New Delhi: Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Thursday and discussed several issues amid the backdrop of ongoing crises in Manipur and Myanmar.
Lalduhoma, in his first visit to New Delhi after taking over as the Chief Minister of the north eastern state, discussed the India-Myanmar border. As per the sources, the CM told PM Modi that the Indo-Myanmar border was created by the then British government without consulting the affected people, the Mizos.
He further stated that the wish of people on both sides of the border was to come under one administration and that the refugees seeking shelter inside Mizoram were not treated differently but as brothers and sisters of the Mizo people.
The Myanmar refugees from the Chin-Zo ethnic tribe and have similar ethnic, cultural and traditional ties with the Mizos of Mizoram. The Chief Minister also extended his wish for a ‘Greater Mizoram’ as part of the ‘Akhand Bharat’. Lalduhoma also stated in his social media posts that the Prime Minister had advised him to submit a proposal for a better and uniformed system of the Inner Line Permit (ILP).
The ILP, under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, is now being enforced in Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.The main aim of the ILP system is to check the settlement of other Indian nationals in these states to protect the native and indigenous population. Protection is also extended to the indigenous people with regard to land, jobs and other facilities.
Earlier on Wednesday, Lalduhoma met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and discussed the Myanmar refugee issue. The first influx from Myanmar started after the military toppled the Aung San Suu Kyi Government and seized power in a coup in February 2021. Since then, over 32,000 people, including women and children, have taken shelter in the northeastern state of India from Myanmar. (With agency inputs)
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