The assault on Capitol Hill by Trump’s supporters in January had Indian media spend days analysing the dramatic event. Contrast that with its indifference to the brutal military suppression of Myanmarese protesting against the coup in their country. Myanmar was largely forgotten until Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga publicly disagreed with the Union Government’s advisory asking Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh to prevent those fleeing the Myanmarese military, known as the Tatmadaw, from entering India.

Zoramthanga wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying India could not turn a blind eye to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Myanmar because those escaping from the Tatmadaw’s bloodied claws were the Zo people. The term Zo refers to India-Myanmar borderland tribes – Chin, Mizo, Kuki, Zomi, etc. – who believe, as academician Pum Khan Pau says, in the “myth of a common origin called Khul or Chhinlung or Sinlung (a cave whose whereabouts remain a mystery).” For Mizos to turn away Chins, or inhabitants of Chin State in Myanmar, is akin to sending their own people to certain death.