A lecture given by Pu Lalthlamuong Keivom, IFS (Retd.) during the 10th Arambam Somorendra Memorial Lecture at Imphal on 10th June 2015
When my friend Dr. Lokendra Arambam unexpectedly
telephoned and asked me if I could deliver the 10th Arambam Somorendra Memorial
Lecture on the issue of identity, integration and national aspirations of the
Chin-Kuki-Mizo (Chikumi) peoples of the Indo-Burma- Bangladesh region, I
readily accepted the honour for two reasons. First, the event has to do with
the Arambam family with whom I came in contact during my days in D.M.College
and second, the topic is my pet subject. What never even remotely occurred to me,
however, was that I would not be able to do justice to the memory of the
departed leader as other invitees have done except raise some perennial
questions which, unless we find the right answers, will continue to reverberate
to the depth of our graves. These nagging questions will form Part Three of my
lecture.
Chin-Kuki-Mizo Group
In the process of human evolution, we assume various
names and epithets to identify ourselves from others. Nations collapse and new
nations are born. Our attachment with the old and our hopes and aspirations for
the future play a big role in shaping every individual and nation from stage to
stage. We struggle not only for individual, family, community, ethnic and
national survival but also towards achieving a world of perfection, for we are
both biological as well as spiritual beings. We cannot escape from this eternal
hold. And the rule of the game is never changed, which is - survival of the
fittest.
Our ethnic group who inhabit the fringe hilly
territories bordering India, Myanmar and Bangladesh covering about 60,000
square miles2 is one of the largest linguistic ethnic groups on earth.We have
two full-fledged federated states, Mizoram in India and Chin State in Myanmar.
Those who settled in the mountain fastness of the Chin Hills after their Kabaw
Valley settlement were called “Chins” by the Burmese which means people
carrying bamboo baskets on their backs. Those who migrated further west to the
coast of Bay of Bengal and came in contact with the Bengalis were known by them
as “Kukis” and this terminology came to be used to identify this ethnic group
living on the side of modern India.
Later, another group, headed by the Lusei (Lushai)
tribe migrated and entered Mizoram at around 1700 A.D. Under their united hand,
they gradually welded the various tribes inhabiting the present Mizoram into a
homogeneous entity speaking a common Duhlian dialect which became the Lusei
language and then gradually the “Mizo language” since 1972.The area occupied by
them became Lushai Hills under the British rule and those living in it came to
be known as “Lushais” (Lusei) and no longer Kukis. When India became
independent, the political leadership felt that “Lushai” being the name of one
of the tribes amongst them, it would better serve the cause of ethnic harmony
if the name were changed into a more inclusive term “Mizo”, which for
generations had become the generic term used in the community, to cover all the
ethnic lineages. Hence, the term “Mizo/Zomi” are coterminous. In my writings, I
prefer to employ a more inclusive term “Zo” to refer to the ethnic group. In
the present emotionallycharged atmosphere, it may even be more appropriate to
use the acronym – CHIKUMI (which collectively refers to Chin, Kuki
andMizo/Zomi).
Communities of this group now spread over Northeast
India, westerly Chin and Rakhine States and the Sagaing Division of Myanmar and
the Chittagong Hill Tracts (now Chittagong Division)
of Bangladesh. The exact population of this group is
not known due to various reasons. One of the factors is the remoteness of some
parts of the region inhabited by them. Another reason is the constant churning
of the ethnic political cauldron where every imaginable tribe or community has
at one time or the other claimed and fought for a separate identity.In the
process many got swallowed up by the more aggressive and organized groups from
outside their parent community. For example, a sizeable community from the Zo
ethnic group settled in Manipur has already declared themselves as Naga for
political expediency and for sheer survival. Linguistic maps change with the
change of political contours.
When the Linguistic Survey of India was conducted by
the British Raj between 1894 and 1928 under the direction of G.A. Grierson, the
Zo group was classified as Tibeto-Burman Family: Kuki-Chin and Burma Groups”
under Volume III Part III. Therein, their total number was estimated to be
between 6,00,000 to 10,00,000 which included 2,40,637 Meiteis.3 As per B.
Lalthangliana’sbook “MizoChanchin”, the Tibeto-Burman groups recorded in the
1901 census were: Tibetan 2,35,229; Himalayan 1,90,585; North Assam 41,731;
Bodo 5,94,411; Naga 2,47,780; Kachin 1,25,585; Kuki-Chin 6,24,149; Burmese
74,98,794.4 A memorandum submitted by the Mizo Union to His Majesty’s
Government in 1947 after the Lakhipur Conference in November, 1946 put the
population (based on the 1941 Census) at around 5 lakhs.5J.T. Vanlalngheta,
author of “The Concise Learner’s Dictionary of Mizo” (2010) puts the population
at “about ten lakhs of people” excluding those akin tribes living in areas
other than Mizoram who speak the Mizo dialect. 6Vumson puts it at about 2.5
million covering a contiguous region of about 60,000 square
miles.7Laltluangliana Khiangte places it at 2.6 million.8 Taking into
consideration biological growth factor alone, it may be safe to put the
population of this linguistic group at around 3–5 million, one of the largest
dialect groups on earth like the Hmongs (Miao) in China.
The Linguistic Survey of India mentioned above
identified more than 40 Zo dialects of which the Duhlian-Lusei dialect now
known as “Mizo language” is the most developed and understood and gradually and
surely evolving to become the lingua franca of the Zo people. And considering
her size of population, Mizoram perhaps is one of the most active States in
India in publication of books, magazines and newspapers. Mizoram State on an
average produces between 150–200 new books annually in addition to dozens of
souvenirs, periodic magazines and daily newspapers churned out in Mizo and
allied vernaculars by the people living outside Mizoram. The biggest linguistic
cauldron in the Zo world is Churachandpur town in Manipur where as many as nine
out of eleven major Zo dialects are spoken and understood along with Manipuri,
Hindi and English.
Sinlung Tradition
Popular tradition of the Zo people holds that their
earliest known settlement was a large cave with a big stone lid called
Sinlung/Khûl somewhere in China. Conjecturally, the presumed ancestral homeland
could have been located somewhere in and around the Stone Forest near Kunming
in the Yunan Province of China during the Nanchao Dynasty. With the collapse of
the Nanchao rule, many tribes fled its stranglehold, some heading southward
like the Karens, the Siams (now known as Thais) and other kindred tribes and
the rest towards the west like the Shans, the Burmans, the Kachins, the
Arakanese, the Meiteis, the Naga group of tribes, the Zo group of tribes and
many other tribes presently inhabiting Northeast India. The first major dispersal
from Yunan took place in the early 9thcentury A.D.and the second wave between
13th 14thcentury. The Burmans’ first known settlement at Kyaukse near Mandalay
was established at around 849 A.D. and then moved to Pagan on the eastern bank
of the Irrawady River where the Burman King Anawarahta in 1044 A.D. founded the
famous Pagan Dynasty. The modern history of Burma (Myanmar) began from that
era.
The Zo ancestors, however, chose to follow the call
of the unknown and continued to head further west into the Chindwin River and
the Kabaw Valley then already under the suzerainty of the Shan princes
(Swabaws), some of whose disparate groups later established the Ahom Kingdom in
Assam. From there some headed southwest and spread over to the present Rakhine
(Arakan) State in Myanmar and the Chittagong Hills Tract in Bangladesh. But the
major bulk of them continued to move westward, climbed the rugged Chin Hills
and settled in its mountain fastness undisturbed by outside forces for a period
long enough to establish their own pattern of settlement and administration,
socio-cultural norms and practices, beliefs and rituals, myths and legends,
folk tales, music and dances and many other customs and traditions which they
handed down from generation to generation to the present time.
Zo Dispersal
It was during the settlement in the Chin Hills that
the linear strata became more defined and clanism more emphasized as each clan
and sub-clan moved and settled in groups subsequently resulting in the
formation of new tribes and sub-tribes. In this way, the Zo group of tribes,
clans and sub-clans speaking varied Zo dialects were born. As they spread out
over different hills clan by clan and moved along, they became more and more
isolated from each other and their loyalty concentrated more and more on their
respective clans. Consequently, they became fiercely insular, loyal to their
clan only and fought each other to gain supremacy over others as well as to
defend their lands and honor from intrusion by others. In the absence of a
centrally controlled authority, inter-tribal rivalries and wars were common,
leaving a trail of bitterness and hate. This was basically the condition when
the British arrived and subjugated the Zo world and its people.
Role of the Colonial Power
Before the Zo people could realize what was in store
for them, the British had already put their lands under different
administrations. However, realizing the mistake and the need to set it right,
the Chin-Lushai Conference at Fort William, Calcutta in January 1892
unanimously agreed, “It is desirable that the whole tract of country known as
the Chin-Lushai Hills should be brought under one Administrative head as soon
as this can be done.” To set the ball rolling, the Chin Hills Regulation was
adopted in 1896 to regulate the administration of the Zo people in the Chin
Hills as well as other Zo inhabited areas where the Regulation also extended.
Two years later, in 1898, North Lushai Hills under Assam and South Lushai Hills
under Bengal were amalgamated as one Lushai Hills District under Assam as
proposed at the Calcutta Conference as a first concrete step towards the
establishment of a common administrative unit for the Zo people.
The proposal also included the eventual integration
of Zo inhabited areas of the Arakan Hill Tracts into the Lushai Hills District.
For political reasons, the proposed unified administration was never
implemented. The belated proposal of Robert Reid, Governor of Assam to create a
hill province comprising of areas inhabited by the Mongoloid hill tribes in the
region was also overtaken by the Second World War and its aftermath. The Zo
people are, therefore, found today in Chin, Rakhine (Arakan) and Sagaing States
in Myanmar; Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura in India
and the Chittagong Hill Tracts and its adjoining areas in Bangladesh.
British rule had a tremendous impact on Zo politics.
On the negative side, they divided the Zo inhabited areas under different
rulers and reduced them to a miniscule. In fact, unpardonable damage had
already been done in 1935. The passage of the Government of India Act, 1935 by
the British Parliament, which completely separated not only Burma from India
but also the Zo inhabited regions across the borders of the two countries, was
the last nail in the coffin.
On the positive side, they established law and order
that provided the Zo people an opportunity to consolidate in their respective
areas and interact with each other more widely under a settled administration.
Though the proposal to bring all Zo inhabited areas under one administrative
head did not materialize, the introduction of the Chin Hills Regulation, 1896
and its subsequent extension to all Zo inhabited areas as mentioned earlier can
be regarded as a partial fulfillment of the Calcutta Resolution.In fact, the
Chin Hills Regulation and its extension to all Zo inhabited areas by the
British could be construed as a tacit recognition on their part of the oneness
and indivisibility of the Zo people as well as their desire to live under one
roof. Another important aspect of the British rule was the introduction of
elementary education using the Roman script wherever the missionaries set foot.
They followed on the heels of the British flag, won the hearts of the people
through the Gospel wand and opened up new vistas and hopes. They produced a new
kind of people who could not only read and write but think and reduce their
feelings and knowledge into the written word. They became the elites and
intelligentsia who played an important role in national rediscovery. They
rendered in writing their past histories, myths and legends, folklores and
folk-songs, customs and traditions which reminded the simple folks that they
were a “nation” with an enviable past, a glorious history and culture and that
they should rediscover themselves again.
Christianity and Zo-ness
A greater force in the process of Zo integration has
been the Christian faith, which in 50 years turned Mizoram and many Zo
inhabited areas into a Christian land. The newly zealous Zo converts took it as
their privileged burden to tell the Good News to their kindred tribes and many
volunteered to go to the unreached Zo areas to preach the Gospel. These
apostle-like preachers carried the good tidings along with new Christian hymns
in Lushai dialect, which the pioneer missionaries employed as a vehicle to
spread the Gospel. As a result, Lushai dialect quickly developed into a rich
language to become an effective instrument for spreading the Gospel and Zo
integration. The first Bible translation and many other pioneering publications
among the Zo tribes were in Lushai that subsequently came to be known as “Mizo
language”, a language that became the link language of the Zo people. Wherever
Zo preachers carried the Gospel and new churches were erected, they also
implanted Zo-ness, thus paving the way for a re-unification. Therefore, next to
their common ethnic root, Christianity has become the most important binding
force of the Zo people. A Zo professing any other faith except the traditional
religion (animism) is considered by the majority Zo Christians as not only a
renegade but also an alien. Being a Zo and a Christian is like a coin with two
faces.
The Call by Zo Integrationists
Let us now briefly examine the progress in the
process of Zo integration. When we talk of a call for Zo integration, we do not
necessarily imply immediate political integration of all their inhabited areas
in exercise of their right to self-determination which is an inherent right of every
human soul on earth. The first step in achieving integration is the creation of
an atmosphere congenial to the growth of emotional integration and a sense of
oneness within the community. Therefore, the vision and focus of Zo
integrationists has been first and foremost the promotion of emotional
integration amongst the dispersed and disparate Zo tribes by constantly
reminding them of
a) their common ethnic or ancestral root, historic
homeland, myths and historical memories, culture, language, hopes and dreams
b) that their only chance of survival as an ethnic
nation is to unite into a cohesive force under a collective proper name with a
common dynamic language, and
c) if they do not heed the writings on the wall and
continue to maintain fissiparous tendencies, they are digging their own graves
and will soon be wiped off from the face of the earth without a trace. To the
Zo nationalists, these imperatives are not a matter of choice but a do or die
thing.History is replete with such examples.
Ethnic Cores for Integration
A study of the history of nation formation, whether
Western civic model or non-Western ethnic model, would clearly indicate that
ethnic nation-states were normally formed in the first place around a dominant
community or ethnie, which annexed or attracted other ethnies or ethnic
fragments into the state to which it gave a name. In other words, it is the
ethnic core or the dominant group that often shapes the character and boundary
of the nation – for it is very often on the basis of such a core that states
coalesce to form nations.9 The ethnic core or the dominant community with its
myths of ethnic selection ensures ethnic self-renewal and long term survival
and this has been certainly the key to the Jewish survival in the face of
deadly adversities.
This is also true in the case of the Zo people.
After the Zo settlement in and dispersal from the Chin Hills, potential core
clans or tribes appeared in the Zo domain from time to time like the
Thado-Kukis, the Suktes, the Zahaus, the Kamhaus, the Sailos and others but
none were as successful as the Sailo clan. Other core communities failed to
make lasting impact for lack of cohesion, farsightedness and wisdom. For
example, about 60 percent of the hill areas of Manipur were at one time under
Kuki chieftainship but they left only a trail of internal divisions and failed
to attract even their direct blood brothers, not to speak of their kindred
tribes. In contrast, the Sailo clan wisely and with foresight stood united in
the face of challenges and adversaries and soon the whole of the present
Mizoram State fell under their sway. They unified various Zo tribes under their
rule, introduced a uniform code of administration and social and moral codes of
conduct and mobilized the disparate tribes into one linguistic and cultural
community conscious of themselves as a force with a historical destiny.
The outcome was that when the British came to subdue
them, the Sailo chiefs won victory in defeat by carving out of their domain a
separate autonomous Lushai Hills District named after their tribe. On this soil
prepared by them consciously or unconsciously, Zo nationalism and identity
began to grow slowly but surely. Though people from the Lushai Hills were then
classified as Lushai, one of the Zo tribes, a majority of the inhabitants
belonged to other Zo tribes such as Gangte, Hmar, Kom, Lakher (Mara) Pawi
(Lai), Paite (Tiddim), Ralte, Thado/Haokip (Kuki), Simte, Vaiphei, Zou, etc.,
and amongst them they unmistakably addressed each other not as Lushai but as
“Mizo” (a man of Zo or a Zo-man) and they used this terminology to cover all Zo
descent. Some writers have translated the term “Mizo” to mean
“Hillman/Highlander” but this interpretation may not stand close scrutiny. The
intrinsic meaning is believed to be much deeper and therefore, should not be
deduced by attaching locative connotation to the term.
Whatever be the case, the term “Mizo” quickly gained
popular acceptance in the Lushai Hills as a common nomenclature for all Zo
descent. Consequently, the name of Lushai Hills was changed into Mizo Hills and
when it attained the status of Union Territory and then Statehood, it became
“Mizoram”, a land of the Mizo or Zo people. This was the first time in Zo
history that their land or territory had been named after their own given name.
It may be pertinent to mention here that nomenclatures like “Chin” and “Kuki”
are derogatory terms given by outsiders to the Zo people whereas “Zo” is a
self-given name that is dignified, honorable and all embracing. It now
virtually stands as the collective name of the Zo descent and Mizoram can claim
pride of place as a land where every Zo descent is fully integrated in “Mizo”.
For example, Manipur South District known as Churachandpur District inhabited
by Zo descents is in many respects more integrated with Mizoram and even with
the Chin Hills than with Manipur. It’s the ethnic magnetic pull that bridges up
geographical barriers.
At the Crossroads
When India and Pakistan gained independence from the
British in 1947 and also Burma in the following year, the politically conscious
Zo leaders of Mizoram were in a fix. They knew that Zo inhabited regions would
be divided among three countries – a Buddhist country, a Muslim country and a
secular but Hindu dominated country. By then, two fledgling political parties
namely the Mizo Union and the United Mizo Freedom Organization (UMFO) had
already been born with the latter in favor of merging with their kindred tribes
in Burma, which they believed would ensure a better chance of their survival.
The original founders of the Mizo Union were staunch nationalists in favor of
self-determination of some kind of which they were not clear.
However, a few months after it was formed, Mizo
Union was torn asunder by the machinations of highly ambitious educated leaders
who came under the influence of the Indian nationalists. Resorting to populist
politics, these so-called Mizo-Indian nationalists hoodwinked the innocent and
unsuspecting peasant folks, captured the Mizo Union party leadership and
presided over one of the most crucial moments in Zo history without a clear
vision and agenda. The result was disillusionment that exploded in armed
rebellion after twenty years. This was called the theMizo National Front (MNF)
movement and for twenty years it spat out the fire of Zo nationalism and
independence from the barrel of imported guns.
Whatever the differences in the visions of the
political leaders of the day, they were always united in one agenda: Zo
Integration. The Mizo Union representation before the President of the
Constituent Assembly, inter alia, included amalgamation of all Zo inhabited
areas to form Greater Zoram (Zoland). With this vision in mind, the Zo leaders,
on the eve of India’s independence, signed a declaration amounting to
conditional accession to the Indian Union in which a provided clause was
inserted to the fact that the Zo people would have the right to remain with or
secede from the Indian Union after a period of 10 years. The Mizo Union
Conference at Lakhipur on November 21, 1946 which was attended by many Zo
representatives. They resolved unanimously that all Zo areas in Burma and India
including the Chittagong Hill Tracts would be amalgamated to form a Greater
Zoram State. It is thus clear that the Zo re-unification issue has occupied the
minds of the Zo leaders, right from the time of India’s independence.
The Big Bang
The most widespread Zo re-unification movement came
in 1966 in the form of an armed rebellion spearheaded by the Mizo National
Front (MNF). The main objective of MNF was to declare Zo’s right to
self-determination and to establish “Independent Zoram” for all the Zo
inhabited areas. The movement rekindled national sentiments throughout Zoland
and many young men from all corners of Zoland joined the movement and fought
for Zo rights. Mizo Integration Council and later Mizo Integration Party were
formed in 1970 with its headquarters in Churachandpur, Manipur. This party was
the progenitor of Zomi National Congress (ZNC) born two years later and its
offshoot Zomi Re-unification Organization (ZORO). Under the banner of ZORO, the
First World Zomi Convention on Re-Unification was held at Champhai on May
19–21, 1988 which was attended by representatives from all Zo inhabited areas.
The armed struggle for Zo independence lasted 20 years and peace returned only
in 1986 when Mizoram attained Statehood. This was preceded by the formation of
Mizoram in 1972 when the status of Union Territory was granted by India. The
birth of Mizoram was a big boost to the Zo peoples’ quest for a political
identity and a formal recognition of their existence. It was the first time in
Zo history that a full-fledged State was named after its own given name. It was
also for the first time that a core state had been established through and
around which Zo reunification would eventually evolve and grow.
It will be pertinent to mention here that in fact,
the first Zo State was born in the name of Chin Special Division in 1948 when
Burma became independent. But being divested of power and funds from the start
and in the absence of a dominant group who could weld the many Zo tribes into a
single entity, the Chin State was never able to play the role of a core state.
It has been a state torn by tribalism with a Babel of tongues to add to its
woes. Their lingua franca has become Burmese and not a Zo language. It is
interesting to note that, even here, the most understood Zo language is the
“Mizo language” though actual speakers are small in number.
Present Scenario
The political dust kicked up by the MNF movement in
1966 settled with the grant of Statehood and the return of the MNF outfits in
1986 from their Arakan hideouts but the euphoria over the new status soon waned
and evaporated. Soon, the heavily deficit Mizoram State began to bite the
reality of governance. Corruption of all kinds and the spirit of insulation and
intolerance seeped in. As it comfortably settled in its State cushion, the core
State has begun to slowly abandon its role model as a forerunner of Zo
integration and has become less and less accommodating. Increasing intolerance
shown to non-Mizo speaking Zo communities from within and outside Mizoram by
the Mizo speaking community has ripple effects on the progress of Zo
unification and put the process of integration in a reverse gear. Many Zo
ethnic tribes have become disenchanted with what they regard as the arrogant
display of linguistic hegemony by Mizo speaking people who, rightly or wrongly
have apprehension that infiltration of other Zo dialects in Mizoram will act as
a contaminating agent to the Zo unity instead of sustaining and strengthening
it.
In an interview in November–December, 1998, a
leading Mizo historian, B. Lalthangliana, when asked why various tribes which
he claimed as Mizo were bent on establishing their own separate identity,
admitted that when he was doing some research for his book on Mizo history, the
Maras also known previously as “Lakhers” from Southern Mizoram came up to him
and told him not to include their name in the list of Mizo groups. “Many
Maras”, he said, “still do not like to be called Mizo… Likewise, in the same
manner, the Thado-Kukis of Manipur and the Paites have reservations. The
Thado-Kukis, however, do not mind identifying themselves as Mizo…it is the
Paites, in fact, who have distanced themselves away from the Mizo identity”.
While Lalthangliana believed that the State of Mizoram would play a major role
in shaping the evolution a greater Mizo identity, the post Statehood era has
witnessed a mushrooming of armed ethnic movements within the Zo community where
almost every imaginable Zo tribe especially in Manipur has its own armed outfit
and carved out areas occupied by them as their respective sphere of influence
and monopoly and barred others from entering into their area without
permission. The most disturbing part is that they have turned the clock back,
returned to the barbaric days of their headhunting forefathers, hunting each
other and engaging themselves in frenzied self-annihilation. Mutual intolerance
has increased which seriously hinders the progress of Zo unification.
Meanwhile, awareness of the danger of their position
and the inevitability of their eventual demise unless they are united has
greatly increased in recent years among the informed circles and
integrationists. Zo integrationists are convinced that the best way tocontain
fissiparous tendencies is to adopt cultural nationalism by increasing cultural
contacts across the borders. One organization, inter alia, who has taken the
lead is Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), the apex students’ organization. Starting from
2002 at Churachandpur, Manipur, they have been organizing cultural festivals
called ZOFEST at an interval of two years at strategically chosen locations in
Zo inhabited areas and invited cultural troupes from across the borders. The
last two Zofests were held at Darchoi (Tripura2012) and Haflong-Muolhoi
(Assam2014). The contribution of ZOFEST in creating awareness and its impact in
bridging the yawning gaps amongst the Zo tribes is immeasurable.
Of the recent activities of Zo integrationists,
mention may be made of the role of Zofa Global Network (ZGN) who organized for
the first time ZOFA Global Unity Festival2014 at Indo- Myanmar Border, Mizoram
from November 20–22. The Festival was originally planned to be held at Tahan
(Kalemyo), Kabaw Valley in Myanmar but had to be shifted in the last minute for
logistical considerations.
Another activity by non-State players worth
mentioning was the Third World Zomi Convention held at Churachandpurin October,
2013 which was attended by Zo delegates settled in 35 different countries. The
first Convention was held in May, 1988 at Champhai on Indo-Myanmar border and
the second Convention in June, 1991 at Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram.The show
goes on.
(to be contd)
See: ETHNIC CHURNING: CHIKUMI STYLE - Part One -Introduction
See: ETHNIC CHURNING: CHIKUMI STYLE - Part Three: The Divide
See: ETHNIC CHURNING: CHIKUMI STYLE - Part Three: The Divide
__________________________________________________________
Notes & References
1 William Robert Ochieng’ and Robert M. Maxon(eds.), An Economic History of Kenya, Nairobi: East African Publishers, 1992, p.120.
2 Vumson, Zo History, Aizawl: Published by the Author, 2011, p.7.
3 G.A.Grierson, Linguistic Survey of India Vol III Part III, 1904 (reprint 1967), pp. 2–3.
4. B.Lalthangliana, India, Burma and Bangladesh: AMizoChanchin, Aizawl: Remkungi, 2001, p. 147 (in Mizo language).
5 Memorandum submitted to His Majesty’s Government, Government of India and its Constituent Assembly through the Advisory Sub-Committee by the Mizo Union on April 26, 1947 at Aijal.
6 J.T.Vanlalngheta, The Concise Learner’s Dictionary of Mizo, Aizawl: Hlawndo Publishing House, 2010.
7 Op.cit.,Vumson2011, p.7.
8 LaltluanglianaKhiangte, “Mizo Literature, Opening the door”, The Seven Sisters Post. www.nelitreview.blogspot.in/2012/02 frontispiece-mizo-literature-opening.html
9 Anthony D.Smith, National Identity, London: Penguin, 1991, p.39.
10 T.C.Hodson, The Meitheis, London: Low Price Publication, 1981 (originally published in 1908), p.2.
11“Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat” in Rudyard Kipling,The Ballad of East and West, 1889.
12 Editor’s note: NingthouKangba was regarded as ancient ruler who preceded Meidingu Nongdaa Lairen Paakhangba by many years. He is not the same as Meidingu Nongdaa Lairen Paakhangba
