Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said that though different ethnic Mizos had their respective dialects, everyone understood and spoke the Lushai language, the lingua franca of the Mizos, which he described as an "unifying instrument" of the Mizos.
He was speaking at the general conference of the Young Mizo Association (YMA) at Bairabi on the Mizoram-Assam border last night.
Defending his recent letter asking the Centre not to accept the three legislations passed by the Manipur Assembly, he said that the tribals living in the hill areas of Manipur adjoining Mizoram were ethnic Mizos.
The Manipur Assembly in August, this year passed by voice vote three bills to protect the indigenous people of the state.
They are: the Manipur Assembly passed three bills by voice vote - the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (7th amendment) Bill, 2015 and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015.
"Blood is thicker than water and the Mizos in Mizoram should stand behind their brothers in the neighbouring state," Lal Thahawala said.
On the issue of repatriation of Brus from the six relief camps in Tripura, the Chief minister said that the Brus had migrated to neighbouring Tripura on their own will and refused to return despite several attempts to repatriate them.
He said that he did not see any reason to make another attempt to bring them back as the Brus themselves wanted to settle down in that state.
