Bru Refugees : Will Not Participate In Mizoram Election
Bru refugees will not participate in elections in Mizoram as they were given permanent settlement in Tripura under a centrally sponsored rehabilitation arrangement.
- Bru, also known as Reang, is a community indigenous to the Northeast, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam.
- In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.
- They belong to Indo-Mongoloid racial stock. Their languages have an affinity with Austro-Asiatic groups under the Tibeto-Burman family.
- Ethnically, they are divided into two major clans, namely Meska and Molsoi.
- They speak a language known as “Kaubru,” which has a tonal effect on the Kuki language, though broadly, it is the Kok-Borok dialect.
- They are still a nomadic tribe, and a large number among them maintain their livelihood involving Hilltop Jhum Cultivation and other food gathering activities.
- They believe in spirits and the existence of a soul.
- By religion, they are Hindus, and most of their deities are akin to gods and goddesses of the Hindu faith.
- They are traditionally endogamous and do not marry outside their community.
- In their tradition, the village council chief, known as “RAI,” permits Divorce and Widow marriage.
