THANGBOI ZOU ARCHIVES

August 2007


Introduction:

Displacement of people from the originally settled areas has been a common feature of the past as well as the present world today. Several millions of people in nearly every part of the world have been uprooted either by conflicts, human right violations, natural disasters and development projects which forced these people to take refuge within or across the borders. This situation of population movement is called displacement. Recognition of “internally displaced persons” (IDPs) gradually emerged through the late 1980s and became prominent on the international agenda in 1990s.

The chief reason for the attention was the growing numbers of conflicts causing internal displacement after the Cold War and an increasing strict international migration regime (Brun, 2005). Disrupted people who take refuge within borders of a country are referred to as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and those across the borders as ‘Refugees’.

There is hardly any international standard of agreement to the definition of internally displaced persons. They are often confused with refugees. All the definitions of IDPs mention some of the most common causes of involuntary movements, such as armed conflict, violence, human rights violations and disasters. These causes have one thing in common that they give no choice to people but to leave their homes and deprive them of the most essential protection mechanisms, such as community networks, access to services, livelihoods etc. The plight of internally displaced persons is a problem that is not directly addressed by any international instrument, thereby contributing to the ad hoc nature of the international community’s response to such crises.

Three important causes of displacement have been highlighted, viz. (1) Conflict (2) developmental activities and (3) natural disasters. In some cases, developmental activities are not taken within the scope of IDPs.

IDPs are not technically refugees because they have not crossed an international border, but are sometimes casually referred to as refugees. The main difference between IDPs and Refugees is that internally displaced people remain within the borders of their own country. Refugee’s status entitles individuals to certain rights and international protection, which being an IDP is not a legal status because IDPs are still under the jurisdiction of their own government and may not claim any right additional to those shared by the refugees. While refugees are entitled to seek international protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the international community is not under the same legal obligation to protect internally displaced people (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 2006). Nonetheless, it can be explained that despite the differences in legal status and of entitlement to aid from the international humanitarian community, the causes of displacement and the experience of being displaced are often similar for both IDPs and refugees.

Much like refugees, IDPs often feel like strangers in their place of refugee, where the local population may be from a different ethnic or religious group or may speak another language. Consequently, IDPs may not feel welcomed, despite sharing the same citizenship as the host population. Many of the world’s internally displaced have been forced to abandon their homes for the same reasons as refugees. External and internal population displacements often take place within and from the same country at the same time. And in some situations, they involve the same people. “It is often impossible and nearly always counter-productive and nearsighted to care only for the refugees, while ignoring their nearby compatriots who were internally displaced for many of the same reasons” (Nair 2001)

Statement of the Problem

“Displacement necessarily changes people’s relationships to and identification with specific places, and can introduce cleavages between groups of people which can prove irreparable” (Brun 2005). Displacement often leads to loss of home, possessions, and social networks. It also introduces the displaced persons to new places, people and environment. However, the levels of cultural continuity are still remarkable and the continuance of everyday practices is noted as a “coping strategy and a starting point for life in a new place”. Where displacement is protracted and people have lived as IDPs for several years, linkages are necessarily established in the place of refuge between the IDPs from other areas and members of the host population. There occurs certain degree of adjustment and adaptation between the two communities. Therefore, internal displacement is often thought of as a highly localised phenomenon.

An interesting dimension of the varied problems associated with Internal Displacement is essentially geographical. The spatial manifestation of internal displacement needs to be distinguished from migration in the conventional sense of the term though many of the effects can be similar. The consequences however are different in quality. At a macro level, displacement may cause redistribution of population along ethnic lines and demographic changes of a very high order. On the other hand it can cause transformation of the economic, social and cultural life of those displaced. It may even create grounds for further conflicts of adjustments with the host population. The proposed research aims at addressing to some of these issues in the course of this research.

Displacement has been and had been occurring in north-eastern states of India where various tribes or ethnic communities having different cultures, customs and traditions, settled from time immemorial. The region is ethnically diverse. Nearly one third of all the tribal communities enumerated in India as a whole are confined to this region. Each of these tribes or indigenous communities have their own imagined homelands and tense situation often arise between battling ethnicity for demands of imagined homelands. The region is also marked with ethnic clashes and secessionist movements and counter insurgency operations thereof by government forces which have led to substantial internal displacement in the region.

Other factors like development projects, natural disasters like floods and takeover of land by migrating communities have also led to large-scale displacement in this part of the country. The explosive ethnic situation prevailing in Manipur with consequent internal displacement which has accelerated in the last decade provides an important case study.

Situated in the porous international border with Myanmar Manipur has been the hotbed of insurgency related turmoil since a long time. The geographic patterning in the distribution of ethnic communities in the hills and plains and within the hills has made the ethnic situation highly complex in the face of demands for creation of ‘Ethnic Homeland’. There have been frequent attacks and counter-attacks among the tribal groups who inhabited specific areas. It has witnessed substantive incidents of internal displacement and further relocation of the conflicting ethnic groups in different geographical areas.

The modern tribal communities in the areas did not experience much ethnic conflict and resultant displacement in the post-Indian independence period, excepting some brief unrest. However, this situation gained momentum in the 1990s. 1990s saw a great deal of displacement due to ethnic feuds between the Meitei and the Pangal, the Kuki and the Naga and the Kuki and the Zomi in the state.

There were thousands of peoples uprooted and displaced from their original homes and areas of habitat mainly due this conflict and other related insurgency issues. The ethnic crises especially between the Naga-Kuki and the Kuki-Zomi had severe repercussions leading to large-scale displacement particularly in the hill areas. As a result, large number of people affected by ethnic clashes moved to villages and towns where there is sense of security and more economic opportunities, leading to marked demographic changes in hill districts of the state.

The study proposes to understand the spatial consequences of the internal displacement by addressing to issues of distribution and redistribution of tribal population in the post-ethnic and armed conflict in Manipur in general and Churachandpur in particular which is taken as a case study for an intensive understanding of the impact. It will also give light to the socio-economic conditions of the internally displaced people in the area. In fact, it will clearly highlight as to how this conflict induced displacement has caused modification and redistribution of tribal population. This will also be assessed by making the comparative study of each affected tribe in the area.

Overview of Literature

Last few decades have seen a plethora of researches pertaining to forced migration. While the plight of the refugees has been the main focus of these researches, the question of the IDPs seems to have naturally come as a definite focus area under forced migration studies. This shift of focus is inevitable as the conditions of many who have been displaced within their own country of residence have been found to be not much different and sometimes even worse than that of the refugees.

Muggah (2000) for example says, “large scale forced displacement presents one of the greatest challenges to humanity in the 21st century. It distorts regional, national and local economies and tears apart communities and families.” Without crossing a “formal national border no legal recognition is conferred to IDPs in the manner that it is persons defined as refugees. This fact reflects one of the major difficulties in providing assistances to IDPs. Consequently, they remain near violent situations and most of the time their needs go unacknowledged by helping agencies” (Kagee, et.al 2003).

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (2006) there are 24.5 million conflict-related internally displaced persons in 2006 and identifies Africa as the worst affected continent with 11.8 million IDPs in 21 countries. The centre lists as many as 52 countries containing substantial IDPS within their population. In several countries the very governments responsible for the protection of the displaced were the force behind arbitrary displacement. UNOCHA (2006) also gives a detail account of the numbers of IDPs in some of the affected regions. While remaining in situation of protracted displacement, many IDPs and vulnerable population faces discrimination, restriction on their freedom and political rights, difficulties accessing basic social services as well as limited income earning opportunities.

Unresolved displacement crisis remain fostering sources of instability. While giving the situation on IDPs in regional pattern, Wood (1994) finds out that many forced migrations remain hidden from the view of international observers. He further stresses the need of regional overview which is indispensable for understanding of the ways in which ethnic, economic, ecological and political processes reaches across international boundaries and affect forced migrations.

The Guiding Principles endeavor to counter this shortcoming by putting the IDPs in equal footing with the rest of their country’s population. IDPs “shall enjoy full equality the same rights and freedoms under international and domestic law” (UN Guiding Principle). Therefore, internally displacement may be precisely defined as disruption and pushing away of people from their homes by some unavoidable factors and circumstances but do not cross any international border.

Giving a description and aspect of refugees in a historical perspective Kulischer (1949:166) stressed that a refugee was indeed a peaceful immigrant. However in a different cases of social structure, the refugee is ascribed to as someone unfortunate and stranger “who had taken the flight and so evaded death and black fate” at the hands of his enemies and sheltered under the sacred law of hospitality, since he came as “fugitive and suppliant”.

Based on various factors, internal displaced peoples can be broadly divided into three groups; viz. conflict induced, developmental activities induced and natural disasters induced displaced persons. Causes of conflict-induced displacement can be divided into root causes and proximate causes. Root causes are those which initiate a conflict and its displacement, although these can be hard to isolate as most of today’s conflicts must be understood as self-perpetuating and their resulting displacement can be seen not only as an effect of the conflict but also eventually as a cause of its continuation (Brun 2005). Displacement severely affects the physical, socio-economic and legal safety of people and should be systematically regarded as an indicator of potential vulnerability.

India has been a witness to numerous caste, ethnic and communal riots and conflicts since Independence. Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Northeastern states are the most conflict-affected regions where immense displacement of population takes place. Since the end of the 1990s, clashes between India and Pakistan forces and attacks by separatist militants have led to several waves of displacement from the villages along the LoC, the defacto between India and Pakistan. Kargil war in 1999 displaced more than 150,000 people. In Gujarat, at least 100,000 people got displaced due to communal tension in Gujarat (Human Rights Features, 2001).

Many argue that India does not have a very good track record in the area of humanitarian protection with regard to IDPs and the weakness in its policy concerns inadequate protection and insufficient food, medical aid and rehabilitation process. Kumar (2006) highlights that India lacks a comprehensive National Policy for the IDPs and has dealt with all kinds of displacement in an ad doc manner. The recent National Policy for resettlement and rehabilitation is only for the development-induced displaced peoples. It has been also suggested that nations of displaced persons need to be gender-inclusive and sensitive too. As a matter of fact, this is also one of the criteria that India fails to fulfill.

North-East India is the region where various ethnic communities having different cultures, traditions and social structures settled from time immemorial. The Report on Training Workshop (2005) says that the region is ethnically diverse as out of ‘635 categorized tribes in India, some 213’ are found in the hill areas. ‘Each of the tribes or indigenous communities has their own imagined homelands and tense situation often arise between battling ethnicity for demands of imagined homelands’. Due to ethnic conflicts, there were ‘about 237,768 people living in makeshift camps in three districts of Assam. 37,000 Reangs fled Mizoram and took refuge in Tripura’. However, the US Committee for Refugees in its 2000 report (USCR 2003) estimated that there were about 157,000 displaced persons in the northeast India.

Lama (2002:24) describes the nature of the problems of IDPs in India as a whole. Political sensitivities prevent the government from releasing data on displacement. “The nature and frequency and extent and causes of displacement” in India are so varied that it would be “herculian task to monitor and record them.” Baruah (2003:57) made a critical study on the relationship between ethnicity and conflict induced displacement in North East India. He finds out that there is a relationship between conflict over homelands that turn violent and displacement and the conflict are not only between the tribal and non-tribal but also between the tribal themselves too.

Priyadharshini (2006:102) says that ethnic conflicts and violence turn in North-East India when the tribal people feel that ‘they have been exploited or deprived by non-tribal or outsiders or think that other tribal groups are responsible for their lot.’ The roots of the problems are ‘economic, political and emotional and not ideological’. In order to put an end to these conflicts, steps should be taken to ensure economic uplift to the deprived ethnic groups as well as emotional and psychological integration to the same.’

Ethnic tensions involving armed groups and the common people have severe repercussion leading to large scale displacement in the hilly regions of Manipur. Most of the displaced that have moved down the plains or safer zones or towns have caused tremendous changes to demographic stability. Hence, the displacement often causes demographic imbalances leading to sudden increase in the population of an area and depopulation in another. Haokip (2001:226) gives several causes of displacement in regard to Manipur: “(a) caused by development, (b) caused by natural calamities, like floods, fire, etc., (c) caused by security forces and (d) caused by ethnic strife, belatedly marked by systematic cleansing.” According to Nahari (1997) “political instability of the state has contributed considerably to the insurgency though the current turbulence in Manipur is linked more to the intertribal conflicts.”

An inter-ethnic tension is a complex phenomenon because the real cause and motives are difficult to understand. Singh (2002:62) puts that many factors like social, cultural, political, ecological and geographical work together to affect such an outburst. Between the armed militants, the motive behind conflicts normally is to established “political supremacy over the defeated group” in a given geographical region. The people living under the domination of these armed groups feel unsecured thereby leading to migration in the safer places. Singh (1987) finds out that the socialization process which alone could have helped generate understanding among different communities gets itself frequently impaired in the wake of periodic inter-community clashes and killings and the tendency of each person to confine himself to his or her caste, community, language and religious group increase.

Regarding the return of the IDPs, Burn (2005) says, “When return is possible, returnees often face a number of challenges relating to land and property rights, infrastructure and social services. Socio-economic status and livelihood opportunities have often suffered as a result of displacement, and new disputes between social groups have emerged. People do not generally return to the exact life and community they left behind, thus making return an ambiguous solution.” In any event, the refugee status is transitional. Sooner or later it gives way to the more permanent status of immigrant (Velikenja, 1958:458).

In the findings of Walter (2004), “all civil wars ending between 1945 and 1996 suggests that a higher quality of life and greater access to political participation have a significant negative effect on the likelihood of renewed war. Countries that provide higher levels of economic well being to their citizenry and create an open political system are less likely to experience multiple civil wars regardless of what happened in previous conflict.”

“Theories of ethnic conflict hypothesize that violence is more likely if the displaced group is of a different ethnicity than the host group. Or conversely, ethnic kinship between the two groups can encourage them to join forces against a common oppressor” (Lischer, 2007:152). However, it can be noted from the above literatures that the geographical implications of internal displacement of people has been well represented and highlighted. However, the social and demographic modifications in geographical areas caused by mass movements of people has not been adequately stressed and examined in a systematic manner.

Selection of the Study Area

The study area confines itself to Manipur with a special reference to Churachandpur district. Geographically, Manipur is located between 230 51 ’N and 230 41’N latitudes and 930 2’E and 940 47’E longitudes in the extreme northeastern part of India, bordering Burma for about 352 kilometres in the East and South of it. It covers an area of 22,327 sq.km with a population of 2,388,634 and density of 107 persons per sq.km (2001 Census). The state is divided into 9 districts presently. They are Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Ukhrul, Senapati, Churachandpur, Tamenglong and Chandel.

Topographically, Manipur comprises of two distinct regions viz. the valley or ‘Manipur Valley’ and that of the hills surrounding it. The valley of Manipur covers only 9 percent of the total area; the hill covers about 91 percent. The Meitei ethnic group mainly inhabits the valley while two main tribal groups- the Kuki-Chin-Mizo and the Naga, inhabit the hill. About 75 percent of the population concentrates in the valley while only around 25 percent lives in the hills. Manipur is a home of various tribes. There are 29 officially recognized tribes in Manipur.

Churachandpur district is proposed as a case study to understand the problem of internal displacement more intensively. Churachandpur is located in the southern part of Manipur bordering Myanmar and the state of Mizoram. It extends over an area of about 4,570 sq.km. supporting a population of 228,707 persons accounting for 9.57 percent of the state’s population as per 2001 census. The density of population is 50 persons per sq. kilometre. The district is divided into 5-subdivisions for administrative purpose, viz. Churachandpur town, Henglep, Tipaimukh, Singhat and Thanlon subdivisions. Mainly, various tribes belonging to the Chin-Kuki-Mizo group inhabit it. Some of the important tribes inhabiting the district are Paite, Hmar, Zou, Vaiphei, Thadou, Simte, Gangte, etc. All these tribes together constitute about 8.96 percent of the tribal population in the state (Gangte 2000:41).


Objectives

The following broad objectives are placed before the research:

(i) to assess the extent of internal displacement taking place among the tribes of Manipur;
(ii) to understand the resultant spatial pattern of displacement as reflected in redistribution of the tribal groups in the hill areas in general and Churachandpur in particular; and
(iii) to assess socio-economic consequences of displacement of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Churachandpur district.


Research Issues and Hypotheses

Within the framework of the broad objectives, the following hypotheses are placed for testing during the course of investigation.

(i) Ethnic conflicts and displacement has engendered a process of redistribution of the tribal population both at macro and micro level.
Justification: Demand for exclusive home land by one ethnic category necessarily means forced migration of those who once shared the same territory to move to areas of their ethnic dominance. Such a situation is likely to create ethnically more homogenous areas. This may also cause unprecedented rise or fall in the population in specific ethnic areas not linked to natural growth rates. Alteration in the settlement size structure is an inevitable outcome.

(ii) Forced migration and displacement has led to large increases in urban population.
Justification: As is well known, any forced and sudden displacement generally results in a steady migration to urban areas which are ethnically more mixed and thus provide a sense of security to people displaced. Moreover, sudden displacement also means loss of livelihood and it is the urban areas which are more likely to provide some earning opportunities to the displaced compared to another rural location.

(iii) Internal displacement further leads to another round of conflict with the original or host settlers of the areas.
Justification: Displacement to a new location inevitably results in additional pressure on available natural and economic resources not to the liking of the host settlers. Moreover, cultural and social differences too results in problems of adjustment with the displaced persons.


Data Base and Methodology

The study would be based on data collected from both primary and secondary sources. The secondary data shall include Census Reports and Statistical handbooks, published and unpublished literatures, Newspapers, Journals, Magazines, Websites, etc. Special tables on the Scheduled Tribes from the Census of India publications and other related data at district or sub-division level would be a good source to find out the regional differences in the distribution pattern of the communities. District administrations and certain NGOs dealing with IDPs would be referred to obtain the numbers IDPs of different communities in the State.

The Primary Data would be generated from household surveys in the selected villages from Churachandpur district.

The methodology of the proposed investigation will consist of the following:

a) The internally displaced persons, for the purpose of the present study are defined as those displaced due to ethnic conflict and thus shall exclude from its purview displacement on account of development induced activities as this category of the displaced are not generally agreed upon to be strictly under the category of internally displaced persons.

b) The study will mainly confine itself to the period of intense conflict, i.e. the period after 1991 till the present. The process of redistribution shall be examined with reference to three main indices: Concentration Pattern, Urban Growth index and changes in size of distribution of settlements.

c) The extent of redistribution shall be examined both at the state level as well as for the selected district, i.e. at district and sub-divisional level for the state as a whole and for the subdivision and the village level for Churachandpur selected as a case study. Changes in redistribution of tribal population shall be understood by mapping concentration pattern (using concentration index and index of dissimilarity) of each of the tribal group in three successive census years, 1981, 1991 and 2001 with the assumption that the period between 1981 and 1991 show changes which took place under normal conditions and that the changes thereafter reflect a condition of turmoil and large-scale displacement.

d) A similar analysis will be made for all the urban areas to understand if the urban population too increased abnormally as a result of the conflict induced displacement. Growth of urban population will be further related to their location in different ethnic areas and those in relation to areas of conflict as well as to relatively peaceful areas.

e) Changes in size distribution of settlements shall be understood with reference to ethnic areas and their relative location to areas of conflicts.
f) The demographic and socio-economic conditions of the IDPs shall be analysed through data generated from the field on the basis of some selected indicators such as changes in workforce participation, income, occupation, education, literacy, age-sex composition, health, access to social amenities, etc.

g) Adjustment patterns of the displaced population shall be understood by a field investigation of a few sample villages located in Churachandpur district and by interviewing the displaced people living in these villages.

The Sample Design

i). At least one village from each tribe of the seven Kuki-Chin groups in Churachandpur district shall be selected for the purpose of intensive field investigation based on the criteria that the village has received displaced population or has been affected by displacement.

ii). This selection would be made from each of the five sub-divisions based on the proportion of concentration of each tribe.
iii) The selected villages shall include in each of them only the households of IDPs.

iv) All the displaced households shall be included in the survey in those villages having less than 20 households of IDPs, and at least 50 percent would be taken in those having more than 20 IDPs’ households.


Justification of the Selected Study Area - Churachandpur District

The rationale behind selecting Churachandpur district special reference can be discussed as follows:

1) Churachandpur is a disturbed area where many episodes of ethnic and armed conflicts have taken place.

2) Several tribes of the Kuki-Chin group have settled together since a long time fostering the process of intermingling. Increased ethnic consciousness and assertion of separate identities are common and pervasive in the area and it has given rise to the formation of armed groups by almost each tribe. This often has led to inter-tribal conflict and resultant displacement in the district especially in the 1990s.

3). Churachandpur district received large number of internally displaced people from within and outside the state of Manipur due to Naga-Kuki conflict in 1992-93; both Hmar-Dimasa conflict and Kuki-Karbi conflict in Assam in 2001-02 and 2003 respectively, which had tremendously increased the population of the district as a whole.

4). The Kuki-Zomi conflict in 1997-98 had affected almost all the tribes living in Churachandpur leading to disruption of settlements and internal displacement to the safe areas, especially in towns and larger villages. Thus, the population of some of the large villages and towns increased tremendously due to this conflict.

5). Last, but not the least, in 2006 large scale displacement took place among the Hmar tribes in Tipaimukh subdivision bordering Mizoram due to armed conflict between the Hmar and Meitei armed groups which was intervened by the government’s Security forces.

Thus, it can be summarized that Churachandpur has got a distinctive characteristic of ethnic and armed conflict in the light of various tribes living together in it. In other words, it can be well said that, Churachandpur has the largest tribal intermixture who presently call themselves by a common nomenclature as the “Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi-Hmar.” Ethnic consciousness and identity crises is high among the tribes living in Churachandpur as compared to other hill areas of Manipur which are mainly inhabited by only two distinct tribal groups - the Thadou-Kuki and the Naga. It has the highest frequency of ethnic and armed related conflict in the whole state.


Organization of Material

The manuscript would be organized in the following broad chapters.

The first chapter will provide the research design including a background, statement of the problem, area of study, objectives, literature review, hypotheses, data base and methodology etc.

The second chapter will deal with the spatial distribution and change of the composition of ethnic groups in Manipur both at district and state level from the year 1981 to 2001.

The third chapter would deal with the events of internal displacement induced by ethnic and armed conflicts in Manipur in the decade of 1990s and the resultant redistribution in population.

The fourth chapter shall deal with case study of IDPs in Churachandpur and examine population redistribution and the extent of ethnic homogenization at village and town level.

The fifth chapter will show the demographic and socio-economic conditions of the IDPs and the consequences of the internal displacement among the peoples through household surveys in the selected sample villages in Churachandpur district and will show the systematic comparison of each tribe.

The last chapter will deal with the concluding remarks which will provide the summary and generalization of the research findings.



References

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Summary

The study mainly dwells on the identification of the internally displaced people (IDPs) in regard to the conflict-induced displacement. It stresses on the socio-geographic dimension of intra-migration in relation to the ethnic and armed conflict in Manipur with special dereference to Churachandpur district. It further examines the spatial manifestation of internal displacement that needs to be distinguished from migration in the conventional sense of the term. The extent of internal displacement taking place among the tribes of Manipur and the resultant spatial redistribution of the tribal groups particularly in the hill areas are the broad objectives of the study. Besides, the socio-economic impact of displacement of the IDPs shall also be assessed.

A broad question that ethnic conflicts and displacement has engendered a process of redistribution of the tribal population both at macro and micro level is put before the framework of research. The assumption that forced migration and displacement has led to large increases in urban population also has been highlighted in the purview of research issue.

Data base would be generated from both primary and secondary sources. Methodology has been constructed on the basis of data to be collected from both the sources. The extent of redistribution shall be examined both at the state level as well as for the selected district by using concentration pattern (index) of each of the tribal group in three successive census years mentioned. Besides, the demographic and socio-economic conditions of the IDPs shall be analysed through data generated from the field on the basis of some selected indicators.

Sample design for field investigation is prepared according to the ethnic distribution in each subdivision of Churachandpur based on the criteria that the selected villages has received displaced population or has been affected by displacement.

Churachandpur district has got a distinctive characteristic of ethnic and armed conflict in the light of various tribes living together fostering the largest tribal intermixture amongst of all districts in the State. Ethnic consciousness and identity crises is high among the tribes living in Churachandpur as compared to other hill areas of Manipur.

The work is significant in helping acknowledging the underlying factors of population displacement and its impact on redistribution of population in great extent. The intertwined ethnic communities and its degree of inter-mixture are affected and modified by the inter-tribal conflict and armed insurgencies in the region.

Therefore, the study will figure out the cause and consequences of the internal displacement in Manipur as a whole and Churachandpur in particular. This work would go along way in unearthing the socio-geographical implication of displacement and will serve as a valuable source of information in further study in the academic area.