AIZAWL:
The Mizoram government, on March 8, welcomed the pleas of ethnic Mizo communities in Singla and Langkaih valleys of Assam’s Karimganj district to merge with the state.
Home Minister, Lalchamliana, said that the ethnic Mizos of the district, under the umbrella of Thangram Indigenous People’s Movement (TIPM), had earlier submitted a memorandum to the Centre, expressing their desire to merge with Mizoram in 2020-21.
“But the Mizoram government neither received any letter from the Centre nor has the Assam government solicited the opinion of the state government on the matter,” he said, adding that they support and justify the demand of the Mizos, living in the forest areas of Karimganj district.
“The memorandum submitted by the TIPM to the Prime Minister is also attached in the draft ‘Approach Paper’ to be submitted to the teams of Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (MP-IDSA) whenever they visit the state,” Lalchamliana added.
Notably, the MP-IDSA has been authorised by the Centre to conduct studies on interstate boundary disputes in the Northeast region.
The TIPM has been lobbying for support of their demands to merge with Mizoram and received a positive response from the political parties, civil societies, and the public in Mizoram.
J Mawia, TIPM financial secretary, said that the area occupied by Mizos, known as Thangram or ‘Land of the Hill People’ is around 180 square miles, comprising 24 villages.
The population of Mizos in the areas Mamit and Kolasib in Karimganj district, adjoining Mizoram, have roughly 30,000 ethnic Mizos and surrounded by a majority Bengali community.