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Mizoram : Demand for a new Union Territory |
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The district councils inhabited by Lai (Pawai), Mara (Lakher) and Chakma tribesmen have demanded a Union Territory encompassing 3,957 square km of Mizoram’s land.
The demand has been hotly contested by the majority Mizo tribesmen cutting across political affiliations and successive governments of the state have tried to ignore the district councils dominated by the tribal minorities.
During the past decade, the Mizoram government has been rewarded with peace bonus sanctioned by the Union Home Ministry for remaining free from insurgency and ethnic violence, but with tribal minorities restive over the union territory demand, peace may soon be shattered.
Leaders of the three tribal minorities have come on a single platform to fight for the union territory and central funding under the banner of U.T. Demand Committee.
Detailed memoranda had been submitted to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and a new set of memoranda is being prepared for incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union home minister Shivraj Patil.
As minorities in the state, we need sympathy from the majority and we will explore democratic means like petitioning before deciding on the course of our agitation, said H. Munhreh, chairman of the committee.
He said over the past five decades not a single infrastructure project has been undertaken by the Mizoram government in the areas covered by the district council.
The district councils are starved of funds and most of what they receive from the state government is spent in paying salaries and allowances to the employees and development work or creating infrastructure for education is beyond their means, said Munhreh.
The leaders of the three tribal minorities said after meeting the Prime Minister they would launch an agitation to protect their identity, culture, language and economic interests.
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