Bru repatriation preparations almost complete: Minister

Aizawl, Oct 26 : Preparations for repatriation of Bru refugees, from six relief camps in neighbouring North Tripura district, are almost complete, Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana informed the state legislature today.

Replying to a question from Lalrobiaka of the ruling Congress, Lalzirliana said that the road map for repatriation process had been submitted to the Union Home Ministry in which proposals for resettlement of the Brus, construction of health centres and educational institutions and others were included.

"We hope that the preparation can soon be concluded after centre provides financial assistance for the proposed expenditure of Rs 25.86 crore for implementation of the repatriation road map," he said.

He said that the Brus, once repatriated would be settled in different districts where they were living before migrating to Tripura during the last part of 1997 and that they should not be concentrated in one assembly constituency.

Mizoram to set up new power project, implement 6th Pay Commission

Aizawl, Oct 24

With a rise in demand for electricity, the Mizoram government has signed an agreement with the state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to set up a 460 MW power project at Lawngtlai in southern Mizoram.

"Since the demand has risen from 65 MW to 100 MW during peak hours, power source needs to be increased and the government has signed an agreement with NTPC to set up a 460 MW power project at Lawngtlai in southern Mizoram," Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said.

The power project, to be installed at a cost of Rs.30 billion, would be commissioned by 2013.

The government is also working to renew the Tuirial Hydel project and Tuivai project, Lal Thanhawla said, adding that some small power projects would also be taken up under Public-Private Partnership.

The chief minister told the state assembly that the government would implement the Sixth Pay Commission for its 90,000 employees.

Lal Thanhawla said that the cabinet's decision is being awaited and the government is keen to implement the 6th Pay Commission recommendation as soon as possible, a senior finance department official told newsmen.

Lal Thanhawla, who also holds the finance portfolio, told the house that while the government was ready to implement the recommendations for its regular employees, the welfare of the casual and contingent workers of the government was not overlooked and it was recommended that their wages be increased.

He also said the New Land Use Policy (NLUP), a flagship programme of the government, was aimed at achieving sustainable development for the rural poor and several improvements had to be incorporated in the policy to ensure its utmost success.

The chief minister said education reform and improving the healthcare system were other priority areas of his government.

Mizoram government urged to curb influx of foreigners

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Young Mizo Association (YMA), a social organisation in India’s North-eastern state of Mizoram has urged the state government to strictly curb influx of foreigners from neighbouring countries, including Burma.

The YMA, an influential youth organization into social activities in Mizoram state, in its 64th General Conference held in Darlawn in Aizawl, discussed threadbare the issue of foreigners. It called on the state government to fully implement the law dealing with foreigners staying in the state, the meeting resolution posted on the YMA website said.

“The conference is still on and they urged the government to take action on not only foreigners but also people coming in from neighbouring states in India,” a Burmese living in Aizawl told Mizzima.

The YMA in its resolution said its Central Executive Committee (CEC) is willing to help the government, if called on to do so.

The YMA central office in Aizawl could not be contacted on Thursday for comment.

Meanwhile, the YMA is also conducting a survey, bordering on a census, on the population of Burmese nationals, including ethnic Chin living in Mizoram, which shares a 404-kilometer border with contiguous Chin State in western Burma.

The survey, launched in June, is complete in about 173 out of 772 YMA branches across the state and has listed 6375 Burmese so far, according to a local online news group, The Zozam Times.

While various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) estimate the number of Burmese living in Mizoram to be somewhere between 50,000 to 60,000, there has so far been no extensive census.

While the motive behind the survey is still not clear, Burmese living in the state believe that it could be a move to identify the Burmese from among the locals.

“By tracking the exact location and number of people, the Mizo community can easily identify and target the Burmese in Mizoram, whenever they want to crack down on foreigners,” a Burmese living in Aizawl said.

Burmese nationals constitute the majority of migrants in Mizoram, which shares borders with Burma and also shares state borders with other North-eastern states of Assam, Manipur and Tripura. The state is also home to a number of Bangladeshis. 

Some Burmese are of the opinion that the survey could be the YMA’s reaction to a report released earlier this year by the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

The HRW, in its report titled “We are like forgotten people”, spoke at length about Chin ethnics suffering under military rule, forcing them to flee from their homes to Mizoram. It also said the Chin’s further endure hostile treatment by their host, particularly mentioning the YMA as an organisation that is hostile towards Chins.

The YMA, however, denied the report saying it does not reflect the true situation and taints the image of Mizo’s. The YMA said, the Mizo community has supported the Burmese, particularly the Chin people and allowed them to stay in their state.

The YMA also held a meeting with over 23 Chin organizations based in Mizoram and accused the Chin leaders of providing false information to the HRW and demanded that they refute the report.

Mizo house ratifies 109th Constitution amendment

Mizoram legislative assembly unanimously ratified the 109th amendment of the Constitution last evening after a brief deliberation.
The constitutional amendment, already passed by both Houses of the Parliament, seeks to extend the special concessions given to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Anglo Indians for another ten years.

Are Lai people a clan of Mizo tribe?

Lately, some enthusiasts have invaded Wikipedia once again. They have referred all Kuki-Chin-Mizo people in Myanmar (Burma) and India as clans of Mizo tribe.
Now, the new entry for Lai people at Wikipedia says,

The Lai people are one of the biggest clans of the Mizo tribe, native to Chin State of Myanmar, and Mizoram state in Northeast India, mostly concentrated in the area of Lai Autonomous District Council, and speaking the Mizo language along with their own dialects. Lusei people called them Pawih, Pawi or Pawihte.
Source: Wikipedia

What is more surprising is the population and how happy Lais are to call themselves as Mizo,

Total population is around 1,700,000 in 1991. Lai people are one of the clans who are happy to be a Mizo, rather than calling in their own clan/tribal names.
Source: Wikipedia

And also, a look at Asho Chin people says:

Asho people, one of the eleven clans of Mizo tribe are native to Arakan plains, plains of Irrawady and Minbu.
Unlike other Mizo clans, many of them are Buddhist.
Source: Wikipedia

Is clan the best way to describe those of us who speak different language than Mizo (Duhlian/Lusei), the most common language among us? And is Mizo a tribe? Then what could be the name of our nation?
The source of such claims are from one Mizo author – B. Lalthangliana, who wrote a book titled History and Culture of Mizo in India, Burma and Bangladesh. Published in 2001.
Scholars like Dr Lian Hmung Sakhong, Ph.D (from Sweden) however do not classify our people like B. Lalthangliana did.
Dr Sakhong, a Chin scholar in his book ‘In Search of Chin Identity’ classified Kuki-Chin-Mizo people under six different groups. And Lais are grouped under Laimi, and Lusei/Duhlian/Lushai speaking people are under Mizo group, the other four are Zomi, Asho, Cho and Khuami. The classification seems to be based on the language affinity and intelligibility.
As per our understanding, a clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by actual or perceived descent from a common ancestor. And an example for clans will be Sailo, Khiangte, Chhangte, Fanai, Sakhong, Baite, Haokip, Shwepang, Hlychho, Chinzah or Cinzah, Hlawnchhing or Hlawnching, Hauzel, etc.
Sailo, a clan name of Mizo is not equal to Lai people. It is equal only to Chinzah, a clan among Lai people.  Sailo is also equal to Hlychho, Fachhai, etc, the clans among Mara people. So does with Haokip, Baite and others from Thado (Kuki) people.
Lais have many clans.  Likewise, there are many clans among Maras, Senthangs, Asho, and other Kuki-Chin-Mizo people.
Lais, Maras, Senthangs, Zotung, Zyphe, Thado, Simte, Paite, Siyin, Mizo, Zomi, Khuami, etc are definitely a group of people. We cannot call them as Clans.  It is very surprising to that the volunteers are Wikipedia are exclusively quoting from one scholar, whose view is definitely a questionable one.
Will Lais accept Lai as one of the clans of Mizo? I could not imagine. If it is described as a sub-tribe or sub-group of Mizo, perhaps, there are more chance.
Some web enthusiasts have started to invade Wikipedia again. They have edited few pages, but they have not finished. Perhaps, they will edit more pages containing the groupings within Kuki-Chin-Mizo people in the coming days.
We all know Wikipedia is not always reliable, but some have often used the free online encyclopedia as a tool to express their views not respecting the views of others that are common and generally acceptable to most people.

Source: http://samaw.com/are-lai-people-a-clan-of-mizo-tribe/1716

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Centre has released over Rs. 550 crore for development of minority districts

Patna: For schemes under the Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) the Central Government has released Rs 555.45 crore so far. MsDP, a part of the Prime Minister's 15-Point Programme for minority welfare, was launched for development of 90 Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs). Under the scheme 72 minority concentration districts of the country have been covered till date.
These 72 districts fall in 15 States/UT viz. Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Bihar, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Orissa, Mizoram, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra.
An amount of Rs. 555.45 crore has been released till date for the welfare of these districts under the scheme. The year wise status of implementation of Multi -sectoral Development Program during the 11th Five Year Plan is mentioned below:

Year	Target(for 11th Five Year Plan)	Achievements	Amount(Rs. in crore)
2007-08(The Programme was not launched)	NA	NA	NA
2008-09	90 MCDs	47 MCDs	270.85
2009-10*	90 MCDs	25 MCDs	284.60
Total		72 MCDs	555.45

*Upto 30th September,2009. The program aims at improving the socio-economic parameters of basic amenities for improving the quality of life of the people and reducing imbalances in the MCDs during the Eleventh Five Year Plan period.
It would include absolutely critical infrastructure linkages like connecting roads, basic health infrastructure, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres, skill development.
Besides, marketing facilities required for improving living conditions and economic opportunities and catalysing the growth process would also be eligible for inclusion in the plan
The main focus of this program is on rural and semi-rural areas of the identified 90 minority concentration districts and will be implemented by the Panchayati Raj institutions, scheduled area councils and other such local representative bodies.
An amount of Rs. 2750 Crore has been allocated by the Planning Commission for Multi-sectoral Development Programme for Minority Concentration Districts for the 11th Five year plan.
List of Minority Concentration Districts

 

Sl.No.	State	District
1	Arunachal Pradesh	East Kameng
2	Arunachal Pradesh	Lower Subansiri
3	Arunachal Pradesh	Changlang
4	Arunachal Pradesh	Tirap
5	Assam	Kokrajhar
6	Assam	Dhubri
7	Assam	Goalpara
8	Assam	Bongaigaon
9	Assam	Barpeta
10	Assam	Darrang
11	Assam	Marigaon
12	Assam	Nagaon
13	Assam	Cachar
14	Assam	Karimganj
15	Assam	Hailakandi
16	Assam	Kamrup
17	Bihar	Araria
18	Bihar	Kishanganj
19	Bihar	Purnia
20	Bihar	Katihar
21	Bihar	Sitamarhi
22	Bihar	Pashchim Champaran
23	Bihar	Darbhanga
24	Jharkhand	Sahibganj
25	Jharkhand	Pakaur
26	Maharashtra	Parbhani
27	Manipur	Thoubal
28	Meghalaya	West Garo Hills
29	Orissa	Gajapati
30	Uttar Pradesh	Bulandshahar
31	Uttar Pradesh	Budaun
32	Uttar Pradesh	Barabanki
33	Uttar Pradesh	Kheri
34	Uttar Pradesh	Shahjahanpur
35	Uttar Pradesh	Moradabad
36	Uttar Pradesh	Rampur
37	Uttar Pradesh	Jyotiba Phule Nagar
38	Uttar Pradesh	Bareilly
39	Uttar Pradesh	Pilibhit
40	Uttar Pradesh	Bahraich
41	Uttar Pradesh	Shrawasti
42	Uttar Pradesh	Balrampur
43	Uttar Pradesh	Siddharthnagar
44	Uttar Pradesh	Bijnor
45	West Bengal	Uttar Dinajpur
46	West Bengal	Dakshin Dinajpur
47	West Bengal	Maldah
48	West Bengal	Murshidabad
49	West Bengal	Birbhum
50	West Bengal	Nadia
51	West Bengal	South 24-Parganas
52	West Bengal	Barddhaman
53	West Bengal	Koch Bihar
54	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	Nicobar
55	Arunachal Pradesh	Tawang
56	Arunachal Pradesh	West Kameng
57	Arunachal Pradesh	Papum Pare
58	Assam	North Cachar Hills
59	Delhi	North East
60	Haryana	Gurgaon
61	Haryana	Sirsa
62	Jammu & Kashmir	Leh (Ladakh)
63	Jharkhand	Ranchi
64	Jharkhand	Gumla
65	Karnataka	Gulbarga
66	Karnataka	Bidar
67	Kerala	Wayanad
68	Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal
69	Maharashtra	Buldana
70	Maharashtra	Washim
71	Maharashtra	Hingoli
72	Manipur	Senapati
73	Manipur	Tamenglong
74	Manipur	Churachandpur
75	Manipur	Ukhrul
76	Manipur	Chandel
77	Mizoram	Lawngtlai
78	Mizoram	Mamit
79	Sikkim	North
80	Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow
81	Uttar Pradesh	Saharanpur
82	Uttar Pradesh	Muzaffarnagar
83	Uttar Pradesh	Meerut
84	Uttar Pradesh	Baghpat
85	Uttar Pradesh	Ghaziabad
86	Uttaranchal	Udham Singh Nagar
87	Uttaranchal	Hardwar
88	West Bengal	Haora
89	West Bengal	North 24Parganas
90	West Bengal	Kolkata

Mizoram: Adult Learners’ Week concludes

The highly appreciated ‘Adult Learner’s Week’ with the Theme ‘Women Literacy Programme’ was recently successfully concluded at Archives Hall, Babutlang amidst the presence of people from different strata of Mizo society. The Week had also been observed at all district headquarters in the state. J. Hmingthanmawia, Additional Deputy Commissioner (DC) & Chairman, sub- committee on observance of Adult Learners’ Week Aizawl in his keynote address to the assembled said that Adult Education, formerly known as ‘Social Education’ had been started by the foreign missionaries in Mizoram since 1894. The term ‘Social Education’ was changed and substituted by ‘Adult Education’ since October 2, 1978.
It is not surprising that when the ‘National Adult Education Programme’ was launched by the Central Government in 1978, Adult Education in Mizoram received a new impetus. Simultaneously, a centrally sponsored scheme (CSS) of three Rural Functional Literacy Projects were implemented. In order to facilitate vocational Training for Adult Learners, vocational schools had been started in Aizawl in August 1984. According to Adult Education Assistant Director B. Lungmuana, Indian President Pratibha Patil in a Joint Parliamentary Session held recently had declared 2009-14 as the years for Women Literacy Programme under Adult Literacy Policy in India. He said that as per the 2001 census the recorded illiterate people in Mizoram are Male 9.3% (35, 828 people) and Female 13.3 % (47,566 people), totaling up to 11.2 % as a whole.