ZRO Memo, 1993 (Eng version)

MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED TO THE PRIME MINISTER
REPUBLIC OF INDIA
BY
THE ZOMI RE-UNIFICATION ORGANISATION (ZRO)

Subject: Re-unification of all Zomi of Burma and India into one Political unit.

Hon’ble Sir,

From time immemorial, we the Zomi inhabited a wide areas now fallen under India, Burma and Bangladesh, and the land they occupied was referred to as Zogam (Zo Country) vide, The Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India, 1835 by Capt. R.B.Pemberton; Mission to the Court of Ava, in 1855 by Sir Henry Yule; Descriptive Ethnology of Asia, Adrica and Europe Vol-I, 1859 by R.G.Latham. Zomi are the people, outsiders know as Chin (Chin is of course a misnomer). We administered our own affairs from generation to generation (see Historical Geography of the Burmese Countries at several Epochs, AD 1500, 1580, 1822, 1856 Plate XXVI of Mission to the Court of Ava in 1855 by Sir Henry Yule). We were never ruled by the Burmese nor the Indians. Even when the British came, the Frontier Areas were separately administered. The Manipuris (Meiteis) also never administered the hill tribes; the British Government administered these areas through the Political Agent.

In 1892 at the Chin-Lushai Conference held in Fort William, Calcutta the then authorities of British India Empire, decided to make a form of demarcation between Burma and India, which later became the international boundaries, dividing our land and our people.

When the British were about to leave India and Burma, the British Government issued a White Paper (White Paper on Policy in Burma) and a separate administration for Frontier Areas was envisaged. In February 1947 the Panglong Agreement was signed between the Burmese and the Frontier Indigenous people to speed up independence from the British, provided that a separate administration of the Frontier areas would continue; that the citizens of the Frontier Areas shall enjoy rights and privileges which are regarded as fundamental in democracy; and that equal treatment would be given to them in finance, education and culture. In March 1947 the British constituted a Frontier Areas Commission, which commission in its report affirmed the inalienable right of the Frontier Areas to secede from Burma AT ANY TIME. This vital clause was incorporated and re-affirmed in the Constitution of the Union of Burma, September-October, 1947, saying that after 10 years, the Frontier Areas would be free to secede ANY TIME.

What we now see is a betrayal of all these aspirations, oppression and exploitation in the hands of Burmese. The present military regime is the Burmese design to perpetuate oppression and exploitation. It is all a racial discrimination. Even if democracy returns in Burma, it would be only in name. A democracy with no safe-guard of the interests of the minorities is no democracy. The Zomi has no future in Burma. Those of us in India are a bit better off, but we have no autonomy, not yet.

We, the Zomi of Burma and India therefore, have decided and pledged ourselves to be free from the Burmese ONCE AND FOR ALL and re-unify all Zomi and all the inhabited areas into a Political Unit. To whom shall we turn now? In our estimate Indian Democracy is desirable, because minority interest is safeguarded. Besides, good portions of our people are already in India. Therefore, we are willing to be part and parcel of India IF India is willing to help us realise this objective. In fact our people in India have long cherished re-unification. Indeed, the Paite National Council (same people as Zomi) submitted a memorandum of Chin Re-unification to the then Prime Minister of India in 1960.

Mr. Prime Minister, Sir, this is within your power and capability. We look up to you. Will you not help us, so that we can also join you to say “JAI HIND”.

Yours faithfully,

(KHAIZASONG GUITE)
President,
Zomi Re-unification Organisation (ZRO)

(DANIEL THANG)
Vice President,
Zomi Re-unification Organisation (ZRO)

Dated: Ciimnuai
The 6th September,1993.

Copy endorsed to: The Hon’ble Home Minister of India.

(Source: True Copy | zogam.org)

ZORO Memo, 1993 (Eng version)

MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED TO PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON OF AMERICA BY LEADERS OF THE ZO RE-UNIFICATION ORGANISTION (ZORO) GENERAL HEADQUARTERS : MIZORAM, AIZAWL (INDIA)

This memorandum seeks to clarify and represent the case of all the Mizo/Zomi ethnic origin living now in India, Burma and Bangladesh for the rights to Re-unification under one Administrative unit in the spirit of the Chin-Lushai Conference 1892.

1. The chin-Lushais, popularly known as Mizo/Zomi or Zo for short, are a tribe of the Mongoloid hill men. The ancestral homeland of the Zo people was somewhere in the neighbourhood of South-Eastern Tibet and Western China. they speak a common language belonging to Assam-Burma branch of Tibeto-Burmese family having affinity with Filipino, Brunei, Malaysia, Thai, etc. both in the language and culture.

2. The forefathers of Mizos/Zomi hailed from place to place called SINLUNG between 300 BC to 200 BC and came to Chin-Lushai Land to settle there between 2nd Century to 7th Century Anno Domino. The Chin-Lushai land, hereinafter referred to as Zoram or Zoland is situated between 92 ° and 95 ° longitude (East) and between 20 ° and 25 ° latitude North of Equator. The whole area is roughly about 91,000 square miles with a population of about 5 millions in 1991. The Zo dynasty or Zo Kingdom was built sometime between 200 AD and 700 AD.

3. The administrative system of the Zo kingdom was simple but efficient. The people had a king under whom there were chiefs in villages. The king and the Chiefs were assisted by Elders. The village administration headed by a village chief was assisted also by village priests, warriors, artisans and youth leaders of the village community.

4. The social and cultural life of the Zo people in the past was an independent and a peaceful one. They lived freely and happily for about 1200 to 1500 years till the advent of the British Expeditions in 1777, 1824, 1849, and between 1871-1782 and 1888-1890.

5. The British had annexed the whole of MIZORAM and brought it under its rule in 1890. They divided the country into three separate regions and placed them under three administrative units. Accordingly, the eastern and southern part of MIZORAM including the present Chin Hills and Arakan were put under the Chief Commissioner of Burma; the central and Northern part of the country comprising of the present Mizoram state and part of Assam, Manipur and Tripura states which are contiguous to Mizoram fell under the administration of the Chief Commissioner of Assam while the western area of ZORAM including the Chittagong Hill Tracts was under the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal.

6. The division of ZORAM and separation of the Zo people under the administrative units of Burma, India and Bengal in 1890 was imposed against the expressed wishes of the Zo ethnic group of people to whom ZORAM was their inseparable homeland since time immemorial.

7. The British rulers had considered it very desirable to put the whole tract of the acquired Chin Lushai country under one administrative head. The Chin-Lushai Conference held at Fort William in Calcutta on January 29, 1892 had adopted a resolution to this effect.

8. The Government of India Act, 1935 came into force, the Act Sec. 311(1) defined ‘Tribal Areas’ as “the area along the frontiers of India or in Baluchistan which are not part of British India or Burma or of any Indian State or of any foreign state.” On the basis of the Act, the EXCLUDED AREA Order was issued on March 3, 1936 from the Court of Buckingham Palace.

9. The tribal areas including Zoram, was then placed under the executive authority of the Governor-General of India. The Governor of Assam was directed to act as agent of the Governor-General in respect of political control of the trans-border tribes.

10. His Excellency Sir Robert Reid, the Governor of Assam and High Commissioner of British India had visited Aizawl (now Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram) in 1940. Representatives of Zo people submitted to the visiting Sir Robert Reid, a fresh representation urging him to take step for territorial re-unification of ZORAM in the spirit of the chin-Lushai Conference in 1892.

11. Sir Robert Reid in 1941 made a proposal for re-unification of the Chin-Lushai country under one administrative head. The late Sir Winston Churchill, then a Prime Minister of Britain, had approved Sir Robert Reid’s plan in principle. But the Labour party which came to power after World War II did not take up the matter.

12. On April 3, 1942, the Chiefs of Lushai Hills had separately and independently declared war against the invading forces and resolved to fight the war side by side with the Allied forces. The Chiefs made this independent declaration because of the fact that Lushai Hills as other parts of the Chin-Lushai country, was EXCLUDED AREA. The Chin Hills also made an independent declaration of war in favour of the Allied Forces. In recognition, the Burmese constitution had provided the people of Chin Hills and other frontier hill tracts with the right of secession after 10 years.

13. The late Prime Minister of Great Britain, Sir Winston Churchill and the late President Roosevelt of America had an important meeting in August 1941. The two world leaders make a joint declaration which said, among others, that they desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the people concerned. This point is deemed to be relevant in case of the then Chin-Lushai people which had formed part of the allied forces as in the case of other colonial Countries like India, Burma, Ceylon, etc.

14. The first political party of then Lushai Hills (now Mizoram) the Mizo Union, had submitted a memorandum to his Majesty’s government, the Government of India, on April 26, 1947 seeking to represent the case of Mizos for territorial unity and integrity of the whole Mizo (Zo) population and full self-determination and territorial integrity.

15. The 50 accredited leaders of Lushai Hills representing Chiefs and commoners, under the Chairmanship of the then Superintendent of Lushai Hills, Mr.L.L.Peters, had submitted a memorandum to the Adviser to His Excellency, the Governor of Assam, demanding, among others, that the Lushais be allowed to opt out of the Indian Union when they wish to do so subject to a minimum period of ten years.

16. A memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister of India by the Mizo National Front (MNF) under the leadership of Mr. Laldenga(L) on October 30, 1965 demanding full self-determination and territorial integration for Mizo people.

17. The Mizo National Front had launched its first armed offensive on midnight of February 28, 1966 against the Republic of India for securing territorial Independence for the same ethnic group of Mizo people. But the armed insurgency came to an end after 20 years.

18. The First World Zomi Convention was convened at Champhai, Mizoram on May 1921, 1988. The Convention had adopted a Charter of Agreement on the issue of Reunification of all Zo ethnic groups of people under one Administrative unit. Also, the Zo Reunification Organisation (ZORO) was formed during the session of the Champhai Convention. This Organisation (ZORO) have already represented the case of the Zo ethnic origin either in the form of memorandum or letter to the President of India, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma; Mr V.P.Singh, the former Prime Minister of India; the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Mr.John Major, and others.

Now those changes have taken place in various part of the world. The world today has witnessed the break up of nation states along ethnic and religious lines. Re-unification on the basis of the common ethnic stock is world-wide phenomena. It is the birth right of every human being. This memorandum seeks to point out that the late President Roosevelt of America was one of the world leaders who had evolved the historic Atlantic Charter, and accordingly begs to draw the attention of President Bill Clinton of the United States of America, and the people of America, as to their support to the just cause for Re-unification of the old Chin-Lushai Country (Zoland) in the Chin-Lushai Conference, 1892 and the provisions of the Atlantic Charter. The urge to unify all the Zo ethnic origin under one Administrative head reasserts itself more intensively through the passages of time.

SIGNED
(R.THANGMAWIA)
Chairman

(H.THANGLAWRA)
Secretary-General
ZO RE-UNIFICATION ORGANISATION (ZORO) HQRS., AIZAWL
DATED AIZAWL, MAY 20, 1993

(Source: Extract from “A Memorandum to the Secretary General of the United Nations” by ZORO, May 20, 1995)

~ zogam.org

[Kipawl na] Zo Re-unification Organisation (ZORO) |English Version|

Political Background : Before the British Colonisation, the ZO race remained undistrubed and enjoy her Fundamental freemdom and no foreigner dominated the ZO country and the ZO inhabitants therein. But after the British Coloniser ruled over India for a hundred years and Burma for fifty years; they also started invading the ZO country from different corners and atlast, the Britsh also subjugated the ZO people and devided the country with the people living therein into three different segments. Eastern ZO country was kept under Burmese Administration, Western ZO country under Bengal and central and northern parts under Assam, in 1890.

The British, seeing the wrongs that had been done to the ZO people, resolved to put the ZO devided race together again, in their historic Chin-Lushai (ZO) conference held at Ford William Calcutta on 29th January, 1892.

Though the resolution of Chin-Lushai Conference is still kept pending till today, the aspiration of ZO people towards reunification of her people and the country in which they live in, still remains. All Politiccal Parties born after the British had withdrawn, aim at reunification of her people and the country, rectifying the past errors that had been done to the ZO race. But when all these political parties movement could not bear a fruitfull result so far, FIRST WORLD ZO REUNIFICATION CONVENTION held at Champhai on 20th May 1988 resoved to form a  political forum to reunify the ZO RACE persuant to the resolution of Chin-Lushai Conference, Calcutta, 1892. The Convention is envisaging the reunification of her devided people under one administrative head emancipating to the rebirth of ZO RACE which have been supressed for over a century under majority control.

Formation of Zo Re-unification Organization

The first World Zo Convention, 20th May, 1988 decided to form ‘ ZO REUNIFICATION ORGANISATION’(ZORO) covering all Parties, Organisations, Associa-tions and individuals, within the ZO country and the ZO people belonging to the ZO race. The ZORO has elected body in the Gen. Headquarters headed by Chairman who give appointments to Coordinators, Secretary Generals/ General Secretaries, Secretaries, Organisers and other Officials, to excute the ZORO programmes.

The first World Zo  Convention also created three political administrave Zones in the ZO Country, those are: Northern Zone, Central Zone and Southern Zone; headed by Zonal Chairman, which Status equivalent to the National Vice Chairman at the General Headquarters, who would give appointment to the Secretaries at the Zones.

1. The Northern Zone covers Cachar Hills(Assam), Southern Manipur Hills, Northern Chin Hills upto upper Chindwin.
2. The Central Zone covers: Eastren Hills of Tripura, Mizo Hills (Present Mizoram) Central Chin Hills and Sagaing Divisions, upto Chindwin.
3. The Southern Zone covers: Chittagong Hill Tracts, Southern Mizoram, Southern Chin Hills, Arakan Yoma(Hills) upto(plain Chin inhabited areas) plain of Irrawady river.

The political administrative Zones are divided into five to seven divisions, which are again sub-divided into constituency and Blocks containing towns and villages. The Divisions are headed by Divisional Chairman, and Blocks are headed by Block Chairman, while town and Villages are headed by Leaders.

Thus the ZO Country, which the British called ‘Chin-Lushai Country” and the inhabitants of ZO Race are intended to be organising. The Work have been completed upto Zonal level Organisation. Divisional level have now been in the processing. Annual Convention at the Annivarsary of Chin-Lushai Conference have been used to Organise on 29th January , every year and awareness have been increasing. Publication of Journals, magazine and booklets have been continuing.

Objectives of the ZO Re-unification Organisation

• To reunify the devided ZO race, which was done so under the British Colonisation
• to regain the ZO National identity
• to rectify the post errors of divisions of the ZO country
• to restore the Fundamental Freedom of ZO RACE emancipating to the re-birth of ZO Nationhood and thereby
• to strive for self-determination of Zo race

Zo Re-unification OrganizationZORO – General Head Quaters

Chairman	:	R. Thangmawia
Vice. Chairman	:	Dr. H. Thanglawra
Treasurer	:	Zalianchhunga
Gen. Secretaries
T. Nehkhojang	:	Lamka, NCC Manipur
R.W. Rozathang	:	Falam. Southern Chin Hills
T. Lalsangliana	:	Aizawl, MIzoram
Secretaries
Lalmuanpuia Punte
Lalvenhima Hmar
Miss. Lalthanmawii
Laltawna
Thatsavunga
Coordinators
Dr.Vum Son	:	Western Counties
H. Zosiamliana	:	Eastern Counties
E/C Member	:	12 persons
Advisers	:	4 persons
Consultants	:	2 persons
Invitees(Special)	:	3 persons
Zonal Chairmans
Northern	:	Gengokhup, Lamka, Manipur
Central	:	Lawmthanga Colney, Aizawl, Mizoram
Southern	:	Laldova,  Rangamati, Chittagong