Lost In Unification

Lunneo Zou *

Unification or unifying different tribes or communities to build a strong nation in pursuance of common goal or objective is the highest forms of Nationalism. The feeling of alienation, negligence, inhuman treatment or discrimination by the central/state govt. has aroused People's sentiment and political consciousness to strive for self determination.

However, the success of every arm/political movement, organization/associations, state or government is not determined by the myth of its power or the barrel of the gun but by the motives, ideology, diplomacy and its governance or administration.

The vision of unifying all the Zomis under one umbrella and carving separate homeland connecting Burma, Chittagong Hills Tract, India etc. began after a couple and half decades of India's independence by the Zomi National Congress (ZNC).

Though not modernize, the movement was well organized and well based, the mobilization cell progress tremendously and people rendered overwhelming support. If Pu M. Gandhi or Mao Zedong were alive, they will be enthusiastic to join the historic long march of ZNC volunteers from Sikpuikawn to Churachandpur which is 265 kms.

The imposition of tax by others UGs to the Zo peoples living in different parts of the N.E-States were waived off after the ZNC flag spread length & breadth of the state and also through the wave of Zomi Nationalism.

The first phase of unification under the aegis of ZNC unified all the Zo peoples, peoples from Sadar Hills, Tamenglong, Ukhrul, and Chandel who now called themselves Kuki also accepted Zomi as their nomenclature in the initial stage and actively participated in the movement.

While everyone put efforts and willing to sacrifice their life for the cause of the movement, the descendants of Judah hailing in the heart of Churachandpur betrayed & gave strong resistance (may be they did not lead the movement or they considered themselves Messiah for the Zomi), they are hand-glove with the government, as a result extinguished the torch/flame of the Zomi movement.

Soon after ZNC's paralyzed, the second phase of unification began under the aegis of Zomi Taliban, which can be universally accepted as the darkest Page in the history of Zomi unification. Their motives or objectives are to pursue the policy of territorial aggrandizement, coercive absorption of leaders from different communities and exercising Taliban's hegemony over their fellow brethrens.

By negating the sentiments or feelings of the people, they psychologically, emotionally and mentally put leaders as their hostage where the ransom is to be paid in the form of signature in a dotted line. Their economic policy or Five Year plans were to conquer the territory or land of others, and prosper at the cost of others community. Therefore, the chaos and discontentment among the die hard peoples/community multiple, which further gave birth to a number of dreaded revolutionary groups.

It has been a long time, a decade ago that I left my native land- countryside of the Zoland, responding to the call of the UZO leaders to protect my community from external threat. The period of Zou diasporas almost come to an end. The tears, suffering & prayer of my people get a positive responds from the Almighty God, and now I'm enthusiastic & confident to breathe the air of my native land.

Though expecting grand receptions from my people, I need to greet my family with tears and friends with weapons. My ancestral land which was defended by my ancestors with their precious blood are now colonized by the Taliban, thereby exploiting the people, extorting our wealth and fulfilling the dead bed advice of their forefather to conquer our land which they failed to achieve.

The love of wealth & power is the root of all evil; eradicating the evil is to eliminate my own friends and brothers who are merchinery, employed by the Taliban to cause havoc & destructions to the Zou community. Betraying the community is a heinous crime which can neither be forgiven nor forgotten from one generation to another generation.

The enemies which I'm gonna fight are my own brothers, relatives far relatives or friends or are Pu Zou descendants. The trigger that they pull, the bullet that wounds, cripple or kill the Zou people are bought with our own money which they extorted in the form of donation.

Though thinly populated and backward in all fields, we are made to fight each other. Is that the fulfillment/result of prophecies.?? No.! Killing my enemies in the battle field is not killing a stranger but my friends or brothers from Zou gene, where their master does not lost anything.

But surprisingly, I need to shed tears not gladfully but mournfully for they are not a stranger to me, who are instigated to achieve their vested interest by the so called our leaders of the Disunited Zou Organization.

No matter whether you are neither a patriot nor Nationalist, but if you think that you are loyal to your community or true Pu Zou's descendants, there's no time for fun, sleep or dream. Are we the most useful instrument for others community? Do your deeds shed the tears of your own people? Do you justify yourself to suppress your community or are you the viruses for the growth of your own community?

Brethrens, our today's actions determine the course of our future. And the seed that we have sowed today are not worth what our ancestors had sacrificed for...

As a saying goes 'better late than never', we lost the battle but not the war, we are scattered but our blood from the same gene has still bonded us together. Let's wake up, unite in heart and make a concerted effort to save the image of our community and next generation.

If it doesn't comes from within, no human being on earth will volunteer himself to unify us. Let's defy or obstruct the aims & aspirations of the Taliban's & kukis to draw 38th parallel within the Zo community. Every single step forward for vested interest is directly proportional to two back steps to our community.

Whosoever considered themselves to be the true descendants of Pu Zou by blood, mind & heart and truly, deeply love our community, let's think it again before it completely ruins. In the process of Zomi unification, the Taliban captured leaders of the Disunited Zou organization by providing security, financial & material support, in return our so called leaders are recruiting Zomi merchinery within our community to harass, extort or kill whosoever against them.

Similarly, the Zalengam- Influential Kuki Business Organization are harboring a rubber stamp or one man army who consider himself as Zou volunteer to tarnish the image of our community. At the same time, the Meetei UGs itself trained pocket of Zou Cadres to add fuel to the fire.

On the other side, the ZDV who claimed themselves legitimate Zou Volunteers stood fearless to fight the odds for the unification & prosperity of the Zou people. Contemplating all these development, its pain to see our leaders or descendants of Pu Zou still pretending to turn a deaf ear to the plights of their people.

Brethrens, we are now completely lost in the process of unification-Zomi unification which is a death Nail to the Zou community.

Zonam Khandal Shi Aw.. Zogam Tangval Shi Aw ... !!!!!!!!!!!