When India and Pakistan gained independence from the British rule in 1947 and 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 up by three countries- a Buddhist country, a Muslim country and a Secular but Hindu dominated country. By then, two fledgling political parties namely Mizo Union and 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 vision and an agenda. The result was disillusionment that exploded in armed rebellion after twenty years. This was called the Mizo 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 and are always united in one thing: 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 ten years. The Mizo Union conference at Lakhipur on November 21, 1946 which was attended by many Zo representatives resolved unanimously that all Zo areas in Burma and India including Chittagong Hills Tract be amalgamated to form a Greater Zoram State. It is thus cleared that 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 the MNF was to declare Zo right of 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 from May 19-21, 1988 which was attended by representatives from all Zo inhabited areas.

The armed struggle for Zo independence lasted twenty years and peace returned 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' search 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 the absence of a dominant group who could weld the many Zo tribes into a single entity, the Chin State could never be able to play the role of a core state. It has been a state torn by tribalism with 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 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 hideout and the euphoria over the new status also 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 seep 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 community from within and outside Mizoram by the Mizo speaking community has caused ripple effects on the progress of Zo unification and put the process of integration in a reverse gear.

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 identity, admitted that when he was doing some research for his book on Mizo history the Maras also known 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…In this manner the Thado-Kukis of Manipur or the Paites also did. The Thado-Kukis, however, do not mind identifying themselves as Mizo…it is the Paites, in fact, who have distanced themselves from the Mizo identity”.

While Lalthangliana believed that the State of Mizoram would play a major role in shaping the theory of a greater Mizo identity, the post Statehood era has witnessed mushrooming of armed ethnic movements within the Zo community where almost every imaginable Zo tribe especially in Manipur has its own armed outfits who 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 turned the clock back, returned to the barbaric days of their headhunting forefathers, hunted each other and engaged themselves in frenzied self-annihilation. Mutual intolerance has increased which seriously hinders the progress of Zo unification.

Awareness of the danger of their position and the inevitability of their eventual demise unless they are united has greatly increased in recent years. How fast consideration for ethnic national survival will supplant petty tribalism from the Zo mind remains to be seen. There lies the fate and destiny of the Zo people. Like charity, the politics of survival always begins at home.

Note: December 17, 2005, Delhi * Anthony D. Smith, 'National Identity', Penguin, London, 1991 p.39    

(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)