Sudden Muanga: Zofate Superman

~ By L. Keivom

Kan khawvel nun inher danglam chakzia ang zelin Zofate zingah pawh kan thrang dan kâr (generation gap) hi a zau hmain a inhlat duh sawt hle a. Inchhung khata cheng tlang reng pawh nun ram hrang daiha cheng threuh kan ni duh khawp mai. Nu leh pa leh fate inkar phei chu zau hma tak a ni. Puitlingin thil thara kan ngaihte hi thrangthar leh thar lehzualte tan chun thring tak a lo ni hman der tawh thrin. Zoram Khawvelah hian mi thring leh thring lo tehna funga hman theih khawpa mi lar thar chu Sudden Muanga a ni mai awm e. ‘Lar thar’ kan ti naa kum 15 dawn lai lar zawm tawh a ni a, lar rei tak a ni tawh. Eng pawh ni se, Zofate zingah mi thring leh thring lo awlsam tea teh i duh chuan SUDDEN MUANGA chanchin hetiang hian zawt mai rawh.

A. Ka pu, Sudden Muanga i hre ngai em?
B. Hre ngai e. Mahse, fawren-ah a awm bo daih a, ka hmu khat khawp asin. A nupui hming pawh Dari a nih kha.
A. Kha chu Pu Muanga (Lalthlamuanga Keivom) alawm. Tunah ka zawh che chu Sudden Muanga zawk alawm.
B. Ngawi teh, Setan Muanga chu ka hre lo tawp mai. Saidan Muanga chu ka hria, ‘ A poi taluo, Siel le Salam’ phuahtu kha.
A. Ka pu chu i thring full thrak. Mak thei ngei!

Tu nge Rang (Sudden) Muanga (Slow), rang si muang bawk si chu? Eng hming nge ni ta? A ran dan nge muang a, a muan dan nge rang zawk? Hman hmawh taka zawi tea tlan mi em ni? Nge, vawt tih luat avanga thlanin a leih hial mi? Hmel chhe thur lutuk avanga ngaihnobei hial zawk? Fin lutuk avanga â, ăt lutuk vanga fing anga lang? Kawrap thiam luattuk avanga fel hlawh? Hleprukna a do thiam luat avanga hleprukna thriana man fuh? ‘Sual thra’ kan tih ang mi hi em ni ang? Sudden Muanga hming hian ka tleirawl laia ka hla phuaha ka trawngkam chheh, ‘hmangaih nunrawng’ tih min hriat chhuahtir a ni. Sudden Muanga: mak lo maw?

Sudden Muanga hi thu leh hlaa mi hrâng Lalsangzuala ir-awm atranga thawnthu ropui lo put chhuak, kawmiks-a a siama changtu ber leh a kawmiks bu hming chawitu a ni. Hawrawp puia a hming inziakna zawng hi a thawnthu bu tihna a ni a, hawrawp tea inziak zawng hi amah sawina a ni. SUDDEN MUANGA hi Zoram khawvel prawdak liau liau, kum 1977 March atranga chhuah tran a ni a. A chanchin ka ziak lai hian Bu 73-na a chhuak hman dêr tawh a. Tichuan, ngai teh, khawvela lekhabu ropui ber Baibul bu 66 chu SUDDEN MUANGA bu hian bu 7-in a khum dêr tawh tihna a nih chu! Mak ve lo maw?

SUDDEN MUANGA kawmiks tluka thawnthu bu darh zau leh lar fawr hi Zoram khawvelah hian sakhaw lehkhabu chauh lo chu pakhat mah a la piang awm lo ve. Chhiar a hlawh luattuk avanga Mizoram Sawrkarin pisaa ken leh chhiar a khap duh hial leh a khap hmasak ber thawnthu bu awm chhun a la ni. Tin, he kawmiks tluka Zoram khawvel dinhmun thar, kan hri vei leh natpuite chiang tak leh huaisen taka phawrh lanna lehkhabu pakhat mah a lo awm lo ti ila, kan sawi sual tampui lo vang. A ziaktu hi thuthlung hlui huna cheng ve chu ni se, zawlnei huaisente thrutna tlarah hmun a luah ve ngei ang tih ka ring tlat a ni.

Thawnthu phuah thiamte hi rilru lam daktor thiam tak an ni a. Chhiartute tuipui zawng an hre thiam a. Chutiang thil, an ngaihruatnaa an din chhuahte chu chhiartute tui tihzawng leh ei thiam zawngin an rawn khawrh chhuak thrin a, an dawlh zawt zawt mai a ni. SUDDEN MUANGA phuahtu pawh hian Zofaten kan ngaihsan ber Sapho thawnthu denchhena hmangin kan luhkapuiah a chhuktir a, kan tual zawlah a pawntotir a, saum leh chingal thu leh hlain a bawl a, thrangtharte lungdum zawngin Cowboy thuam haktirin pistol a ahtir trĕn mai a, zei takin kungfu ‘posi’ a la a, a lang ‘champ’ tlat mai a ni. Hei hian thrangtharte lung a kuai a; an ngaihsan ber chanchin chu an chhiar tui loh nakah.
Engtin nge SUDDEN MUANGA hi a lo pian? A phuahtu min hrilh dan chuan Oliver Strange-a thawnthu ziak ‘SUDDEN’ atranga a ngaihtuah chhuah a ni. Hetih hun lai hian SUDDEN thawnthu chu Zoram Khawvelah a lar êm êm a, ngaihnawm kan tiin a trawngkamte pawh kan hmang lâr hle a. Mahse, Sap thawnthu a nih tlat avangin Zofate ngaihtuahna ril ber a dek pha lova, an duhthu a sam pha bawk hek lo. Chuvangin, Zofate nun dan, thlêk dan, rilru leh ngaihtuahna phawk chhuak zo tur thawnthu, Western Cowboy anga lang, mahse Zopa tak ni bawk si siam duhna chu a rilruah a awm a, SUDDEN MUANGA hi March 1977 khan a lo piang ta a ni. Kalchar hrang daih pahnih hmeh bel a nihzia chu a thawnthu hming leh a changtu ber hming hian a hrilhfiah nghal a. Inrem thlapa a dah thiam hian a phuahtu themthiamna a tilang chiang êm êm a ni.

Sudden Muanga hi ‘foreign return’ a ni a. Pa daihzai, ‘si’ ngah tak, thil thiam ve zul, mahse Zofa tam tak anga prinsipul nei ve lo leh thil tithra peih tak tak lem lo, nimina thra a tih em em pawh a tuk lawka ning leh mai, a tlakna leilung azira che mai zel thrin, a thiltih apiang mahni inthiam chawp zel, eiru thei dinhmuna a awm chuan eiru a, eiru thei dinhmuna a awm loh veleh dikna leh rinawmna ngaina leh thrin si a ni a. Eizawn nan sawhthing hmun a siam ve a. Thawk ve peih mang si lo Hrangêka te’n a sawhthing an lo ruksak thrin chu a haw hle a. Tichuan, rukrukna leh hlemhletna do leh tibo turin pistol kah leh kungfu a zir a A lo lâr chho zel a, Khawnuam Sheriff a lo ni ta a. He dinhmunah hian thawk mang lova neih êm ûm te leh mipui chan ai eiruksak dante a lo thiam ve ta a. Millionaires chu ni em lovin Milianneires a lo ni ve ta hial a ni. He a chanchin ka ziak lai hian Tribal Billy Grahama nih tumin Gospel Camp a hawng a; Pathian nung, engkimtitheia fate chuan tlawmna nun ni lo, nun sang an nei tur a ni tih thu a zirtir ve thung a ni. Speaker changkang china inngai, ram thim tak tak va tawn ngam lo leh tawn ngai lo, a eng tawhsa sawi thim chawpa, a tui thra thra eia khawsaho nun hi ‘tlawmna nun mawng pawp’ niin a hria a, an hmai chhanah a khak fawk fawk mai a ni. Zofate hun tawng ang zela chê a ni a, Sudden Muanga kal chhoh zel dan tur hi a thawnthu ziaktu pawhin a hre bik lo.

Engah nge SUDDEN MUANGA hi Zoram khawvelah hian a lar êm êm? Zofaten kan ngaihsan ber Sapho zingah pawh fel chungchuang Cowboy nungchang pu si, kan trobul chhuahna nia kan hriat China-ho insual thiam dan chi khat ‘kungfu’ thiam filawr ni bawk, mahse Zopa dik tak ni tlat si a nih vang a ni hmasa ber a. Western Cowboy + Bruce Lee + Mizo a ni. Phawi rang zingah pawh rang zual a ni a, a pistol phawi lai tuman an hmu hman ngai lo. “Pathianin a hmu hman ang em aw?” tih hi an inzawhna a ni fo. Chuvangin, a pistolte hi puak sa hian a pai trèn mai thrin a ni. A kah thiam zia lah chu, mel nga dana fanghmir chaldar a verh tlang siah siah thei. A beng a vâr hle a, mel nga dana fanghmir kal ri thrap thrap leh an hawhaw ri a hre thei bawk. Kungfu lah chu China-ho tizak thei khawpa zei, lei atranga feet sawma sangah thlawkin kungfu ‘posi’ hrang hrang a ‘show’ thei bawk a ni. Hei ngei hi Zofate duhsam tling khawpa thil thiam, kum zabi sawmhnihnaa Zofate ‘Superman’ piang hmasa ber chu a ni.

Kan ‘Superman’ hian talen a nei thra êm êm a. Zai thiam a ni a, Sap ramah pawh hun rei tak zai tawh thrin, mingo zingah pawh lâr ve tak a ni hman a. Mahse, “Van ramah chatuanin kan la zai tho dawn a, khawvelah erawh chawlh hahdam rih a thra e” a ti a, a hâi mai a. Inkhelh lamah pawh zei tak a ni a. futbawl pet phei chu hnehsawh tak, boruakah pawh khalh zar zar thei a ni a. Mahse, a thlirtu nih hi milian hna zawka a ngaih tlat avangin inkhelhah tel lovin a entuah a trang tawh zawk thrin a ni. Khabe leh hnâr changkang tak a nei a. A hnâr phei chuan zawlaidi a ken tel bakah mel thum dana zu an thuhrukte pawh a rim atrangin a awmna a hre dik chat chat thei a; a hmang trangkai hle reng a ni. Khabe chuang liam a nei a. A khabe sep thiam avangin amah that tumtute pawhin an thrulh phah zel mai a ni. A neih duh miah loh nulate pawh a khabe chănga a khalh buai tawh hi chuan buan chak lo nih chu menah an thlak mai zel. Mahse, tlangval laia nupui neih hi thil inhmeh lovin a hre tlat bawk si!

Insum har a tih ber chu zu leh nula a ni a. Zu nghei ai chuan zu ngei lo chi nghei mai hi awlsam a ti zawk. “Miin cheng sanghnih nei se, zu in nachang hre si lo se, a tan enge sawt ang” tih hi a changvawn ber a ni. NULA TRY DAN tih bu a nei a, a chhiar bel hle a. Nula tawih deuh a hmuh changin, a hun leh hmunin a zir chuan ‘Bawh-thut-Pawlisi’ a hmang mai thrin. Setana’n tihdamna thilpek a pek ve pawh nula mal zut nan a hmang ral thrak.

Zofate hi mi thil thra tih emaw hlawhtlinna emaw hlutpuia chawimawi ahnekin insawiselsak leh ngaihhohsak te hi kan ching a; kan itsik vang a ni mai thei. He rilru hi hre rengin he thawnthu ziaktu hian Sudden Muanga hmel pawh hi a ti thra ngam lo a ni. A hmel a chhiat viau hian miin an ngaina zawk a. Hmelthra ta viau se, talen a nei thra si a, mi tam takin kan ngei mai dawn a ni. A hmel chhiat hi a nihlawh phah zêk a: mi thil sual tih dan pawh va zirin eng ang pawhin va khawsa se, awm rêngah miin an ngai a; nula lakah a han insawi theih viau pawhin a hmel nen ngaihtuahin tuman thik enah kan en lo nghal pang mai a ni. A tih a piang ‘Em em a!’ mi tih aia hleihluaka thil ti mi ni mah se mi huat a hlawh ve lo. Tunlai ‘Chhandam fa’ intiho, Pathian hre phak lek lova Kohhran pawl tana hna thawk thrinte ang hian nung ve mah se mi ngei a hlawh ve lo. Hei hi a ziaktu Lalsangzuala themthiamzia a lanna chu a ni.

SUDDEN MUANGA lar êm êm chhan dang chu Zoram khawvel dinhmun chiang taka phawrh chhuahna a nih vang a ni bawk. Kan khawtlang nuna siksawina tinreng, kan pawlitiks kalsiam, “Vairampurah zuk intlaktlum siak” a tih mai te, kan thil hlutzawng leh hlut lohzawng inthlak zel avanga hlemhletna leh hleprukna a hluar tawhzia te, kristian inti si ten Pathian hre fuh hauh lova kohran pawl rawng bawla kan hmanhlelh dan te, lemderna chirha kan tlak thuk takzia te, kan ekawnawmiks dinhmun thawpzia te, thil thra lo leh hlauhawm chi hrang hrang mi rawn rûntute chu he thawnthuah hian kan hmu. SUDDEN MUANGA hi kan ram leh hnam hmelhmang chiang taka a lanna darthlalang a ni.

A ziaktu Lalsangzuala ngeiin, “‘Sudden Muanga hi kan hun tawng ang zelin ka kaltir mai a, a changin mi sualah ka trantir a, a changin mi thraah. Kohhranah emaw, politics-ah emaw, Social thilah emaw, mi thiltih dik lo leh thr lo ka tihzawngte chu Pu Muanga hi hleihluakin ka tihtir a, Sapho thawnthu/comics angin a changtupa hi pa thra tak leh pa fel tak a ni lo. A thrat lohna atranga chhiartuten thil thra zawk an chhar theihna tura ruahman a ni zawk: eiruk ching miten ‘Em em a’ an tih zawk tur te leh zu ngawl veiin ‘Em em a’ an tih zawk turin. Kohhran chungchangah pawh hleihluakin kohhran a hmangaih a, Pastor te paw’n ‘Em em a’ an ti hial zawk a ni. Pathian hre pha hman lo lekin Kohran tan hna a thawk thrin a ni” tiin min hrilh.

Zopa naran boruak hip phak aia sang dawng pha, feet 5 leh inches 6 a sang, pa inkhaithli, hmai fang thra leh tawlh lam hret, Mongolian hnar aia Aryan thlahte lam hnar hnaih zawk, jâng kŭl lam hret, hăng ngaihnobei tawka hăng, SUDDEN MUANGA hringtu Lalsangzuala hi Aizawl Thakthing vengah January 13, 1951 khan khawvel êng a hmu tran a, unau pianpui mipa 4 leh minu 4 zingah mipa zinga naupang ber a ni. A pian kum December thlaah Zofate Babel khawpui Churachandpur-ah an pem chho va. A pa Lalnghinglova Varte chu pa challang, hawihhawm leh mi kawm thiam tak a ni a, ‘Paharha’ tiah hriat a ni ber a, a hming pawh a pu zo hle. Chutiang lamah chuan Lalsangzual hian a pa a chhun lo hle: pa ngawichawi lam, trawng tam vak lo, chik taka thil ngaihtuah mi, a hmel lan dan ai daiha thuk zawk, dawnril, filawsawfar a ni.

Zirna lamah Churachandpur College atranga B.A (Distinction) leh Jawaharlal Nehru University (Imphal Branch) a M.A. (History) tling chhuak, pawl sang mai ni lo, mithiam a ni. Mizo Department, Lamka College ah Senior Lecturer ni a. Ani hi a thu chang thlum a ni mai lo, a zun pawh kum 1985 atrang khan a thlum tran ve a. Hemi avang hian a buk rih dan pawh 54 kgs lek a ni a, Sudden Muanga ang maiin a ria thlarh reng mai a ni. Mahse, kawmiks siam thiam lamah chuan Zofate zawng zawng intel khawm pawhin tunah chuan kan bûk hneh ka ring lo. Khìn tak a ni.

Churachandpur khawpui chhung luh dawnah Chiangkawn leilawn a awm a. He leilawn atranga meter 100 vel leka hla, kawng sir vei lamah dawr pakhat, lehkhabu leh thil nepnawi zawrhna i hmu ang a. Hai rual lovin SUDDEN MUANGA DAWR tih inziak i hmu ang a, chu chu Sudden Muanga pian leh murna, Lalsangzuala bu zawl a nih ring mai la, i ring sual lo vang. December 27.1991 zing dar 10-ah a bu zawlah hian ka zuk thrawng a. Zofate thu leh hla, kawmiks thawnthu lama thawh-hmahruaitu, kan literechara mel lung lian tak min phunsaktu chanchin tlem leh a Superman siam dan chanchin chu ka ziak phah ta a ni.

A hma a kan tarlan tawh ang khan SUDDEN MUANGA bu hmasa ber SUDDEN MUANGA LEH SAWHTHING RUKHMANG tih, kawpi 200 lek chu March 1977 khan chhuah tran a ni a. Phûng zinga piring vawrh ang maiin rei lo teah a kawpi zawng zawng chu an lei fai ta duak mai a. Miten chhiar nuam an lo tih tak êm avangin a kawpi pawh a ti tam chhoh zel a, a chanchin ka ziah lai hian kawpi 3500-4000 lai tihchhuah a ni tawh. Churachandpur leh a chhehvelah kawpi 300 vel chauh hralh a ni a, a dang zawng zawng chu Mizoram, a bikin Aizawl leh Lunglei lama thawn zawh vek a ni. Chumi awmzia chu, Churachandpur bial (Manipur South District), Zofate ram luah chhuangah hian mihring 600 zelah mi pakaht chauhvin a lei a, Mizoramah chuan mi 195 zelah mi pakhatin a lei ang tluk a ni. Hei hian lekha chhiar lama kan changkan dan inthlauhzia a sawei fiah hle awm e. Ka lekhabu siam ZORAM KHAWVEL pawh Churachandpur biala kum khat chhunga an hralh zawng zawng aia tam chu Aizawl Secretariat velah darkar khat chhungin an hralh zo thrin a ni. Ram hmasawn leh nun changkang apiangin lekha an chhiar nasa a, finna thar ni tin an zemah an seng lut thrin. Ram leh nun hnufual chuan hriatna thring a ring a, a thruanawp thrut reng mai a ni.

SUDDEN MUANGA hi a chhuak hmasa lamah chuan fiamthu nuihza deuh hlir a ni a, naupang leh thralai lamin an lawm hle a. Mahse, mi changkang deuh leh kohhran upa leh pawlitisian te pawhin an lo chhiar ve thrin tih a ziaktu Lalsngzualan a hriat chuan fiamthu ringawta chhunzawm chi niin a hre ta lo va. “Chuvangin, tun hnu lamah hi chuan khawtlang, kohhran leh pawlitiks siam thratna hmanruaah hman ka tum ta zawk a ni” tiin min hrilh. A sawi zel dan chuan, “A thawnthu tam ber hi Mizorama thil thleng, chanchinbu leh thrian threnkhatte min hrilh atranga ka siam deuh ber a ni a. Rilruin a thawnthu kalhmang tur ka duang lawk a, ka ziak chhuak hmasa ngai lo. Ngaihtuahna a kal tluan lai chuan zan khatah stencil 5 lai te pawh ka ziak zo thei a; lehlamah chuan thla khatah stencil pakhat ziak zawh theih loh chang pawh a tam mai. Chuvangin, issue khat (pages 20) siam nan hian engtia rei nge ngai tih hi chhan thiam har tak a ni” tiin min hrilh bawk. Kum 15 chhung hian bu 73 a siam tawh a, kum tin bu 5 tluk, ni 75 zelah bu khat a siam tihna a ni.

Trawng thar chungchangah ama chher ve reng reng nge, miten an lo hman lar sa a rawn puahchhuahpui tih ka zawt a. “Ka chher ve reng ai mahin an lo hmanlar tawhsa a tam zawk. Abikin Aizawl khawpuia an hman lar khu a tam hle. Chanchinbu atrang leh thrian threnkhatten min hrilh atranga ka hriatte an ni. Tin, Aizawla lar kher lo pawh henglai Manipur khaw hrang hranga an hman lar, Mizoramin an la hman ve lohte pawh Sudden Muanga trawng kam anga a han kal hi chuan Mizoram mite pawhin ‘slang’ thar angin an lo pawm ve zel mai. Entir nan, Hmar tawnga ‘Met’ tih leh ‘Mak thei ngei’ tihte pawh hi tunah chuan Aizawl pa pawhin a hmang ve tawh fo mai a ni. Tin, ‘Nguar ang’ tih ang rengte hi chu keiman ka chher chhuah ve a ni. Tun hma deuh khan trawnglerah, ‘Kal ngial ang’ tih an ching thrin a; chumi hnuah ‘ngial’ kha ‘ngiar’ in rei fe hnuah an thlak leh a. Hemi thlak leh nan hin Pu Muanga trawngkam atan ‘Nguar’ tiin ka thlaksak ta a. Ngial-Ngiar-Nguar a lo ni ta a ni. Tin, ‘gui gui’ tihte pawh hi Pu Muanga zei lo fe, inti zei sia a kal ‘gui gui’ atan a lo inhmeh leh zel a” tiin min hrilh bawk.

Tin, Sudden Muanga’n tawngkam a hman a piang zoram khawvel hian sawi sep awm lovin a lo pawm zel a ni tih a chianna em em chu, a ziaktu ngeiin hetiang hian min hrilh bawk: “A chang chuan typing mistake te pawh hi a lo awm thrin a, hengte hi trawng thar, ka tihluih renga ngaiin trawng thar a lo chhuak ve thrin bawk a ni” tiin. Zofate rilruah Sudden Muanga hian hmun a luah thukzia hetiang aia sawi fiah ngaihna awmin ka ring lo. Tin, trawng thar chher leh hman lar thuah Aizawl hi a hnukpui niin a hria a. “Aizawl khu Zoram headquarter a ni bawk a. Annin an hman phawt loh chuan trawng tharte hi a lar har hle. Annin an rawn hman chuan Mizo trawng dik lo pawh mawi zutin kan hre mai zel a ni” a ti.

Zofate zinga lar fawr ber ni thrin Pu Chhura, khawvel mi zawng zawng trih huai, thimna lal Phungpuinu hnehtu, kan daktor neih hmasa ber leh Mawngping hospitala Surgeon hmingthang, thih awmzia te pawh amah ngeia fiah tuma lo bei vak tawh, a fin luattuk avanga mi â anga awm der thrin leh Zofate Superman Sudden Muanga hi tu nge ropui zawk ang tih ka zawt a. Min chhanna chu: “Pistol kah leh kungfu-ah chuan Sudden Muanga hian a ‘Great Great Great Grand Father Chhura’ chu nasa takin a khûm tawh a. Tin, sikeisenah pawh inkah kai tumin a han thlawk thuak thuak tawh bawk a. Mahse Apache-ho avangin lei lamah a lo tla thla leh ta zawk a ni. A chang chuan a fin êm avangin a inti â der ve thrin a. Hetah hian a Pu Chhura kha a la chhun hle a ni” tih a ni. A thawnthu a kal zel ang a, Sudden Maunga hian a Pu Chhura hniakhnung zuiin damlote pawh ngaihtuahna khawl ringawt hmangin a la zai ve mahna.

A chhiartu a zirin lehkhabu hi ngaihnawmin a ngaihnawm lo thei a. SUDDEN MUANGA hi threnkhat chun a tir lam chhuak, pistol nena inkap rep rep lam pang leh a fiamthu lai te kha ngaihnawm berin an hria a. Threnkhat chuan pawlitiks chungchang sawina lam hi thra berin an hre bawk a. Threnkhat dang erawh chuan sakhaw thila lemderna te, lelohna te leh hlemhlêtna te hluar nasatzia a rawn phawrh chhuak te leh thlirna tukverh thar a rawn hawn thu hi an chaw tak khukpui ber ve thung a. A ziaktu chuan “Holy War hi thra ka ti ber” tiin min hrilh.

Holy War (Indona Thianghlim) a tih hi kei chuan Unholy War (Indona Tenawm) ka ti duh zawk a; kohhran thianghlim, Sudden Muanga enkawl lai leh Pawl Pawl ti lo pawl, Hrangêka hruaiho indona thu a ni. Holy War hian bu sawm, comics Issue No 45-54 thleng a awh tawh a, a la kal mek zel a ni. Misual Hrangêka hi a lo piangthar a, kohhran lehkha nei si lovin Rualrem City-ah thu hril a tum a. Sudden Muangan an kohhran biak inah thu sawi a phal loh avangin Hrangêka ho chuan khawlaiah Hall atan puan in an zar a, thu a sawi ta tho va. Zofate, mahni pastorte leh tirhkohte ning thuai a, thuhriltu mikhual veivak lawma te chuan Hrangêka chu an bawr nasa hle a. Tichuan, kohhran inkaihhruai dante chu sawiselin mi tam tak a hruai khawlo ta a. Sudden Muanga thin a rim a, Sheriff tranpuinain Hrangêka chu a man a, ‘Inti Isua’ tiin khengbet turin thu an ti tlu a. Mahse, Hrangêka chu a tlan chhuak a, a zuitu tam tak nen Rualrem City chu chhuahsanin khaw thar an din a, chutah chuan Lalram Thar dinin, mi thianghlim inti-hote chu an awm ta a ni. Hrangêka leh a pawlte hian kohhran tihchhiat chu Pathian hnaah ngaiin thlawhna te, tank te leh laipui te hmangin kohhran thianghlmim chu tih chimih an tum a. Lehlamah kohhranho zawng zawng chu inzawmkhawmin ‘Allies party’ an din a, Hrangêka chu an do ve ta a ni.

Lalsangzuala ngeiin “He comics hi han en mai chuan World War II kha ni maiin a lang, mahse tun lai Holy War dik tak a ni tlat si. Rinna avanga hnam khat pawh indo vak theih kan nihzia thu a ni. Threnkhat tan chuan a ninawm hle tih ka hria, mahse kei atan chuan a ngaihnawm berin ka hria. Tun thleng hian Zoram khawvelah pawh hian he Holy War hi chu a kal tluang zelin ka hria. Ka ziak tui pawh a ni ang, Issue dangte chu Part III lek lekah a thawnthu ka titawpa, Holy War erawh Part sawmnaah pawh a la tawp thrathrum lo a ni” a ti.

Sa-um leh chingala bai leh bawl SUDDEN MUANGA hian thil a letling zawnga ngaihtuah dan leh thlir dan min kawhhmuh a, chu chuan mi a tibengvar hle a ni. He thlirna tukverh thar min hawnsak avang hian chhiartute thil thlir dan leh ngaihtuah dan a tihzau phah ngei ang. Entirnan, Bu 71-naah chuan tlawmna nun zirtira au vak vak te hi tlawmna nuna chhuk duh dêr lo te an nihzia hrilfiah nan kristiante chu Pathian chhungte leh mi thianghlimte nena tualkhata kan lenho theihna tur chuan kan nun kan tisang hle tur a ni tih thu a au chhuahpui ve thung a. “Pathian fa kan ni tih hre rengin, heng mi hnuaihnung leh nun tlawmte angin eiruk te, hlepruk te, mahni hmasial te leh khawvel nawmsip bawlna lam thilah te hian i inhnamhnawih ve lo vang u. Hengte hi chu duh leh tlawmna nun neiho hian ti raw se. Keini zawng tlawm thei kan ni tawh lo; Pathian nung fate kan ni zawk. Kan Pathian hi engkim ti thei a ni a, a fate pawh hian kan chhunin kan nun a sang vah tur a ni” tih lam zawngin a sermon ta piap piap mai a, A thusawi hi ka chhiar lai chuan Protestant pawl lo din chhuah nana sulsutu zinga pakhat John Calvin-a thukhawchang min hriat chhuahtir hial a ni. A thu auchhuahpui dikzia fiah nan tlawmna nun sawia hûk pap pap Evan Khuala a hmang a; a rin ang ngeiin a tlawmna nun chu tlawmna nun mawng pawp a lo ni reng a. He tlawmna nun mawngpawp hi kohhran hripui vei ber pakhat a ni a, a vei nasa ber chu kohhran hruaitute an ni.

SUDDEN MUANGA ka lawm êm êm chhan dang pakhat chu, Lusei trawng ngei hmanga MIZO Trawng piang mek chanchin ZORAM KHAWVEL a ka sawi lan chu a tak ngeia tranlatu leh titu a nih vang pawh a ni. “Churanchandpur hian Mizo trawng thranlenna tura mamawh bawlhlo thra a nei kim deuh vek a ni” (p.36) tih ka ziak ang khan he Zofate Babel Khawpuia seilian thrangtharte chuan zir hah pawh ngai lovin Zo hnahthlak trawng hran hrang pakua an thiam bakah Meitei trawng leh Hindi tlem azawng an thiam tel nghal bawk a. Heng trawng hrang hrangte hi inkhak lovin zawi zawia inla tawnin an luang tlang a, tun atranga kum za velah chuan Zo trawng tlanglawn pakhatah an la inchhun khawm vek a rinawm. He Zotrawng lo thranlenna tura khăn thra berah hian SUDDEN MUANGA ziaktu hi a seilian a, Zotrawng thranlenna atana hmanrua trangkai tak leh duhawm tak a lo ni chho ta rêng a ni. Thrangthar lo la piang zel turten Zotrawng lo thranlen dan chanchin an chhui apiangin SUDDEN MUANGA ziaktu thawh hlawkzia hi an hmai ngaiin ka ring lo.

Thu leh hlaa inhmangte’n SUDDEN MUANGA atranga an zir tur nia lang tam tak zinga pakhat chu hei hi a ni: eng thu pawh sawi se, chhiartute luhkapuiah a trumtir thei zel mai hi a ni. Eng anga thu thra pawh ziak ila, chhiartute ei theihzawng leh thrial duhzawnga kan bawl loh chuan mi chhiar a hlawh ngai lo. Sapho chhiar tur a nih chuan an chhiar duhzawnga ziak a ngai a. Saphovina an chhiar duh em em kha Zofate chuan hnim pawh kan hnim duh kher lo vang. Thu sawi leh ziak reng reng a chhiartute leh ngaithlatute kalchar huanga kan khung fuh chuan a hlawhtlling a, kan khung fuh loh chuan a hlawhchham mai a ni. He thuruk hi Lalsangzual hian a man fuh hle a, a hmang nghal bawk a. Chuvangin, a SUDDEN MUANGA hi Zoram khawvelah lâr lo ziazang a ni lo. Kan Superman a ni si a. (An extract from Zoram Khawvel-2, 1993; p.154-170)

HSA INKHAWMPUI 55-NA

L. Keivom

Thieng le thieng naw inkara hin,
Hmun insang le a’n hnuoiah,
Kal chawi dan ka hriet thiem nawh...
- Rev. Thangngur.

HSA General Assembly 55-na Muolhoi (Haflong) a January 27-29, 2016 sunga innghat a ni ding thu le Rev. Hrilrokhum Thiek le kei Lifetime Achievement Award inhlan kan ni ding thu chu Facebook (Virthli) a inthokin ka lo tiem a. HSA hmunpuia inthokin thu ieng khom ka la hmu naw bakah mi dangin an thaw hlak dan anga ka chanchin (bio-data) an mi hung indon bok naw leiin thuvuongva angah ka sie phot a.

Ni iemani zat hnungah HSA thruoitu pakhatin a mi hung telefawn a, chawimawina dong dinga thlang ka ni thu le chu chu keima ngei inkhawmpui uop malama fea ka hang dong an mi beisei thu a hung hril a. A hun ding kha February 28 ni anga ka lo ngai suol leiin, chu huna chun Delhi ka suoksan thei naw ding thu le poi ka ti thu ka hril a. Chun, hieng ang thila pawl dangin an mi fiel hrim hrim hin dannaranin tlungna, kalman le sengso dang dang an tum bakah lawmman an siem hlak a. Chuong sa khom chun ruol le pai le inpawl khawmna le ser le sang thil dang danga mawphurna hlenna dingin sing khat sing hni vel chu ka seng ngei ngei a, chu ding chun ka’n buotsai lawk bok hlak. Eini rawi thilthawnaa ruok chu mani intum hi tlawmngainaah ei ngai bakah chuonga tlawmngai theihai hung le fe le lut le suok chu fieltuhaiin ei ngaisak ngai mang nawh. Thingtum inhlumin ei inhlum top el hlak a hoi.

A ieng khom chu ni sien, a hnunga ka zuk en chieng leh inkhawmpui chu January 27-29 sung lem ding a nih ti ka hmu suok a. Fe ngei dingin thutlukna ka siem thut a. Hun a tepter tah leiin online-in vuongna ticket ka lak nghal a. Guwahati-Haflong-Guwahati fena ding rêl ruok chu ni sawmhnia inhmaa lak lo chun a thei naw leiin, a thaw dan dang zonga buoi chuk chuk a ngai. Hi hi ka zuk hril kher san chu, a tawma thil inhril khikhawkzie tar lang ka nuom lei a nih. Rikrum thil ni lo, thil um dinga rel lawk sa hrim hrim, entirnan inkhawmpui dam chu a tlawm takah thla ruk hmaa thaw dinghai fel taka rela chan insem fel thlap a thra. Entirnan, Souvenir thra buotsai ding chun kumpui lingleta suol a ngai. Artikul thra le tlo buotsaina dingin a tlawm takah thla thum vel bek hun a dit a; artikul a hung tlung vong hnungah fumfe taka editing le proof-reading thawna dingin thla thum vel bek a ngai bok.

Sorkar bawngchala penson rak khopa thrang ka lo ni ve leiin, thil tlung thut, rikrum thil a ni ngot naw chun thaw ding hi long term, medium term le short term zawnga threa duong hlak ka lo ni ve a. A san chu, zan lam lawn thaw a, ar khaw thim daia nun khal chu a him naw bakah a hlawk naw a, insuina ding le intâl buoina ding a tam a, hmathlir nei tlat lo chun tum ram khom a chieng naw a, hmasawnna sirbi nghet le innghatna tlak rem fuk a harsa. Hringnuna intâl buoi tam tak hi hmathlir le tum ram mumal nei lo an ni nuom khop el. Chu ngirhmuna chun HSA khom a tlu lut thei a, sir tina inthoka a khawsakzie enin a tlu lut der tah khom a ni el thei.

Nawchizor HSA?
Mazu hmanin konglam a nei chun, hnam insuikhawmna pawl hrang hrang ei nei laia upa tak, huop lien tak le keng rawn tak, hnam ban nghet tak ni hlak HSA chun konglam neiin, a motto ‘Sinin, Hrilin, Sanin, Thruoiin’ ti hi a tak ngeia a nunah hmangin, hma a thruoi ding a nih. Kumpui lingleta ei inser le lawm Platinum Jubilee sunga thil thra tam tak a thawhai kha miin hre fu tah loin, a tawp tienga thil tlung khan lallukhum nekin hlinglukhum a’n khumtir a, a poi khop el. Muolhoi tonhriet khom hi, Baibulin “suol tinreng bul” (1 Tim 6:10) a ti hiel hnotna lei amani ding, ei tran hmain hnam hmaiah chil ei hei sakkhum hmasa phot a, suong a um naw khop el. Thruoitua thranghai hin mani inzaumna ei kol tah hlol naw a ni khomin, hnam inzaumna bek hi chu kengkaw tum hram hram inla, a thrat vei leh! Kei chun hnam inzaumna ei zor-ah ka ngai a, nawchizor let tamin inza ei phur naw lemin ka hriet. Nawchizor chun a thil nei a nuom angin a hmang el a na; eini ruok chun hnam inzaumna ei zor a nih.

Ieng leia chuong ang inkhawmpuia chun ka hun hlu tak le sum tam tak senga hang thrang am ka na? Thruoituhaiin tlawmngaia mani ngeia chawimawina an mi pek ding chu dong malama inkhawmpui chu hang trawiawm dinga telefawna an mi fiel lei le prokram ka hriet lawk naw lei a nih. Prokram le fielna lekha hi January 23 khan e-mail ah ka lo dong a. Fielna le prokram ka hmu charin hieng ang hin lekha ka thon a:

“Telefawna ka hung hril tah ang khan, prokrama hming chuong lai hin ei hnam pumpui ensan laia mi an um a, uolau taka an hming ei inchuon hin eini hmai ngeiah HSA-in chil a sakkhum ang a na, Saptronga “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face” (mani hmelsiet run leia hnâr at thlak sa) an ti ang char kha a nih. Zo hnathlakhai khawvela inzakum le muolphona tawpkhawk chu ensan hlaw a ni a, phâr lêt tama tirdakuma ei ngai a nih. Ensan tuok mihriem amanih sungkuo chun inzakin khuo an en ngam ta naw leiin, hmel hriet ngai lo rama inpem hmang chauh naw chuh chan an nei ngai nawh. Chuong ang mi chu ngirhmun poimaw chel dinga HSA-in fiel nuomna lungril a zuk nei el hi ieng trong khomin hril hlip le hril nam thei a ni ka ring nawh. Pathien luok suok hnamhai nungchang a nih. Platinum Jubilee-a ei inpawi kha a huntawk; bel sa a ngaiin ka hriet nawh.

“Ka mimal thilah, hieng ang mihai le dawkan khat kila inthrung hi ka nuom naw a, HSA inzaumna leh khom thil inhme lo tak a ni a, chu chu ei hnam inzaumna kengkaw tum po po hmu dan khom a ni ka ring bok. Zingah nisa suok ta lo ding chu ni sien thukhat, a suok nawk ngei ding a ni si leiin ei thilthaw tinrengah fimkhur ei tiu” tiin.

Ni vangduoi
Vangnei thlak takin ka thu hril hun ding kha January 28 zan an ruot a, a tuka Lifetime Achievement Award an mi pek hnunga lawmthu hrilna (acceptance speech) angin ka chanpuol chu ka hlen a, ka fihlim tah a nih. A tuk January 29-a Governor P.B. Acharya-in chawimawina a’n hlan khan ka tlungna inah hadam takin ruol thra threnkhat leh kan titi mel mel a, khawvel dang kan hriet fuk nawh. Governor chuongna helicopter hung trum le vuong suok ri naw chuh mi chokbuoitu dang an um nawh.

Hmar Inpui President-in ama bengvar thuin chawimawina thuchei an mi pek kha a lo dong sawng a, thangsuopuon leh ka tlungna inah an hung inthaktir a. Chawimawinaa an thu ziek khah ka zuk tiem leh sut suol a tam leiin le a mi petuhai khan hming an ziek (sign) naw bakah HSA suoi an nam naw bok leiin, a hung thaktuhai kha ka pekkir a, kut ruokin Delhi tieng ka kir a nih.

Zoram khawvela pawl hrang hrang ditsakna le chawimawina hi Pathien lunginsietna zarin ka in banga tar seng lo ka dong tah a. Hi chawimawina ruok hi chuh hnam pum huop pawl hrang hrang ei neihaia inthoka ka dong voi khatna a ni leiin ka ngaihlu bik a, vangnei khom ka’n ti hle. Mani kut ngeia dong remchang lo ngirhmuna an mi sie ruok chu poi ka tih. Sienkhom, hi thila hin ka chieng: Thudik hi a tran ngam tlawmin tam inla, a tawpa chuh a dingchang tho tho hlak.

Kha ni khah thutak chauh luong suokna vanin iengtin am a ngai ding ti ka hriet naw lai zingin, thim le var thlier thei chin histawrianhai chun Hmar histawri, HSA histawri le Muolhoi histawri-a ni inthim, inzakum, hnam indikna le inzaumna muolpho taka khawlaia a tlukna ni-ah ngai mei an tih. Joba bau suokin tlip sien lem chuh, hieng hin a ti ngei ka ring bok (3:4-7):
Chu ni chu thimah inchang sien,
Chung Pathien khomin hre fu naw sien,
Thimin bawm khum tlat raw se.
Thim le thina hlimin hauh sien,
Sûmin bawm khum tlat sien la,
Sŭn thim chun sukthlabâr raw se.
Chu ni chu thim sain tuom sien la,
Chu kuma nihai lai thrang naw sien,
A thlà khom tiem sa ni naw raw se.
Chu ni chu ching song sien la,
Hlimna ri hrim hre ta naw raw se.

Muolhoi le HSA
Muolhoi le HSA inzomna hi inril hle sien khom, ka nuna mel lung inchik tlaka ka rikawt hmasakna tak chu HSA General Assembly Voi 43-na trumtriek zo, February 15-16, 1988 sunga Haflong Guest House-a Dr. Rochunga Pudaite (RP) le HSA LEADERS RETREAT kan neipui kha a nih. Kha hma khan ram le hnam kalchawi dan ding ngaituoin Hmar Inkhawmpui le Hmar Biel Seminar chen an lo nei ta a, sienkhom a taka ra suok a tam nawh. Ram le hnam ngirhmun thlir letna le hma tienga kalchawi dan ding hril tlangna nei hi thil poimaw a ni leiin RP-in sum tam tak sengin hi Retreat hi a buotsai a nih. Thruoituah RP le kei an mi hmang a. Hi truma RP zawna siem, “Khawvela mihriem ta dinga poimaw tak iem a na?” ti donna point 14 laia ama donna chu “Iengkim siemtu le iengkim chunga thuneitu Paa nei tluka hamthratna insang lem a um nawh” ti a nih. Chu chu a testimawni, a nun darthlalang a nih.

Hun insersuon hninaah RP chun mani trong, HMAR trong, Pathienin a hran lieu lieua a pek mawizie, inthukzie, a ngainat tawp thei nawzie, a hmangtuhaiin an ngaina phot chun a thi naw dingzie le chu trong chu hmanga Hmar University chen khom indin thei a la hung ni dingzie, a duthu le suongtuona hnè takin a hril a, a ngaithlatuhai zer a sukfar hiel a nih. Ama ngeiin chuong a duthusamhai chu sukpuitling thei a nizie hieng hin an zawt zui a: Ei tum suksâng ei tiu; duthu sâm hlak ei tiu. Silai hmet puok loin râl ei kăp thei ti ka hriet tlat. Thil thra inhnar nachâng hrieng ei tiu. Thil thra chang dingin thokrim ei tiu. Chuong naw chun ei Pa Pathien khomin ‘Thabohai’ tiin mi lawm naw nih.
Hi truma ka chanpuol thupui chu HMARHAI HARSATNA LE THRANGMAWBAWK, A SAN LE A DAMDAWIHAI ti a na, chu chu thupui thlung li- Pawlitiks, Ekawnawmiks, Kalchar le Sakhuo - sirsana chai dinga riruong a ni a, sienkhom hun indai naw leiin pawlitiks tienga Hmarhai ngirhmun chauh hril tlangna nei hman a nih.

Hi Fienrielnaa kan thu chaihai le a bebawmhai, phek sawmnga zeta sei ripawt kan buotsai chu ‘LUNGKHAM BANGNA’ ti hming chawiin RP-in USA-a inthokin kawpi iemani zat a hung siem a. A bu hming khom hi RP phuok a nih. A sung thu tiemtuhai chun Hmar hnam ngirhmun le a hmathlir ding chik taka bǐna lekha suok hmasa tak niin an ngai. Hi trum hin Circuit House bathlara thrungin hla chang li, ‘Ngaiban-Haflong’ ti ka phuok a, chu chu ‘Lungkham Bangna’ bu phek tawpah a chuong. Kum 1990-a Bermudaa fienrielna kan hmang trum chen khom khan kan la sak tlang hlak a nih.

Mani mihai lai 
Tuta trum khom RP le kan tlungna Circuit House-a bok tlung dinga inruot kha ka ni a. Sienkhom, Governor hung ding leiin booking kan thaw sa kha an kansel vong a, a vangnei thlak khop el. A san pahni chauh zuk hril lang. Pakhatna, RP-in muol a mi liemsan hnunga kum 1988-a kan sulhnung sui ding chu ka huphur lawk khop el a, sienkhom kan booking an kansel lei khan ka pumpel tah a nih. Pahnina, Haflong-a inkhawmpuia ka fe zata Circuit House-a tlung hlak ka ni leiin mani mi le sahai le zalen taka inpawl khawmna hun remchang a tlawm a. Tuta trum ruok chu David Buhril remruot zuiin pa keng rawn Roger inah Shillong-a inthoka hung Lalremlien Neitham, Aizawl-a inthoka hung Jerry le Manipura inthoka hung David Buhril hai leh kan tlung khawm a. Fak le dawnah kan hnienghnar bakah meng sung po chu thu le hla le innui ruoipui kan thre zing hi a ni ringot el. Imu ruok chun zing dar 4 vel hma chun hmun a chang ve nawh.

Boruok thienghlim le thlum ngawi ngawi hip zing kan ni bok leh, Delhi tlanga boruok balin a hnaw buoi chuop inhnop khom innui ruolin a hung inthawl hok hok a, hipthawl (inhaler) ka chawi khom voi khat khom hmang ngai loin a suti veng veng el a nih. An boruok hip man tozie hi an ngaituo hlak di’m maw!

Hmar hla phuoktu Vai
Muolhoia hin pa dangdai tak el, a hming Shetia, Varte Vai pakhat, khawtlang ta dinga ban poimaw le somdawltu kut hrât a um a. Ama hi Hmar tronga hla phuok thiem Vai ka hmu hmasakna tak a nih. Hla nal tak tak pariet lai zet a phuok ta a, chuonghai chu album puitlingin a siem mek a. Hla sak thiem deu el Mortimer Zote a ruoi a, kum 1964-a ka hla phuok ‘Sakhming khawvel’ (Hril a hai dawn kir changin) a sak lem chu a namei naw a, ka phuokna thlarau chok tho khopa sak chu ama chauh hi a la nih. Ka hla phuok thlang khawm album-a siem dinga lungrila ka huol lawk a nih.

Hla zuk hril taka chun, cultural prokram-a Tuolpui Cultural Troupe sak le an lam khan lung a kuoi tlat chu tie! An hla thluk kha a mawi dangdai a, sienkhom a muong taluo a. Chu zai zuia an lam khan imu a suksuok bok a. A hla thluk kha sukdanglam der loin a vuok (beat) sukrang inla, chu ruol chun a lam kha her danglam bok inla, cultural item ropui tak a hung ni thei ka ring. 2015 Delhi Sikpui Kut hmang truma ‘Thiem ang sir ta rong’ ti hla hmel thar puta an intuoi thar anga thaw ding a nih. Ei hnam lam dang dang le hlahai khom hi a zepui inhmang si loa tuoi thar ngai vong a nih.

Sizo ka hawn
Sizo hawn treuh ding ka ti kha, a mi pe dinga inhrilhai khan an indande seng ni ding a na, a mi hung pe an um si naw leiin fe malama bazaar inchawk tumin kan dap ngiel a, sienkhom kan hmu zo nawh. Kan suok tawmin fam tah Lalvuon naunu Lalropui (Ropui Hmar) ka hmu a, sizo kan hmu zo naw thu ka hril leh, “Haflong lai sizo a tam leiin bazarah an zor ngai nawh” a ta, chu chun ka hriet thiem chauh a nih. Eskimohai laia inchawk ding vur zortu zong ang deuh a lo nih. Kei chun, “Chuong an leh, a sizo hawn loin Haflong sizo hauzie chauh hawn el ka tih” ka ta.

Hieng khopa thil inhnik sizo hi eini rawi naw chu fak nachang hrie ram dang mi ka la tong nawh. Kum 1988-a Myanmar le Thailand inramrina ‘No Man’s Land’ a helpawl hrang hrang intomna hmuna ka’n zin trumin chulah sizo buk thra tak tak a tam khop el a. Ka nêp zo uoi naw leiin kau khat chu ka thliek a, Bangkok-ah ka phur tlung a, Five Star hotel-a ka lutpui chu an mi hmu nuom kher el. A hna ka triet a, a tukah Rangoon tieng ka phur a, thla iemani zat a mi dai a nih.

Tuta ka sizo zong khom hi Philippines-a um ka naupa David le a nuhmei Gospel-in an mi’n cha leia thon dinga ka phur tum a nih. Guwahati ka tlung zing, Pathienni tûkah Ropuithang le a nuhmei Lalthienghlim thruoiin bazaar-ah kan va zong a, Kuki nupui pakhatin a lo zor hlauh a, chu chu ka hawn thlak a. Lifetime Achievement Award hawn thla naw lang khom, hlawtling ka’n ti tah tho tho. Hmarhai sizo du dan lawm lawm hi!
(February 5, 2016, Delhi)

THANGSUO CHAWIMAWINA

* Speech delivered by L. Keivom at the 55th HSA General Assembly (27-29 January, 2016) at Muolhoi on the occasion of his acceptance of HSA Lifetime Achievement Award 2016.


~ By L. Keivom

Trust yourself. Create the kind of self you will
be happy to live with all your life. Make the most
of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of
possibility into flames of achievement.
- Golda Meir (1898-1978)

Hmar Students’ Association General Conference voi 55-naa Damlai Thangsuo chawimawina tonlairang in mi’n hlan hi ka lawm takzet cheu. Ieng lai khoma ka hma khala hnuoi tienga inthoka mi domtu Pathien lunginsietna zar chauha hi ditsakna hi ka dong a nih ti ka hriet chieng a, ka lawmna bul tak chu Lalpaah a nih. A kuomah ropuina le chawimawina ka’n hlan.

HSA le Kei
HSA leh hin kum inruolin kan pieng a, ka neka thla thuma naupang a nih. Tu chena lungruol taka intlon theia ka la um hi vangnei chungchuongah kan ngai. Hnam le khawtlang thilthawnaa tu chena ka thrang rawnna tak khom HSA thilthaw le inzom a nih. Ei hnam ro hlu tam tak, abikin ei tlangkhuo thu le hlahai sakhaw hminga inchimpiltir ei tumnaa inthoka sansuok tuma nasa taka thrang ei lak trăng trângnaa hmangruo poimaw le kut trangkai ni hlak chu HSA a ni rop. Hnam ban ringum a nih.

Ka hringnuna suoi ka nam detna tak laia mi khom HSA a nih. Entirna pahni chauh hang hril ka tih.

Pakhatna, HSA emblem le puonzar duong dinga an mi dande angin, thiemthainu inthuomna dongin, a ruongam ka duong suok a. Chu lim chu Nk Lalringin (a hnunga Rev. Hrilrokhum Thriek nuhmei tahin) puon hlap rong hringah mawi takin a hung thruichei a, HSA puonzarin 1962-a inthok khan ei hmang ta pei a nih. ‘Sinin, Hrilin, Sanin, Thruoiin-Serve The Nation’ ti motto-a ei nei dam; Hmar Arasi (Pole Star) ni si, kil ruk nei, Davida Arasi/Phaw, Solomon Suoi (Seal), Bethlehem Arasi, Israel hnam puonzar lailung hluotu arasi, Krista zara Israel thar ei nizie inentirna arasi lim ei hmang dam hi ka kut tlawm tak Pathienin malsawma a hmangna niin ka ngai a, vangnei ka’n ti em em. Hi chanchin hi 2008 khan artikul ka ziek tah nghe nghe. HSA Emblem tluka thra le mawi le inril hi emblem dang hmu ding a vang.

Pahnina, HSA (Delhi Joint Headquarters) chun 1983-a inthok khan kar tin suok chanchinbu DELHI THURAWN kan insuo tran a, tuhin kum 33 a fe lai mek a na, Zoram khawvela kar tin suok chanchinbu dam sawt tak a nih. DT-a ding ringot hin artikul za tam, a bu-in sut inla bu 50 chuong ni tah hiel ding, ka ziek ta a, chu ding chun kar tin zan khat khawvara artikul pakhat bek ka ziek a ngai. DT hi ei khawvela ei thu le hla hnarpui pakhat a ni leiin hlutin ka ngaipoimaw a, Pathien zara ka thaw thei sung phot chuh sawl le rimsik dawn loin, hi rongbawlna sin ropui hi sunzom pei ka tum a nih. DT sukhring le sukhrat hi ei thu le hla sukhmasawnna dinga a chabipui pakhat a nih.

Thangsuo chawimawina?
HSA ditsakna mi’n hlan ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ ti hih eini trongin inlet ding ni tah inla, iengtin am ei inlet tawl ding aw? Ka dam sunga ka thil hlen amanih hlawtlingna ka donghai leia lawmpuina a ni tak ka ring a, sienkhom chu chu a sei det duot bok si. Pipu trongkam hmangin, ‘Dam lai thangsuo chawimawina’ ti inla, a fûk el di’m? Chu chu lo ni tah sien, ei khawvel pal laia thangsuonaa ei ngai chu ieng am ni tang a ta? Tum hlen ringot hi thangsuonaa ngai thei a ni ding? Ka tum hlenin, ngirhmun insangah invor tungin, hnienghnar takin mani ringot inhâi buk thŭr thûr lang, thangsuoa ngai ka ni ding? Thiemna tieng phak insang hlein, degree hrang hrang a zênga inkuolin intung lang, ka thiemna chu utrok tur vonin, tu khom trangkaipui thei dingin pe suok si naw lang, thangsuo ka ni thei ding?

Pipu huna ram tieng le in tienga thangsuohai kha ei en chun, mi tlawmngai thei, huoisen, taima, hlawtling le tum hlen, an sa kap amanih bu thlo suok in-ei le inchong a, ruoipui siema a khawnawta hrai hlak mi, sa huoi le râl laka khuo vengtu le humtu, mi baivaihai somdawltu le khawtlang ta dinga mi trangkai an nih. Lekha thiem insang ringot amanih, sin poimaw le ngirhmun insang hluo amanih, neinung amanih, khawtlang le ram le hnam ta dinga sor trangkai si lo chuh pipu inkhinaa chun thangsuoa tiem thei a ni nawh. Inthlangah voi tam tling lang, mipui rong bawl loin, an chan aia fa zotu ni lang, thamna tinreng hmanga inthlanga ka tling le ngirhmun poimaw ka chel khan thangsuo ngirhmunah a mi hlangkai chuong nawh. Rukru neinung chauh ning ka tih.

Ka phu am phu naw?
Chu ngirhmuna inthoka inkhi chun Lifetime Achievement Award hi dong tlak ka ni? Dong tlaka mi ngaituhaiin an mi ngaina chu ka phu zo am? Chu zawna chu, a trangkaipui ei um takduoiin, keima tienga inthoka ka nun ngeia ni tina ka lo don dan inzawt ka tum a nih.

Ngaituona pangngai put tu khomin ni nuom le ni tum ei nei seng. Chu chu hnot dingin inhnikna, tumruna le teirei peina ei nei am? Lo nei khom ni hrim inla, Pathienin theina le zie bik, chemkalna zawng seng neia a mi siem dan ni dinga ei ring le hriet dan leh an inmil am? Naupang lungmawl chun hriet ngaina a la um naw leiin a lampui hraw ding kawkhmutu ding nu le pa a poimaw. Naupang inhnikna zawng le talen neina zawng hriet tum a, chuong tienga sukphur le thruoi a ngai. Chu chu hre a, chu lampui hrawtu chu mi hamthra, mani tawka mi hlawtling an ni rop hlak. Naupang inhnik nawna zawng le theina a tlaksamna tienga thruoi ei tum ruok chun a lungril a hel a, a’n hnikna a bo nuom. Chu chu Thuvar 22:6 a “Naupang chu lampui indik inchuktir la, a upat hnung khomin petsan ngai naw nih” ti leh an inzom tlat a nih. Hi chen hi a thuhma, a khulang khangna dinga ka zuk hril a nih.

Ka tonhriet
Hi taka inthok hin tlanbahrikin ka nuna thil tlung le a bebawm tlangpui chauh, a trangkaipui ei um takduoiin, phor lang ka tum a nih. Unau 13, pasal 7 le nuhmei 6 laia a naupang tak, thla thum ka ni laia ka pa thisan, Pherzawla pieng le lekha inchuk, Pawlkuo ka thaw kuma motor hmu phak chauh, Matric voi hni tlol, rêl lu hmu loa B.A tling, MA inchuk dinga ka fe truma rêl hmu trawk, ka nih. Ka trobul hril hi Tirko Paula trobul hril leh chu a kar a hla vai vai khop el. Sienkhom, ka’n zapui nawh. Ka vangneizie thu a nih hril ka tum.

Inhnikna zawng bawzui
Naupang chite ka nia inthoka ka’n hnikna pakhat chu thu le hla a nih. Hla an mi hril hi a thluk ka thiem ruolin a thu baihat ka tum ngei ngei a, chu chu ka thaw hma chun chang dang ka kansan ngai nawh. Ka baihat zoin a thu umzie le an trongkam hmang ka hriet thiem nawhai chu a hrehai ka’n don a, a trul chun ka ziek thlak hlak. Tienami le tienlai chanchin hrie upahai bulah inthrungin thil ka’n don a, ka ziek thlak a, hla thu un tak tak, a umzie an mi hril thei naw hai khom ka baihat ngat ngat hlak. Hi thil hi Sande Sikul-a khom ka sunzom pei a, chang hau tak ka ni naw khoma a hau tak dottu niin, kum tin chang 1000-1300 inkar ka nei hlak.

Innghatna bulthrut rem
Hieng thil ka thaw lai hin, a hnung peia siema ka um san rongbawlna ka phur suok theina dinga Pathienin a mi lo buotsaina a nih ti ka hriet nawh. Dam tê tea ka hung hriet suok tran hun chu, Saptrong hmangin zuk hril inla, basic training course ka zo hnung, ka thil inchukhai a taka ka hmang trana inthok niin ka hriet. Eini tronga hril chun, hringnun zirtirbu ka suo hnung, tiem dan le ziek dan ka hung hriet le hmang trana inthok a nih ti thei ei tih. Dam sung hun hi a tawi em a, mi tam lem hi hringnun zirtirbu suo chu hril lo, A AW B khom zo hman loa muol liem ei ni el thei. Thil mak a ni nawh.

Chu chu zuk hril fie met thrain ka hriet. Mi threnkhat chun awi harsa an ti el thei, lekha ka’n chuk tran tak tak hun chu Indian Foreign Service ka zom hnung, abikin fawren-a ka um hnung, sikul thraa ka nauhai an hung kai ve hnung a nih. An lekhabuhai chu anniin an inchuk hmain ka tiem hlak a, sikul le kawlez kan kai laia kan inchuk ve lo, hrietna bulthrut remna dinga makmaw, a lo tam khop el a. Chu chun ka kawrongzie le baksamzie a mi hril a, All India Competitive Exam-a ka lo tling el dam khah mak ka ti thar a. Ka nauhai zai ka zawm phak ve tum si chun an thil inchuk chu hre ve a, ka kawrongna hruk bit a ngai. Chuleiin, fawren-a kum 21 a zawna kan thang sung khan dannaranin thla tin lekhabu puitling bu nga bek ka tiem hlak a nih.

A sei taluo ding a ni leiin, ei thu hi sawr chin pei inla. Ka’n hnikna tak chu thu le hla rama cheng le inhnel a nih. Chu chu ka thaw theina ding chun fak le dawna intodel a, kei le ka sungkuo enkol thei ngirhmuna ka um a ngai. Chu lei chun ni ka tum ngai lo, ka thil inhnikna zawng khom ni lo, sorkar sina ka’n tal lut a ngai a. Ka sin dit tak chu thu le hla tienga intat ngei le inhmang pei theina service a na, chu service um suna ka ngai chu Foreign Service a nih. High School-a zirtirtu le headmaster, college lecturer le Indian Revenue Service (IRS) sina iemani chen ka’n bur hnungin 1970 khan IAS hnawlin IFS ka zom a. Kum 2002-a ka penson chen khan Pathien lunginsietna zarin lekhabu sawmhni chuong, tienami sei le tawi 12 vel, hla 150 chuong, thusep le artikul a zaa tiem ziekin ka sut hman a nih.

Thangsuona: Baibul inlet & sut
Chu chu a aitecheuna ang chauh a la nih. Ka penson hma kum iemani vela inthok khan naupangte ka ni laia inthoka Pathienin ka hriet naw lai khoma ka hma khala hnuoi tienga inthoka a mi dom san le malsawmna tiem seng lo a mi vur san chu keimaah a chieng deu deu a. Chu chu Baibul inlet le sut dinga a mi lo ser tungzie a nih. Thil dang tam tak, ka penson phaa thaw dinga ka lo hisaphai chu ka hmaah a’n tieng khup a. Zo hnathlakhai dam khawsuokna ding le insuikhawmna inpui ding ‘Zoram khawvel’ ruongam le phurrik a mi pek chu a biel a zauin thaw ding a tam em em. Ei histawri fumfe lema suidon a, ei pi le puhai sulhnung ram fang thei dingin Kawl ramah sorkhar hmangin a mi sie a, bawzui ding an hnawk hner hnur a. Ka lekhaziek tam tak, a bua siem ding le lekhabu ka lo sut tah sa, ennona sut nawk ngaihai chu a dorzonin a’n tieng bok a.

Chuong chu a ni lai zingin, Baibul ram po po deuthawah sorkar thahrui hmanga inzin a, Baibul ram ka fangna thu lekhabu ‘Thuthlung Ram’ chen ka lo ziek khah, Baibul inlet sin thaw dinga Pathienin a mi lo buotsaina a nizie ka hung chieng tuol tuol a. Chu mawphurnaa inthok chun tlan hmang tum ni lang, Jona ngirhmun kha ka pel ka ring nawh. Sienkhom, kohrana rongbawltu, thlarau mi le rawn tlak deua ka ngaihai photin ka dam sunga ka zo hman an ring naw thu dam, a thawtu ding Baibul inchuk tah mi thiem an tamzie thu dam, lekha zieka inhmang lem ding damin an mi’n fui a; mi hril phur nek hmanin Mosien Kanan ram en thlithlai dinga mi 12 a tir laia ringduop10 hai ang vong kha an nih.

Hieng ang ngirhmun hi mihriemin ei pal pha leh sungril naa mi betu rawl hi ringduophai rawlin a hlan nuom khop el. Mi kotu le mi sertu băn, tawpintai nei loa sei le hrat tieng en loa, mi dangtu Tuipui Sen incham puou chauh hmutu ta ding chun hringnun kalchawinaa hin tum hlen loa tlansietna ding a tam. Sienkhom ringhlăna rawl an ring po leh Lalpan ka tumrŭna le hratna a sukpung a, ka phûr zuol sauh lem a. A mi kosan chu kum 2002-a ka penson charin ka bitum nghal a, ni tin darkar 12-16 inkar sin ka thaw a, minit tin hmang hlawk ka tum a, minit tin hlawtlingnain a mi hmuok el a nih. Kum 2004 khan Thuthlung Thar, Sam & Thuvar inkop, 2007 khan Baibul pumpui, 2015 khan Sut hnina (Revised Second Edition) chu a hung suok tah pei a nih. Hi hi Pathien lunginsietna zara thang ka suona ni veng a ti?

Kong khat zawnga en chun, “Ni e” ti thei a nih. Kong danga thlir ruok chun, Baibul inlet hi tawpintai nei thei lo thil a ni leiin, thangsuo zo a um thei nawh. Delhi Version-a hin thumal nuoi 8 le sing 7 vel a um a, a thar hlaka inlet a ni leiin mal tin le comma tin hi buon a ngai a, thil hautak, mihriem theina le taimakna pangngai ringota thaw ruol a ni nawh. Pathien thutak, inlet indik loa ngai tam tak siem thrat a ni bakah Hmar trong hmang dan thua baksamna, tritrona le grammar indik lo le sentence kim lohai chu indik lema hriet dana thlak vong a ni tah. Pathien thutak le Hmar trong humhalna le sukhmasawnna hmangruo ni dinga thrangtharhai hmang dinga duong a nih. Hi Version hi Hmar trong awphawi le zierang puta duong a ni leiin Hmar trong a par suok a, a hningzu tlantu ding ruoltharhai hi an vangneiin inhnar an um takzet a nih. Ka naupang lai khan lo nei hman ni inla chuh, a let tamin thu le hlaah hma ka sawn ka ring. Hi buzawla hin hnam humhalna chabipui khom a um.

Delhi Version dangdaina le chungchuongna chuh, Sam-a No. 117 ti chauh naw chuh, hla tina tlar um zat hi inang vonga sie a ni a, chuong ang chu khawvelah tu khom a nei dang an um ti hriet a ni nawh. Chu chu Pathien thilthaw a nih. Baibul inlet sin thaw dinga kum sawmruk chuong hiel mi sertuin theina a mi pek po po luong khawmna a ni leiin, chîk taka bituhai chun trong hmasawna inlethai nekin a nep bik nawzie hmung an tih; a thra lem hman hman niin kei chun ka ngai. Chu chu hre thei ding chun, Version hrang hrang leh enkhi a, buk ton a ngai. Chuonga Delhi Version bituhai chun Baibul hi mitdel ruol sai hmu an hril angin hril ta naw ni hai. A neitu khom mi dang Pathien sawn tah bok naw ni hai. Bethlehem le Kalvari khom ei taptebulah an hung trum tah ti hmu bok an nih. Chu chu ei tronga Baibulin thang a suona ni ngei a tih.

(January 28, 2016, Muolhoi)

HMANGAINA RUOI (Kristmas Thucha)

~ L. Keivom

“Too many sit at the banquet table of the gospel of Jesus Christ

and merely nibble at the feast placed before them. They go through

the motions – attending their meetings perhaps, glancing at

scriptures, repeating familiar prayers – but their hearts

are far away.” ­ Joseph B. Wirthlin

    

Khawvela hin hnam tin le ram tinin ni pawimaw le ‘Kût’ pawimaw bik ei nei seng a, chuong nihai chu khùn taka inser le hmangin ei lawm hlak. Dannaranin, tu laia ropui taka ram tam lemin ni pawimaw ei inser chu ei ramin zalenna a hmuna champha (independence day) a nih. Chu zoa ei inser nawk chu sakhuo indintuhai le mi ropuihai piengcham a nih. Chuong laia danglam tak le hlu tak chu ‘Kristmas’ hi a nih.

    

Ni ropui ei inser le hmang le piengcham ei lawmhai lai hin khawvel mi po po huop zo pakhat char a um a, chu chu kristmas hi a nih. Piengcham nei mi dang hrim hrim chu mihriem vawng an nih. Kristmas neitu ruok chu zaa za Pathien le zaa za Mihriem ni kawp a nih. Edena bawsietna leia mihriem le Pathien inzawmna lo inchat tah chu mihriem tu khawm suizawm nawk thei an um nawh. Suizawm ding chun Pathien nina le mihriem nina nei kawp a ngai. Ieng leiin am?

    
Pathien chu ‘Hmangaina’ a ni lai zingin Felna, Indikna le Thienghlimna Pathien a nih. Ama angpuia siem mihriem chu ieng angin hmangai sien khawm, a thu awi loa a danhai bawsetu a ni chun a felna, indikna le thienghlimna kut tuor chu a pumpel thei nawh. Chun, Pathien chu Thlarau a ni leiin thlarau naw chun hnai le inzawmpui thei a ni nawh. Pathien Thienghlim a ni leiin mi pawrche chun hnai thei a ni bawk nawh. Mihriem thienghlimna lai tak khawm Pathien ngaia chuh puontiek tirdakum ang chauh a ni leiin, ieng anga mi fel inti khomin Pathien chu hnai ruol a ni nawh.

    

Hi lei tak hin, Iengkim LALPA, a thu thua thil inumtir theitu chun ama le mihriem inzawmna intan tah chu thil dang anga ‘Um raw se’ tia inumtir el thei a ni nawh. Thaw sien chu ama nina ngei kaltu ning a ta, Pathien ni thei naw nih. Chuleiin, Ama Pathien ngei chun mihriem taksa puta mihriema hung insiem a, Eden bawsietna leia thi dinga tawngsephur mihriem intlanna sin chu Naupa nina inbela a hung hlen a ngai tah a nih. Hi lei tak hin Hmangai Johan chun, “Lekhabu ziel chu sût a, a sung en thei vanah tu khawm an um naw a, hnuoi le hnuoi sunga khawm an um bawk nawh. Lekhabu ziel chu hawng a, a sung en thei tu khawm an um naw leiin ka tap ka tap a. Upa laia pakhat chun, ‘|ap naw rawh, ngai ta, Juda hnama sakeibaknei, Davida |obul khan inchikna suoi pasari chu honga, lekhabu ziel chu sût dingin a hnè tah” tiin a lo ziek a nih (TP 5: 3­5)

    

Hi remruotna mak tak el hi thlaraua lo hmu lawktu Zawlnei Isai chun, “A hming chu Remruottu Mak, Pathien Hrât, Chatuon Pa, Remna Lal” (9:6) tiin Isu pieng hma kum 700­ah tlang a lo insampui daih tah a nih. Hmangaina leia Chatuon Pathien remruot, Bethlehem tlanga chatuon hringna bei hung tum thu chu hrilin, Hmangai Johan khawmin, “Thu chu taksain a hung inchang a, eini lai a hung chèng a, a ropuizie khawm ei hmuh, lunginsietna le thutaka sip, Pa Naupa nei sun ropuina chu” (1:14) tiin a lo hril bawk a nih. Chu chu hmu chieng loa kristmas ruoipui tak tak chu thlaraua kil thei a ni nawh.

    

Bethlehem tlanga hmangaina ruoi ropui hung thettu chun agenda chieng tak el a nei a. Chu chu Bethlehemphùla riek beram vengtuhai kuoma hung inlang Lalpa vantirko le van zaipawlin an hung puong, mi tin huop zo chanchin tha lawmum bek bek kha a nih. Ieng leia berampuhai kuomah an hung puong hmasa tak kher am ning a ta? Ieng leia khaw thienghlim Jerusalemah pieng loa Bethlehema khawm bawng inah pieng a, ranthlengah a lu a hung innghat am ning a ta? Ieng leia vantirko le zaipawlin a pieng thu an hung puong am a na? Ieng leia ama chibai buka hung khawsak mivarhai thuoitu arasi kha Bethlehem chungah a chawl am a na?

    

Chatuon Pathien agenda a bat bata sukpuitling le hlena a hung um thlap thlap lei a nih. Hmangaina ruoi, Hringna Bei, Chatuon Manna chu Bethlehem, bei in (house of bread) a ngei the tanin a hung um a; mi po po suol ngaidamna ding Pathien Beramte le Berampu |ha le Beram Kotkhar ni fawm vong hung pieng thu chu hnuoi berampuhai kuomah puongin a hung um hmasa a nih. Van ropuina po po neitu SIKHAWVAR hung pieng chu chawimawi dingin van zaipawl chauh ni loin, arasi mak, Bethlehem Arasi a hung inlang a nih.

    

Vantirko le zaipawl rawl thangkhawk chu Pastor Thangngurin, ‘Bethlehem dar’ a lo ti bakah “Bethlehem le Kalvari tlang chungah suokna dâr an ri tah” tiin hla ropui takin a lo khek suok a. Chu dâr chu Adam bawsietna leia chatuon hremna tuor dinga thiem naw chang tah mi po po ta dinga ‘hmangaina dàr, suokna dâr, zalenna dâr, jubili dàr’ a nih.

     Aw, a ri a va mawi ngei!

     Kristmas darin lung a mi lèn,

     Bethlehem a mi’n hriettir;

     Mivarhai ruola fe dingin,

     Aw ka thla, insiem ve rawh.

     Van Lal zalna bawng in tlawmah,

     Sun khawsawt intawi ka nuom;

     Mi ngaiin hmun tlawm ni sien khawm..

Chu hmangaina dâr rimawi chu ei ramah kum za chuong zet a’n rikna a lo ni tah.  A ri hre sia thina hlim ruoma intâng zing mi ieng zat am ei la um a?  Chu suokna dar ri hrepuitu le pawmtuhai chu fe suok a, khawvel hnam tin kuomah remna chanchin tha puongdar dinga thu pek ei nih. Ei bau le ei nungchanga inthawkin ieng dâr ri am mi dangin an hriet hlak a?  Hmangaina ruoi am ei kilpui, an naw leh intheidana ruoi lem?

     

Kum 1993 September 28 chawhnung dar hnia Bethlehema Isu piengna hmuna an biek in Church of the Nativity ka fang nia ka thil hriet le ka lungril sukna em em tu chu neitu nina hauh le inchu seng Roman Catholic, Grik Orthodox Church le Armenian Church hai inngei nawzie le an intuolvuok hlak thu le kristmas khawm ni tum senga an hmang thu a nih. Roman Catholic haiin December 24 zan an inpiengtir a, Grik Orthodox haiin January 6­ah, Armenian haiin January 18­ah. Pathien Naupa khom ni sien, ni hrang hrang pathuma pieng ruol chu a thaw thei bik ka ring nawh.

    

Kristmas ruoi, Krista ruoi, hmangaina ruoi hi mani thlarau ngeia ei kîl hma chun khuong le dar leh lâmin, hlimhlopna tinreng leh kîl hlak inla khom Heroda ruoi pangzatum le lungsietum inchang zing a tih. Hmangaina ruoi thang si lo kristmas chun umzie a nei nawh; a ruoi neitu luok ei suksuok mei mei a nih.

     

Chu hmangaina ruoipui chu a tak taka thlarau le taksaa hlim taka kîl seng dingin tiemtuhai po po kristmas chibai vochuom ka bûk cheu.

     Isu, vawisun hin kan lungril bawng in tlawmah,

     Insieng thar nawk la kan chatuon Lal dingin;

     Kan kut inrieng hi Mari kut angin ngai la,

     Kumkhawtluonga lawmin hlim kumkhuo tang kan tih. 

ETHNIC CHURNING: CHIKUMI STYLE - Part Three: The Divide

A lecture given by Pu Lalthlamuong Keivom, IFS (Retd.) during the 10th Arambam Somorendra Memorial Lecture at Imphal on 10th June 2015

From here, let me now turn to Manipur. The State is populated by groups of the Mongloid race who, for the sake of convenience, can loosely be classified as Meiteis, Nagas and Chin-Kuki- Mizo tribes (non-Naga tribes) with the valley Meiteis forming the majority (around 59 percent of the total population) but sequestered barely in 10 per cent of the total area of the land. The census returns of 2011 showed a population of 25,70,390 as compared to 2,84,465 in 1901 of whom 1,80,960 were inhabitants of the valley and 1,03,505 hill tribesmen.10Until the introduction of a fanciful tradition in their history that caused an unbridgeable divide with ripple effects, all the groups commonly held that they originated from the east which was unmistakably matched by their physical, cultural and linguistic features.

The burden of the rest of my speech falls on this DIVIDE. I have no intention of going into the merits or demerits of the case. That will produce only endless futile debates. My main interest is to find out any feasible and implementable measure to bridge the fissures.

The biggest gulf I feel is THE VALLEY-HILL DIVIDE. This may look very elementary to some but it is not. The valley, inhabited by the Meiteis, had chosen not only to embrace Vaishnavism but also the mythical claim of being of Hindu descent and snapped off of their ethnic ties with the tribes surrounding them. They are to me the first lost tribe in Manipur followed some 200 years later by some members of the Chikumi tribes who embraced Judaism and migrated to Israel claiming they were one of the lost tribes of Israel! I visited them in their new-found homes in Gaza and Jerusalem in 1993, all now bearing Semitic names. These converts now have an identity crisis in relation to us as we can no longer recognize them by their assumed names and titles just like a Singh can be any Singh, a Sardar, a Punjabi, a Bihari, a man from UP.

Let us summon our courage to face bravely the tragedies the Divide has wrought on the lives of people sharing this small space we call Manipur. The Valley is as ignorant of the Hills as the Hills are unconcerned of the Valley. We have virtually no social contacts or any contact as such except through Government and economic dealings, which generally invite negative impressions. While people living in the hill regions with racial feature similar to people of Southeast Asia hold that their ancestors came from the East, people of the same feature living in the valley diametrically hold opposite view as if to prove Rudyard Kipling11 doubly right.

We have produced a good number of impressive and self-gratifying books to prove how old our civilization has been. We proudly claim, as in Wikepedia of May 9, 2015 that “The Kingdom of Manipur was one of the many hundreds of kingdoms in the South and Southeast Asia. The ancient kingdom of Manipur dates back to 50 B.C. which includes the whole part of Nagaland, some parts of Assam and Mizoram. However, there is no data about the early history of Manipur, apart from legendary chronicles claiming that NingthouKangba, the first King of Manipur ruled from Kangla at Imphal in 33 AD. He is also known as MeidinguNongdaaLairenPaakhangba.”12How could we produce such long history without any reliable data? Were the so-called accounts on which we base our claims like what Julian Barnes(A History of the World in 10½ Chapters, 1989) or Robert Scholes (The Fabulators, 1967) called “fabulations”? We need more realistic history books that the valley and the hills can share as the two communities have been existing together and not vice versa for centuries. No matter how much one dresses up our history with deceptive articulations, parallel history with conflicting accounts is always divisive and explosive.

Does Manipur, in both the geo-political and cultural-linguistic sense, stand only for people living in the valley alone? A routine reply by a person from outside the valley to the following queries will invariably elicit the same reply: Are you from Manipur? Yes. Are you a Manipuri? No. Are you a Meitei? No. Then who are you? If I have to answer these questions, my reply is: I am Keivom from Pherzawl, Churachandpur District, Manipur, a Mizo-Hmar by tribe, Indian by citizenship, follower of Christian faith with a Protestant background, a diplomat by profession, thinker, writer, critic, poet, music composer, essayist, historian, linguist, translator, publisher, environmentalist, wildlife preservationist, secularist, a democrat, a nationalist and internationalist, Zo integrationist, non-vegetarian, whisky drinker, a pensioner, book and music lover and many other things. Like everybody, I have multiple identities. But can I call myself a Manipuri or a Meitei? I look forward to a day when we can all share a common name irrespective of our belief and faith, for we are historically and ethnically the same people. It is the inhabitants who turn a country into hell or paradise. We have the power to right the wrongs and vice versa. The valley-hill divide has to be bridged if we have to be effective in our dealings with others and within ourselves. To build up mutual respect and understanding, we need to have multi-layered forums like friendship associations at different levels, organize cultural and sports meets, exchange visits, excursions and guided tours particularly at school and college levels, seminars and workshops on matters and issues of mutual interest and benefit. Mutual appreciation of our respective values and worth can come only after we lift our tainted or tinted veils that have blurred our visions for long. Guns, bandhs and counter-bandhs will not solve our problems. The much touted Look/Act East Policy of New Delhi can only be successfully implemented if the various ethnic groups sitting across the borders organize themselves and extend a helping hand instead of each one raising conflicting voices and imposing endless bandhs.

While people in the valley have done well in Law, Medicine, Engineering, Sports and Dance, which have earned them admiration at the international, national and regional levels, there are areas where the hill people are far ahead of them especially in the services. Perhaps more than 80 percent of officers such as IFS, IAS, IPS and other Central Services from Manipur State are from the hills of which Churachandpur District alone has contributed more than 50 percent. Today, you will find them in every Ministry in Delhi, including the President’s Office and Parliament Secretariat. Most of the Chief Secretaries of Manipur including the present one are from the Chikumi group and mainland India. All the retired and serving Indian Ambassadors and High Commissioners from Manipur are the hill people. The first direct IAS from the Scheduled Tribes in India was Mr. J.C. Nampui (1955 batch) from the Hmar tribe. The first direct recruit IAS from Manipur was Mr. Kaikhokam Kipgen (1965 batch) and the first IRS (Customs & Excise) Officer Mr. Vumkhothang Hangzo (1958 batch) was from the Paite community. There are many retired and serving officers from Manipur who hold the position of being the first from Manipur. Because of the valley-hill divide, I wonder whether the majority know or acknowledge these facts, not to speak of keeping proper records, at least for the sake of general knowledge of our students about their State!

The Chikumi group with its diversities and internal conflicts has one thing in common, namely a desire to keep a close-knit community within their respective tribes so as to preserve and maintain their identity, culture and language. They organize themselves into associations, support each other in times of challenges and difficulties and zealously nurture ethnic cohesion within themselves.Delhi has a sizeable Chikumi population, each group running vibrant Welfare Associations and Fellowship Services, the backbone of their unity.This is also the pattern in major cities in India, too, where they spread over and also even in USA and Canada where the diaspora Chikumis claim to have more than 30,000 refugee-immigrants apart from those in Yangon, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Israel has more than 3,000 Chikumi immigrants who call themselves B’nei Israel and speak Mizo along with Hebrew. Immigrants from Myanmar use Burmese along with their respective dialects and Mizo as link languages.

I have been living in Delhi since 1970 with one long interval and it has become my registered home after Pherzawl and Churachandpur. We live in East Delhi and my wife and I have become Delhiites. I have been Chairman of Unau Forum (Zo-ethnic Forum) representing all the Chikumi tribes from the Northeast since the year 2005. We have a sizeable Meitei population in Delhi, especially in and around our area but they do not seem to have organized associations except the Manipur Students’ Association Delhi (MSAD) to facilitate interaction at least within themselves as other communities do with great vigor. Every State from the Northeast have their respective Bhavans and each Bhavan reflects the State it represents and people living and visiting Delhi consider their respective Bhavans as their own and place of refuge. But Manipur Bhavan in Delhi or in major Indian cities does not seem to carry the unique image of other Northeast Bhavans. This has been the general impression people have and I wish that it is not true. It is high time to study the factors that have created negative impressions and remove the viruses.

I trust and pray that the Arambam Somorendra Memorial Lectures will play a big role in removing hurdles in the path of understanding between our communities, bridging up the valley-hill divide and taking us to a new path – a path of freedom, of peace, of self-sufficiency, of communal harmony, of cultural resurgence and to Rabindranath Tagore’s dreamland:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high,
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth,
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection,
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action.
Thank you one and all.


See: ETHNIC CHURNING: CHIKUMI STYLE - Part One: Introduction
See: ETHNIC CHURNING: CHIKUMI STYLE - Part Two: The Chikumi World

__________________________________________________________

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

ETHNIC CHURNING: CHIKUMI STYLE - Part Two: The Chikumi World

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

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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