Newmai News Network
AIZAWL, APRIL 6
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]rked by the ECI’s green signal for Brus to vote, five influential civil society organisations in Mizoram have decided to go ahead with their boycott to the Lok Sabha elections by imposing 72 hours state-wide bandh from Monday. Mizoram goes to the polls on April 9.
On Sunday, the Co-ordination Committee comprising five organisations of Young Mizo Association, MUP, MHIP, Mizo Zirlai Pawl and Mizo Students Union (MSU) decided to go ahead with their agitation by imposing the 72-hours bandh starting from 5 am on April 7 till 5 am on April 10. They are taking up this measure in protest against polling by Brus from transit camps in Tripura.
In the past few months, these civil society organisations have been threatening to boycott the upcoming LS elections in the state if the ECI does not entertain to their demand to disallow the Brus camped in Tripura from voting in Mizoram.In January, MSU had lodged a complaint to Union Home Minister S.K. Shinde regarding the troubles and obnoxious acts created by Bru community against the Mizos. The MSU had also urged the ECI not to allow the Brus residing outside Mizoram to cast their votes in Mizoram.
Also on January 23, MSU had re-submitted a petition to CEO VS Sampath to take immediate step to disallow those Bru voters who continue to live outside Mizoram from casting their votes in the LS elections.
The relationship between the Mizos and the Brus has not been going well since the past 15 years.
Hundreds of Brus had left Mizoram in 1997 and in 2009. The first case was triggered when Bru militants murdered two Mizos who were forest guards on Oct 21, 1997. The second case happened after a 17-year-old Mizo boy was killed by the Brus near Bungthuam village on Nov 13, 2009. When the Bru left Mizoram they had driven out some Mizos in villages of Sakhan Hill Range in Tripura like Sakhan Serhmun, Sakhan Tlangsang, Sakhan Tualsen and Upper Dosda which had kicked up much ruckus in Mizoram then.
