Aizawl: Leaders of the Mizo communities in Assam’s Karimganj district, specifically from the Singla and Langkaih valleys, have expressed their desire to merge with Mizoram.
The Thangram Indigenous People’s Movement (TIPM) leaders, representing the Zo indigenous people, met with Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma to urge him to facilitate this merger, citing concerns for the security and protection of their communities, culture, and religion.
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The TIPM which represents the Zo indigenous people of Singla and Langkaih or Longai valleys, met Lalduhoma in Aizawl and urged him to take steps to ensure that their villages and inhabited area are merged with Mizoram, he said.
The leader, who refused to be named, said that the TIPM leaders told Lalduhoma that their communities, culture and religion would be most secure and protected if their area was included inside Mizoram.
Lalduhoma on his part told the leaders that he was aware of the situation of the Mizo people in the two valleys and assured them of help in their efforts to be part of Mizoram, he said.
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The TIPM leaders were accompanied by functionaries of Mizoram’s apex student body, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP).
The Mizo communities of Singla Valley and Langkaih Valley have raised the demand for a merger with Mizoram since 2020 and submitted memoranda in 2021 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressing their desire for the merger.
They had also sought help from the previous Mizo National Front (MNF) government headed by Zoramthanga.
Although the MNF dispensation endorsed the initiatives of TIPM, no further progress could be made with regard to the merger, officials said.
TIPM leaders claimed that over 30,000 people of various Zo ethnic tribes live in the Singla and Langkaih valleys, which cover over 180 square miles of area.
The area called ‘Thangram’ (Western part) covers around 24 villages and it shares borders with west Mizoram’s Mamit district, they said.
The leaders also claimed that the Thangram area has been occupied by the Mizo or Zo indigenous tribes from time immemorial and was part of Mizoram before it attained statehood in 1987.
They alleged that the area has been neglected by the Assam government as they hardly received development and other welfare schemes.