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Mizo websites and blogs are abuzzed with the identities of Lais and Maras after an article titled, “Tongkalong: A victim of Mizonisation of Mara name” was posted at Zawlbuk.net and Samaw.com, later picked up by Lawrkhawm.com

Some of them even think Lais and Maras are living in their (Lushei/Lusei/Lushai) land and accused Maras and Lais of claiming a land(s) for themselves within their beloved Mizoram. However, the opposite is the truth. Read the story below:

Some History lessons here:

The Maras and the Lais living in two Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in Southern part of today’s Mizoram state were once ruled by an independent Mara and Lai chiefs until the British annexed them to ‘British India’ in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were known as Lakhers and Pawis respectively by their Lushei neighbours in the north. Just like Lusheis, they too came down from China, to Burma and finally they settled in the present locations. These Maras and Lais in Lushai Hills are but a segment community of the much larger Maras and Lais living in Chin hills, Maras and Lais in Chin Hills and Mizoram live in a contagious area divided only by an international Indo-Myanmar boundary.

No outsiders knew of them until the missionaries from UK and America came to evangelize them in the 19th century and subsequently they were brought under the British India as described below:

A Brief Political History from 1880 to 1947:

Lusheis(Mizos) in Lushai Hills were annexed by the British during Chin-Lushai expedition of 1889-1890, and soon they also annexed Chin Hills where Pawis/Lais were also inhabiting.

However, they could not contain Mara villages until 1924. Maras lived in a different world then. It was not even part of the Lushai Hills nor Chin Hills until 1924. Maras were a thorn in British India as they continued to attack people in Chittagong Hills Tract (CHT). CHT is a British administered area.

Year 1901 census as we can see in Lairam.com does not contain Maras/Lakhers because British had not annexed Maraland/Lakherland to Lushei Hills (which later became Mizoram) and the same goes to another half of Maraland in Burma to Chin Hills. The census simply did not contain Lakhers/Maras because they were not under British and such no census could be taken. Maras lived in their own land for another two decades. They continued to administer their villages by their Chiefs.

So, when they finally brought the whole Maraland under them, the Maras – considered to be a very wild tribe were put under two administrations, one under Lushai Hills and the other under Chin Hills.

This divided the Mara people into two administratives set up. The same goes with Lais, 1/5th of Lais, living in Western part of Lairam were put under Lushai Hills district.

On July 7, 1947, on behalf of the Mara Chiefs, Chhohmo Hlychho, Chief of Saikao (Serkawr) submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Assam, it stated,

“We and our country (Maraland) be given over to Burma…. We have no design to join in with the Mizo Union nor do we wish to be under the rule of the Lushais.”

United Mizo Freedom Organisation (UMFO) formed on 15 July 1947 too had demanded union with Burma.

But it could not go far. Instead the Mizo District Council was set up.

Lushei Hills became one of the districts under Assam state government in India. When Lushei Hills was administered as Lushai Hills Autonomous District Council (LHADC – rechristened as Mizo District Council) when it was set up in early 1952, Maras/Lakhers demanded Regional Council, and with the Lais/Pawis they were given Pawi-Lakher Regional council in 1953. Lusheis(Mizos) never complaint because they knew Maras and Lais lived and still live in their own lands.

Mizos felt that LHADC did not meet their political aspirations, and agitated for better share in India, they were given UT on 21st January, 1972. Meanwhile Pawi-Lakher Regional Council was dissolved and was upgraded to Autonomous District Councils as Lais and Maras themselves were having problem sharing the regional council.

And when Mizoram attained Statehood, they also demanded UT which they did not get anymore. If many Maras and Lais are somehow still happy with Mizoram, Lusheis(Mizos) should be thankful instead of barking on them by telling them to call themselves Mizo. Mizoram is somehow big in area just because of Maraland and Lairam. They often compared Maras and Lais to Ralte, Khiangte, etc. But they are not similar. Unlike Paites and Raltes of Mizoram, Lais and Maras live in a contagious area governed and protected by them prior to the arrival of the British, which they claimed as their land. Raltes, Khiangtes never had a land to claim of their own. They were subjects of Lushei chiefs. Maras and Lais were subjects of their own chiefs.

Lusheis knew Lakhers/Maras are very different from them because they speak different language, which is not intelligible with Lushei (Mizo) language. And their anthropologists and historians never club Maras as Lushei/Mizo tribe.

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: Many paragraphs here are kept to be reviewed.

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Conclusion:

The point we must make here is that we who are originated from “Chin cave or Chin/Chhin lung” are never covered by a small terms like Mizo, Zomi, Laimi, Khuami, Marasaw, Paite, Mara, Senthang, Asho, Khumi, K’cho, Lautu, etc. And it is still evolving. Some scholars have suggested Chin to be the best acceptable term which we are still exploring.

If Christianity doesn’t change us in our dealing with one another, with compassion and love and understanding, we who are originated from “Chin cave or Chin/Chhin lung” are doomed.

Related Posts at Lawrkhawm.com

1. Moron, its Siaha not Saiha
2. Tongkalong: A victim of Mizonisation of Mara name

Read those comments.

Note: This article is contributed by user @Hlychho. Some modification has been made. If necessary, we will do it again. If you find certain sentence wrong, kindly notify the admin at webmaster@samaw.com we will be happy to correct them. Thank you.