KARIMGANJ: An organization of Mizo communities living in two valleys in Assam’s Karimganj district on Tuesday told Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma that they want to be a part of Mizoram.
During a meeting, the Thangram Indigenous People’s Movement (TIPM) leaders told Lalduhoma that their communities, culture, and religion would be most secure and protected if their area was included inside Mizoram, a leader said on condition of anonymity.
The TIPM, which represents the Zo indigenous people of the Singla and Langkaih (Longai) valleys, urged Lalduhoma to take steps to ensure that their villages and inhabited areas are merged with Mizoram, the leader said. TIPM claims that over 30,000 people of various Zo ethnic tribes live in the Singla and Langkaih valleys, which cover over 180 square miles of area.
The Mizo communities of Singla Valley and Langkaih Valley have demanded a merger with Mizoram since 2020 and submitted memoranda in 2021 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressing their desire for the merger.
The area where the Mizos live in Assam is known as ‘Thangram’ (Western part), and it has around 24 villages. The TIPM leaders also claimed that the Thangram area has been occupied by the Mizo or Zo Indigenous tribes from time immemorial and was part of Mizoram before it attained statehood in 1987.
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