: came during the civil war; live mainly in camps in Tamil Nadu.
- Rohingya refugees: came from Myanmar.
- Afghan refugees: came after conflicts in Afghanistan.
About refugee law:
- India is not a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol.
- World Refugee Day is observed on 20 June.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Myanmar is the source of the Rohingya and Chin refugees.
- ✗Tibet is the source of the Tibetan refugees.
- ✗Sri Lanka is the source of the Tamil refugees.
Quick tip
Remember: Chakma refugees = from Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh (displaced by the Kaptai Dam in the 1960s; settled in Arunachal Pradesh; Buddhist); CHT Peace Accord = 1997; World Refugee Day = 20 June.
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This topic covers world GK: countries with their capitals, currencies and parliaments, national symbols, famous landmarks, the longest, largest and highest features of the world, and international boundary lines such as the Radcliffe, McMahon and Durand Lines. The most common questions match a country with its capital or currency, or a parliament with its name (such as the Knesset of Israel or the Diet of Japan). Revise countries continent by continent, giving extra attention to India's neighbours. Questions on boundary lines usually ask which two countries a line separates. Practise the world GK questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.