Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma in his address on September 2 said, "... The main objective of (the) ZORO Movement in 1988 was Zo-Reunification within India.
"Can the 'Zo' people in India, Burma and Bangladesh today, aspire to be re-united under India? Looking at the geopolitical realities of our time, it may not be so farfetched to think this could be a possibility one day. Perhaps, fate has this reunification in store for us in the future...".
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma gave the speech in Indianapolis on September 4, where he said his people have been "unjustly divided." It is this September 4 speech -- not the September 2 one delivered in Maryland - which triggered a massive controversy.
On Sept 4 he said:
"While a country may have borders, a true nation transcends such limitations. We have been unjustly divided, forced to exist under three different governments in three different countries, and this is something we can never accept.
"We are fortunate that we are still connected through our lands and that there are no pretenders to insert themselves in our midst and cause division - this truly is a blessing from God...".
His remarks - after it has been reported by bloggers and journalists triggered row.
"Can someone who has taken an oath of allegiance to the Indian Constitution speak in a way that suggests breaking India apart? Do the Mizoram Council of Churches and other church bodies across India support Lalduhoma's communal, divisive, and anti-national stance?
Is Lalduhoma speaking for himself? Or for the external powers who want to reshape South Asia's geopolitical scene?" former two-time BJP MP Balbir Punj said in a post on X.
Dr Arambam Noni, associate professor of political science at DM University Manipur, said ethnocentric accumulation of people for a homeland will disturb the overlapping demographic spaces.
"He seems to be sort of trying to aggravate the relationship between overlapping multiethnic demographic spaces, which can lead to conflict. He is trying to signal as if demography is going to play a big role in the making of a homeland," Dr Arambam, who has been speaking in public forums on northeast issues especially those concerning Mizoram's neighbour Manipur, told NDTV.
'Demography Is Dated Politics'
"Demography is dated politics and is sectarian in some sense.
The problem with the idea of transnational, territorial and ethnic unification in post-colonial states is that no mechanisms exist to do this. The modern state system cannot entertain such an idea simply because it contravenes the historically established territorialities.
However, there is no problem in developing a cultural affinity," Dr Arambam said.
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