Lai People - Autonomy

Autonomy

The Lai people do qualify to seek a Regional or District Council in which they could protect their own customs and culture, and to develop their own language and ways of living.

The Pawi-Lakher Company was developed into Chin Association and able to contact the Advisory Council known as Mizo Hills District Advisory Council in 1947. As the time passed by the political Development was in progress among the Lai. They determined to get a separate Regional Council along with the Mizo District Council, which was constituted for north Mizoram.

In order to bring out their political will, The Pawi-Lakher Tribal Union was founded on 25 October 1949. The Principal aim and objective of the Union included the integration of the Lai and the Mara (Pawi-Lakher) into a single Administrative Unit, obtaining of a regional Council and safeguarding of their ethnic identities.

The hard labour of the Pawi-Lakher Tribal Union and the Lai-Mara members of the Mizo District Council eventually paid off when the Pawi–Lakher Regional Council was constituted by the Government of Assam, under the Sixth Schedule, The Pawi–Lakher Autonomous Region Rules, 1952 was enacted The Council had 12 members, 9 elected by the people and 3 nominated by the Governor of Assam on the recommendation of the Chief Executive Member of the Council. The first Election of the Pawi-Lakher Regional Council was held in 1953.

After some years of Administrative experience in the Regional Council, the leaders of Lai, Mara and Chakma felt the need to have separate District Council for each community in order to safeguard their respective Customs, Culture and language. Upon their constant demand, the Government granted to them separate three District Councils, for the Lai (Pawi), Mara (Lakher) and the Chakma, with Headquarters at Lawngtlai, Saiha and Chawngte respectively, on 2 April 1972. Meanwhile Union Territory was also constituted in Mizoram. The Pawi-Lakher Regional Council automatically dissolved. The newly created Pawi Autonomous District Council started functioning with effect from 29 April 1972, with 14 members strength of which 12 were elected by the people and 2 were nominated.

Although the Lai never called themselves Pawi however, the Government recognized them as Pawi even before India's Independence. Since the Lai people were not happy to bear the name Pawi and sought to change the nomenclature into Lai, upon their request the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India Amendment Act 1988 (No 67 of 1988) changed the name Pawi to Lai. Subsequently the name of the District Council was changed to Lai Autonomous District Council on May, 1989. At present (2000–2001) The Lai Autonomous District Council has a strength of 27 members of which 23 are elected and 4 are nominated. 21 subjects have been granted by the Government with a recurring grant of Rs.255798,000 of which 71.5 million as Plan and 1542.98 as Non-Plan. Total amount of its revenue collection is Rs.2.2 million.

Under the Lai Autonomous District Council ate there are six Towns and 81 Villages, and the total number of Families is 9020, with a total population of 51884.

In the eve of India's Independence, in 1947 the British seemed to have been conscious of their past mistake of the 'divide and rule' and wanted to correct it by outlaying the plan to reintegrate the break-ups.

It is recorded thus, "Under the constitution for the union of Burma drawn up in 1947 provision was made for the recognition of the special interest of the Chin people living in the tangle of forested hills between India and Burma". A proposal of the British was to establish a 'Crown Colony' to cover up the Lais inhabited area in the Arakan hills state with the object of building the Akyab to be the harbour capital city. However, this suggestion was vehemently opposed by a veteran politician by name Ch.Chaprawnga as it could mean the loss of an ethnic gravity of the Lusei community thereby weakening its supremecy over the other tribes.

Since then, the politics of the Lushai hills was under the control of the Lusei community. The Luseism became a centrifugal magnet into which all other tribes like Hmar, paite, Ralte, Lai (Pawi and Lakher) have been gradually absorbed. As a political step forward for uniting all the tribes within Mizo district a political party called 'Mizo Union' was formed in 1946 under the leadership of Mr. R. Vanlawma. The rationale behind the Mizo politics was to submerge all the tribes into the mainstream of the Mizo. In the midst of oppositions and resistance from the Mizo, the Lais had struggled a lot to maintain their ethnic identity by initiating a series of political-ethographical movements. Certain political organizations based on the Lai ethnicity includes Pawi-Lakher company, Chin Association, Tribal Union in the late 40's and Chin National Front in 1965 and so on. The CNF was particularly aimed at "reuniting the Pawis". An instances of the opposition, Lais were resisted against their membership to the Mizo Advisory Council, the tribal union party being strongly opposed by the Mizo Union, and the CNF was jeopardised by the MNF which as formed on 22 October 1962. However, the Lais were granted a Regional Council in the name of Pawi Lakher on 23 April 1953, a year after the Mizo district council was accorded on 22 April 1952. When Mizoram was upgraded into Union Territory in 1972, the Lai, Mara and Chakma were also given each separate Autonomous District Councils.

The struggle of the Lai people for identity seems to be largely determined by the oppressive structure of the Mizo Nationalism. As Lais suffer the pain of separation from the major section of their own community their political dream always cherishes a spirit of integration with their own flesh and blood who are now drifted apart. So, the constituent Assembly accepted the proposal for District and Regional Councils, and it was brought into the Sixth Schedules to the Constitution of India. Lushai District Council was opened on 23 April 1952. Later it became Union Territory, and finally obtained its State-hood on 1986 as a "Government of Mizoram. During this period the Lai people were not being a silence listener and watcher. They became aware to the Politics, and would like to know more a bout the Sixth Scheduled, since they were a different tribe, they wanted to preserve their own culture and heritage. The first movement was started in the name of Pawi-Lakher Company, that is something like a commercial institution. However, the main reason behind the formation of this institution was to build the Lai (Pawi) and Mara (Lakher) political awareness and to draw unity between the two communities, since ethnically they are of the same family as mentioned earlier. This company brought back the scattered Lai people and it enable them to a concrete political party for the Lai community such as the Chin Association founded on 21 January 1947.

The formation of Pawi-Lakher Company is the fact that has brought the Lai people to the knowledge of Government of Assam.

After careful examination of the situation of Hill areas of Assam, as well as its political demand, the Cabinet Mission of the British Government in India discussed ways and means to protect the interests of the tribal people and the backward classed after India becomes Independence. As propounded by the Cabinet Mission an Advisory Committee was set up, and the Advisory Committee set up a sub- committee known as North Eastern Frontier Tribal and excluded Committee, to be headed by Gopinath Bardoloi, the Premier of Assam, as he was then known. The recommendation of this Sub-Committee (also known as Bardoloi Committee) thus resulted to constitute the so called Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, in 1950. Under the articles 224 (2) and 275 (1) of Sixth of the Constitution of India, a special provision for the administration of Hills District of the present North East India was envisaged. The Constitution goes

1. Autonomous Districts and Autonomous Regions. Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, the tribal area in each item of (Parts I, II and II A) in part III of the Table appended to Para 20 of this schedule shall be an Autonomous District.
2. Constitution of District Council and Regional Council.

1. There shall be a District Council for each Autonomous District consisting of not more than thirty members.
2. There shall be a separate Regional Council of each area constituted an Autonomous Region under the Sub-paragraph (2) of Para I of this schedule.