Kuki-Chin Resurgence in Chittagong Hill Tracts: A new threat to regional security
July 12, 2025
  • Read Ecopy
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
MAGAZINE
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
Organiser
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • International Edition
  • RSS in News
  • Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
Home Bharat

Kuki-Chin Resurgence in Chittagong Hill Tracts: A new threat to regional security

The Chittagong Hill Tracts have become one of the main routes of dangerous drug smuggling, including Marijuana, Yaba tablets, and ice from India and Myanmar into Bangladesh resulting to insurgency in the country

by Sharmili Mahjabeen
Jun 16, 2023, 07:00 pm IST
in Bharat, Opinion, Mizoram
FacebookTwitterWhatsAppTelegramEmail

Two Bangladesh Army soldiers were killed and two officers injured in an attack in Bandarban district on May 16. The Kuki-Chin National Army ambushed the team during a raid, using improvised explosive devices and gunfire. The incident occurred during a conflict between Manipur’s majority Meitei community and the tribal Kuki ethnic community. After this incident, a member of the KNA and a journalist were arrested, alleged to maintain a connection with the KNA.

This ethnic separatist group is carrying out political and military activities to form an autonomous State in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) covering most of the Bandarban and Rangamati districts. The Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) is their political front, with an armed wing called the Kuki-Chin Army (KNA). Initially started as a voluntary development organisation, it became separatist in 2017.

They have announced an autonomous’ Kuki-Chin State’ which encompasses Rangamati’s Baghaichhari, Barkal, Juraichhari, Bilaichhari, Roangchhari and Chimbuk Hills on the outskirts of Bandarban along with Ruma, Thanchi, Lama and Alikadam. They published a map and a flag of their proposed state and prepared for fighting.

The CHT, a remote area comprising the three districts- Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban- is a safe haven for various separatist and armed organisations. Kuki-Chin is accused of training an Islamic militant group named Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya in the hilly areas of Bandarban. They used to raise a part of their expense from here to run armed organisations. In October, the RAB arrested seven alleged members of the group and three members of KNA during an operation in the remote areas bordering Bandarban and Rangamati. At least 38 people, who went into hiding from different parts of the country, have been trained with militant skills at several training camps of a separatist group in the Hill Tracts, said the RAB.

The presence of such an armed group in remote areas along the border has posed a threat to internal and regional security. The organisation is located in a complex and strategically important area, where the border of Bangladesh, Myanmar and Mizoram is. Mizoram shares 318 kilometres of border with Bangladesh. There are also several separatist groups in the remote areas of Mizoram. The KNF has linked and received training from armed groups in neighbouring countries.

Initially, a group received guerilla, infantry and commando training from Manipur, Karen and Kachin. The trained members then started training the rest of the members. According to local media, at least 3 to 4 thousand trained KNA members are staying in and outside of the country. A group named almost the same as the KNF, the KNF and Kuki were formed in the Mizoram State in the 1990s to carve out a Kuki homeland or Kuki State.

The KNF, locally known as the ‘Bawm Party’, comprises six small ethnic community members, Bawm, Pangkhua, Lusai, Khumi, Mro and Khiang, belonging to the Kuki-Chin group. The Kuki-Chin is a geographic cluster of several ethnic communities of the Tibeto-Burman language group, the majority population of the Chin State of Myanmar and Mizoram of India. They also live in the hilly areas of India’s Assam, Manipur and Nagaland States, along with the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Due to ethnic homogeneity, it’s easy for the KNF to get support by influencing people across the border. Indian media reported that more than 500 members of the Kuki-Chin tribe crossed the border and took shelter in Mizoram since the army started an operation in the Hill Tracts on November 11. Meanwhile, ZO Reunification Organisation (ZORO), an umbrella body that works for the reunification of Chin, Kuki and Mizo tribes of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, who share the same ancestry and culture with the Mizos of Mizoram, made a statement that a joint operation by the RAB and the Arakan Army has forced the Kuki-Chin people to `leave’ the country.

Amid the Manipur violence, the possibility of getting support has risen. The Kukis are one of the main counterparts in conflict with most Meiteis of Manipur. Meanwhile, the Mizoram Chief Minister has also stated in favour of cookies, which the Meitei of Manipur has strongly condemned. On the contrary, the attitude of the locals towards a small number of Rohingya refugees living in India is completely different from the attitude towards the refugees of this Chinese State in Mizoram. In February this year, a resolution was passed in the Mizoram Assembly, which said these asylum seekers are Mizos’ blood-related. Hence it is the responsibility of the Mizoram State to provide them with food, shelter etc. At the same time, the Mizoram Government has requested Delhi not to stop the BSF at the border. In an interview with the BBC, Justifying the support for the Kukis entered from Bangladesh, Mizoram Chief Minister Joramthanga said, “We have blood relations with them; you have to understand that.”

On the other hand, several rebel groups, including the Arakan Army, Chin Defense Force and Chin National Army in the Chin State of Myanmar, are a serious concern. Conflicts between these groups and with the government are almost regular in the State. The alarming matter is that the link and cooperation of the Kuki-Chin army with these groups will deteriorate the regional instability.

Also, several separatist organisations have been active in Chittagong Hill Tracts since the independence. As a result of conflicts and rivalries, people infiltrate with fear in the hills. Along with regular killings, abductions and extortions, these groups have created a reign of arms and drug smuggling over the hills. As a result, the Chittagong Hill Tracts have become one of the main routes of dangerous drug smuggling, including Marijuana, Yaba tablets, and ice from India and Myanmar into Bangladesh. There is a possibility of spreading Islamic terrorism within the country. The link between an Islamic militant group and KNF has already been stated.

As a result, the insurgency of such armed groups inside the country will threaten the internal security of the country. Moreover, if such militant activities develop in this vulnerable and volatile trilateral border, it will disrupt regional security, peace and stability. Therefore, to prevent such regional armed violence, neighbouring countries have to play an active role and intensify the activities of the domestic law enforcement forces and intelligence surveillance.

Topics: Mizoram Chief Minister JoramthangaKuki-Chin ResurgenceKuki-ChinChittagong Hill TractsCHTSecurity ThreatMizoramBangladesh
Share20TweetSendShareSend
✮ Subscribe Organiser YouTube Channel. ✮
✮ Join Organiser's WhatsApp channel for Nationalist views beyond the news. ✮
Previous News

UP prisons to be known as “Reform Homes” says Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath

Next News

India-U.S. relationship more critical for space exploration: Former NASA official Mike Gold

Related News

Bangladesh: Systematic persecution of Hindus escalates amid political turmoil & Islamist resurgence

16-year old Hindu boy stabbed to death by intruder in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: 16-year-old Hindu boy stabbed to death while defending family home from armed intruder

Bangladesh: From democracy to theocracy; How ISIS exploited 2024 regime change

A broken idol of Goddess Durga after a makeshift temple was demolished in Dhaka. (Source: India Today)

Bangladesh: Durga Mandir of Hindus demolished after pressure from Islamists, India slams Yunus regime

Sri Sri Durga Mandir in Dhaka's Khilkhet surrounded by Muslim extremists (Source: OpIndia)

Bangladesh: Islamists surround Dhaka’s Durga Mandir, threaten devotees to vacate land or face demolition

Ritika Prasad

Ghar Wapsi of Ritika Prasad: A bold return to Sanatan Dharma after love jihad trauma in Bangladesh

Load More

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

Delhi Police has been stripped of its licensing powers over commercial establishments after 45 years

Delhi: Govt’s push for ‘Ease of doing business’ ends police licensing for hotels and others after four decades

Students at Nav Gurukul, Dantewada (ANI Photo)

Chhattisgarh: “Nav Gurukul” scripting new identity of naxal-hit Dantewada

Vice President Dhankhar offers floral tribute to Bharat Mata at JNU’s first  IKS conference, reflecting cultural resurgence

Bharat Mata Puja opens JNU IKS conference, reflecting rising nationalist spirit on campuses amid Kerala symbol row

Maharashtra announces plans for a strict anti-conversion law and sets a six-month deadline to demolish unauthorised churches

Maharashtra: Government to enact stringent anti-conversion law, illegal Churches set for demolition

Aerial view of modern sewage treatment facilities in Haridwar developed under the Namami Gange Mission to restore Ganga river

Namami Gange Mission: Haridwar strengthens Ganga clean-up with two modern sewage treatment plants

Surrendered Maoists with officials in Narayanpur (ANI photo)

Chhattisgarh: Maoists surrender continues in Bastar as 22 more announced their return to mainstream in Narayanpur

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Swarajya Symbols Immortalised: 12 forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj added in UNESCO world heritage list

Air India Crash: Preliminary Report Reveals Mysterious Engine Shutdown

Air India Crash: Report finds no evidence of sabotage, focus on mysterious engine shutdown — All you need to know

Representative image

Ahmedabad Air India Crash: Fuel control switch error caused engine failure, says AAIB preliminary investigation report

Representative Image

UGC Anti-Ragging Guidelines: Strict punishments to ensure safe and inclusive campuses

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation
  • Delivery and Shipping

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

  • Home
  • Search Organiser
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • North America
    • South America
    • Europe
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • Entertainment
  • More ..
    • Sci & Tech
    • Vocal4Local
    • Special Report
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Politics
    • Law
    • Economy
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
  • Subscribe Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Policies & Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Refund and Cancellation
    • Terms of Use

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies