Mizo Union (6 April 1946 – 12 January 1974) was the first
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Mizoram
Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...
,
northeast India
, native_name_lang = mni
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, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
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, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
. It was founded on 6 April 1946 at
Aizawl
Aizawl (; Mizo: ) is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. Aizawl was officially established on 25 February 1890. With a population of 293,416, it is the largest city in the state. It is also the centre of administration containing all ...
as the Mizo Common People's Union. At the time of
independence of India
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
from the
british rule in india
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
in 1947, the party was the only political force in the
Lushai Hills
The Lushai (Pron: ˌlʊˈʃaɪ) Hills (or Mizo Hills) are a mountain range in Mizoram and Manipur, India. The range is part of the Patkai range system and its highest point is 2,157 m high Phawngpui, also known as 'Blue Mountain'.
Flora and fau ...
(former name of Mizoram). It won the first Mizoram District Council general election under the new
Indian Union in 1951, and consecutively in 1957, 1962 and 1966.
However, the
mautam
''Mautâm'' is a cyclic ecological phenomenon that occurs every 48–50 years in the northeastern Indian states of Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, as well as in many places of Assam which are 30% covered by wild bamboo forests, and Chin State in ...
famine of 1958 and its protégé
insurgency in 1966 downgraded its status, so that the party was compelled to dissolve in 1974 and merged with
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
.
History
Mizo Union was the upshot of administrative preparation when the
British occupation
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
of India was about to end. The British administrators initiated forming local representatives to maintain law and order. However, the Mizo leaders, especially the central organisation
Young Lushai Association (YLA), preferred complete
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
from India, and made a
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
against the British orders. At the onset, there even was a proposal to turn YLA into a political party.
The learned men were urged the need to create an entirely political organisation. R. Vanlawma and P.S. Dahrawka then prepared a constitution of what they eventually called the ''Mizo Common People's Union''. After recruiting members, the party was formally established on 6 April 1946 with R. Vanlawma becoming the General Secretary and Convener. After a discussion the name was simplified to ''Mizo Union'' and the first officials were elected on 25 May 1946. The premier businessman Pachhunga became the first President. Immediately the party gained unprecedented support from the general public throughout the land. This was largely because of the general
anachronistic attitude towards
tribal chiefdom and their British allies, who wearied them with
levies and
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
. But the momentum of popularity had its drawbacks. The freshly educated recruits formed an intellectual group and
usurped
A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...
against the party leaders, who were not highly educated, which was the main issue. The intellectuals mounted a coup in the party's first general meeting on 24–26 September of that year, which led to the resignation of Pachhunga and elimination of other leaders. Then the only remaining of the original official, Vice President Lalhema became the President, who unfortunately was also a petty businessman and still with a deficit in education. This issue erupted in the November meeting, and election in the early 1947 clearly toppled Lalhema, ousted by Khawtinkhuma, a fresh
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. holder from
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
. The trailblazers were forced to unite into an offshoot party which they named the ''Mizo Union Council''. This for a time formed a public and religious
chasm
In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics.
Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben w ...
s in Aizawl as the Mizo Union was supported by the educated class and commoners, and also mostly by church leaders. Whereas the new party was espoused by the influences of the
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
Pachhunga, who were mostly well-to-do entrepreneurs and the tribal chiefs. Thus Aizawl was divided into a southern Mizo Union dominion with its headquarters at Thakthing and northern Mizo Union Council territory having its office at Pachhunga's residence at Dawrpui. In the early 1947 Khawtinkhuma was offered a regular government job, and was succeeded by
Pastor Zairema, who was supported by the
Presbyterian Church
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
, on 18 January. But there was an internal turmoil incited by Lalbiaktluanga, who as the Vice President rightly claimed the presidency, but to no avail. Dispirited Lalbiaktluanga and his sympathisers departed with the creation of a new party, the ''United Mizo Freedom Organisation'' (UMFO), on 5 July 1947. The main
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
of UMFO was to join the administrative state of
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
instead of India or independence. UMFO eventually absorbed the supporters of the Mizo Union Council, thereby becoming the only political rival. At the election to Advisory Council of Mizoram, the first democratic election under independent India, Mizo Union received a massive win (23 against 1 for UMFO). This resulted not only in the loss of Burma inclination, but the eventual demise of UMFO. When the Mizoram District Council was created by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
, the first general election in April 1952 was cleanly captured by Mizo Union (17 out of 18
electorate
Electorate may refer to:
* The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate''
* The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806
* An electoral district
An ...
s), and President
Lalsawia became the first Chief Executive Member.
Ideology
Mizo Union arose from the irate commoners of
anachronism
An anachronism (from the Ancient Greek, Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronology, chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time per ...
of the tribal administrative system, in which a
tribal chief
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...
had an absolute power on the welfare of the citizens, and that most often was exercised in prejudice. The original bearing "Common" was expressly clear that it was a force to overthrow the oppressive tribal governance of the chiefs, which was further exploited by the British. For this reason alone it readily gained support from majority of the population. The 1947 conference explicitly voted against the oppressive tribal administration and demanded total abolition of: 1) construction works by forced labour; 2)
paddy
Paddy may refer to:
People
*Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname
*An List of ethnic slurs#P, ethnic slur for an Irishman
Birds
*Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon
*Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird ...
tax to the chief; 3) the chief's authoritative judgement of disputes; and 4) meat tax to the chief. The other central motive of Mizo Union was to claim independent and
sovereign state
A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...
for Mizoram instead of becoming a part of Indian union. This aspiration also carried the unification of all Mizo clans into a single administrative area, that is to bring all lands inhabited by Mizo tribes including those of
Cachar
Cachar district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence the undivided Cachar district was split into four districts in Assam: Dima Hasao district (formerly North Cachar Hills), Cachar district alongside ...
,
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
,
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
and
Chin Hills
The Chin Hills are a range of mountains in Chin State, northwestern Burma, Burma (Myanmar), that extends northward into India's Manipur state.
Geography
The highest peak in the Chin Hills is Khonu Msung, or Mount Victoria, in southern Chin State ...
into a united state. On the eve of the
Indian Independence the party organised the first ever grand procession in Mizoram in which they cried out the slogan of independence. On the day of independence on 15 August 1947, they planned for a more jubilant demonstration. However, the Mizo Union Council, which had turned to
patronise the tribal chiefs, warned them of physical opposition to such
protest march
A political demonstration is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause or people partaking in a protest against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march formati ...
, even to the extent of taking up
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
, and the rally was called off for fear of bloodshed.
[
The political aspiration shifted its direction when the intellectual group overtook the party administration. Although the fundamental objective remained independence, there was an influential view that the party should go for ]autonomy
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...
of some sort under the Indian Union. Leaders of the party were on good terms with the Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
. The first General Assembly in 1946 had resolved that upon Indian Independence, the Lushai Hills must be integrated to Assam.[ It was then in January 1947 that President Khawtinkhuma and Secretary Vanṭhuama wrote to the President of the Constituent Assembly of India that representative of the Mizo Union should be included in the Advisory Committee for the Tribal Areas of Assam.] They submitted a memorandum
A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...
to the Bordoloi Committee that they agreed the incorporation of the then Lushai Hills to the Indian Union, however, on the condition "that the Lushai’s will be allowed to opt out of the Indian Union when willing to do so subject to a minimum period of ten years." Then, at the turn of 1960, the attitude redirected towards permanent statehood under India. The party convention on 10 June 1963 made a resolution to demand for a Mizo state, that should include all Mizo-inhabited areas of Lushai Hills, Tripura, Assam and Manipur.
Detriment and diminish
If one person is to be singled out for the rise and fall of Mizo Union, it would invariably be an astute Ch. Saprawnga. From the start he was the instigator of the first coup in 1946. When the party won the first governmental election in 1952, at the time Mizoram was a district of Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, Saprawnga as the leader of Assam Legislative Assembly
The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...
members from Mizoram, was offered as an honour the position on Parliamentary Secretary under the ruling Assam Congress Party. The ever strategic Saprawnga declined and unexpectedly returned to the Mizoram District and cast a motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
against CEM Lalsawia, who he eventually replaced. The ingenious Saprawnga then designated Lalsawia as an Executive Member to the dismay of the party, especially the then President R. Thanhlira. After feud and friction in the party, Thanhlira conceded to resigning the presidency. This led to factional divide of the party into two, Saprawnga's and Lalsawia's sides. The split in the party paid a serious blow when they almost lost to UMFO (11 against 8) in the 1957 election. To the blessing of Saprawnga, UMFO and Lalsawia with his clique decided to join a Meghalaya-based Eastern India Tribal Union (EITU) party in October 1957, so that Saprawnga was left with the sole political party of the land.[
]
Dissolution
The principal goal of the Mizo Union, which was to subjugate Subjugate or subjugation is the action of enslave, enslaving using force or coercion on other humans. It could include forced labour such as slavery, serfdom, Penal labour, Labor camps; or Wage, paid voluntary labor that is Taxation as theft, involu ...
customary tribal administration, was quite fulfilled by the creation of the democratic administration of the District Council. But the other causes - independence and greater Mizoram - were not. The original aspiration of sovereignty was immediately subdued, and the attempt for unification of all Mizo tribes into a united state was a total failure. Instead the party was more and more engrossed in the Indian politics, to the disappointment of many, and this was one of the basic factors of the rise of Mizo National Front
The Mizo National Front ( MNF) is a regional political party in Mizoram, India. MNF emerged from the Mizo National Famine Front, which was formed by Pu Laldenga to protest against the inaction of the Indian central government towards the famin ...
and the eventual uprising
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
. The party had no agenda for promotion of ethnic identity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
and social backlashes. This shortcoming was compounded by the 1959 famine, as the ruling party was held incapable of solving the socio-economic crisis, and was accused of indifference towards the suffering of the people. This prompted the organisation of Mizo National Front which attempted to alleviate the situation as one agenda, and a renewed struggle for independence as the other. These policies, as before, were closer to the sentiments of the people, and actually the sealed the fate of the Mizo Union. A scheduled 1966 election could not be held due to the insurgency, and internal politics as a whole was crushed. Mizo Union was gradually disintegrating. The party assembly on 12 January 1974 therefore resolved to dissolve the party entirely and merged with Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee. Although a few devotees of the party recreated the ''Mizo Union Party'' on 17 March 1974, they failed to make political landmarks.[
]
References
External links
Mizoram History
Bangalore Mizo Students Association
Zomi-Reunification Organisation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mizo Union
Defunct political parties in Mizoram
1946 establishments in India
Political parties established in 1946
Political parties disestablished in 1974