Report

\J»
6<y — ♦ •• > -•' •
REPORT
OF
THE FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE
n
;
ON
THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY
OF
MIZORAM.
(Dec. 1973)
by
Rev. ZAIREMA & B. POONTE
r Published by Govl. of Mizoram.ÿ . -ÿ

Printed at the Mizoram Govt. Press, C— 500.
Scanned by CamScanner
./..T ... HUNK
•;
'V
;-
;•S'
SUMMARY FINDING : ’
\
The Mizos are unsatisfied with the line and manner in which
their Northern Boundary with Cachar was fixed arbitrarily by the
British and are likely to remain so for generations to come, unless
and until it is refixed based on certain reasonable grounds like
historical, traditional and occupational backgrounds. From the
study of the boundary history fixation here in related it is clear that
there was such a line and in its final forms is represented by the
Inner Line of 1875.
!•;
ste:-- P t- 'll
V * VM* :
mmmsa sitfRav?
REPORT OF FACTS FINDING COMMITTEE ON THE

NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF MIZORAM
Historial Introduction :
. 1. The present Mizoram, along with the sarrounding areas
which is mostly hilly tracts, such as Arracan, Chin Hills, South
Manipur Hills, Cachar Hills, Tripura Hills and Chittagong Hill
Tracts., was the home of tribal people known under various names
but belonging to the same ethnic group. They have more or less
similar culture, religion, customs and language. Although a number
of separate dialects were spoken they had no difficulty to under¬
stand each other and inter-marriage was not a rare occurence. All
of them are Mizos. However, each clan lived more or less as an
independent state of its own although concentration into larger
village under one chief was common, each clan or group living in
a more compact block within the village. People from outside the
area used to identify such group by the clan to which the chief
belonged. For example, a group known as Lusha is had Lushai
(Lusei actually) chief under whom there were Hmars, Thados, :
Raltes, Paihtes, Hrangkhawl, Biatc, etc. It was fairly common for
other Lushais to settle under Hmar or Thado etc. chiefs.
The settlers of Cachar and Syhiet called some of these clans,
such as Thado, Hmar, Hrangkhol, Biate. Ralte etc. as Kukis.
When the British came three terms were used to identify these people
viz : Old Kukis, New Kukis and Lushais but all of them are Mizos.
In fact in 1892 the Government of India seriously proposed to form
into one Disirict under Assam, the Chin Hills, Arracan Hill tracts
Chittagong Hills and Lushai Hills. The reason given being
“At present it is occupied and administered partly by Assam,

partly by Bengal and partly by Thuama, there thus being three
different Governments with three separate police and military
organisations dealing with a small tracts of land inhabited by
liomoganous tribes”.
However, the proposal was not implemented. After independence,
the term Mizo was adopted and is now' universally used to denote
all these groups. The usual classification of the people as Old and
New' Kuki or Lushai, given the impression that they are different
groups of people and is therefore quite misleading. During those
days there were frequent inter-tribal or inter-clan warfare and in
fact inter-village warfare even among the same clan often took
2
to consider them
It is therefore not surprising -ror
0L
place.
clkLrent groups of people.
I
Cachar are the Rangkhol and the
&
2. “The oldest settlers in hQ were driven north
Bete Tribes commonly known as Ola i-
y (.pe pressure
of the
from the tract known as the Lushai xii - jatter were in their
Jansen and Thados tribes behind them an j(ÿQj y0l. I
turn ousted by Lushals” (Census
Report p. The Rookies or the °f iÿr’ere closedly associated
£l/e
251).
RM& c _ whoIe of
...
Tripura •
with Tripura. At one tune
Cachar and Lushai Hills. Mackenzie writes
“‘from the beginning we
wit.ii the reigning Rajah, some L~
uU
r — ' It is very
just as we find them at the present day (2/Jp-J
t ear that the authority exercise over the
KOOA. «
\ A '
nominal than real for in every came we find the •* AM

taxe 1.ong
linking- Tripura with Manipur) from posts to posts
detours so as to pass through the plains and not accorss{<-//)
t *e
Hills ; the reason given always for fear of the KooKies
According to Mizo traditipja the Tripura Rajahs had close blood
■
wdstlon with one of the Mizo dans, the Thados. To the Mizos
Tripura was always known as “Rengpui” the big rajah. Some of
the' Mi''
••nrves on the north Lushai Hills are known as “Rengte
Fahac" or "Small Raja Hills”. Most probably some of the earlier
Mizo chiefs did owed some sort of allegiance and considered thera-
smaller Rajah One of the Kachan Kings married the
daughter of Tripura Raja and as a dowry part of Cachar was given.
The Kachari kingdom with its capital at Diraapur was destroyed
by the Ahom Kings sometime in 1536 and the Kachari fled south
and established themselves as Maibong in North Cachar Hills
Maibong was again destroyed by the Ahom Kings in 1706 and the
Cachari rajas established themselves in Cachar plains as Khaspur
on the north of river Barak. In 1818, the Manipur Raja invaded
Cachar, and as a result, a number of Manipuris setled there Ma¬
nipur was again over-run by the Burmese a few years later and
fearing they would extend their powers further the British came
to the scene. They restored the last Kachari kina Cobindra
Chandra to the throne, but at whose death the whole of Cachar
was annexed to the British territory in 1832.
3 While these great events took
known as the old Kukis, the new Kukis or the LushMs°Sin often-
their
insms
own sphere continued their inter-clan quarrel. -How far, these

historical events influenced their movements no one can tell now,
?/ u11?6 British took over Cachar District, some of the
Hrangkhols and Bete tribes, described as the oldest settlers of
Cachar, moved to North Cachar Hills while ,a fairly large ; popula¬
te °i tn£es
ate stiu 111 Cachar itself and Mizoram. The
such as Thahdps, Hmars etc. are still both in .Cachar
Maruÿur°rain are: found in; Cachar Hills and.
fÿly .Kachans
extended their rule m Cachar settlers from Syhhlet and other areas
came in. They settled down on along the bank of Barak, Haila-
kandi valley and Silchar plains. They spread . rapidly and now
occupy the best land and central areas of Cachar, while Kacharis
and other tribals are to be found mainly on the peripherials foothills
of the district. *
or recognised
......
...... . . . . .
During the period of the Kachari Kings, there was no defined
the whole
— ..... -----
— ------
southern bounday. Pemberton writes (1835)
rf T. - -?-:•* >
“On the south, the limits have never been accurately defined
*----
-
(valley) being generally a fertile plain,
which, was formerly cultivation and is
the greater portion of
now covered with the reed and grass jungle”.
The Mizos were jhum cultivators by nature and. took little interest
in permanent .wet cultivations They confined their activities
mostly in the hills. Capt. Lyons, the Superintendent 6f -Cachar
in his letter of 8th Dec. 1844 writes, —
“The Nagas (Kookies) from these very .parts (the hill country
to the southward of -Cachar) till within the last two years
made occasional inroads and carried off the heads of our sub¬
ject from Pergunah Boundary situated on the southern border
of the cultivated portion of Cachar”.
In other words, the Mizos lived in the Lill-lpcks,, while immigrants
from -Sylhlet and other areas took up cutoÿph$f dhe flat .land. - .V
One of the oldest Mizo £hife. JRntLalsÿilova: *a$ked what >;
was the extent the Mizo claimed on Cachar side replied, “the hills”
which has fullv accords with the Secretary' of Bengal Government
(Mr.-:Sayley) stand in 1871. The exact relation between the
Kachari JUngs and Mizo. Chiefs nobody can teU now. As usual
I *
4
*ii diose uays if a Raja was strong dues were paid to him, but if
weak the chiefs behaved themselves as independent states. It is*
known that there were some Mizo chiefs in the present Cachar
district. One of them was Zalenga with his present village at
Tlangpui, a hill on the present Jalenga Tea Estate which bears his
name to this day. There are still people living who remember
some, of the songs composed in his day, for under him a number
of clans or tribes, including the Lushais lived together happily and
it was something to be remembered. The Paloi Tea Estate also
bears the name of Miÿo Chief Palawia whose grand daughter is
still living at Vairengte. Seipuia a Mizo chief was also known to 1
have set up a village on a hill near Seidpur (within 10 miles from
Silchar) whose village was raided by his kins-men of Sentlang
village over a quarel about certain gongs. This was in 1849. It
was a result of this raid that the second military expedition was
'launched against the Mizos and the first one being in 1844 when
Laichhokhla a Mizo chief with his village somewhere in the
border of Sylhlet and Tripura was captured and transported.
The second expedition took place in 1850 under x
Col. Lister. The
Mizo Chief Suakpuilala by name, when asked by Col.Lister
replied saying that they were in ignorance that the Seioui’s v'Hage
situated within the British control. Another Mizo Chief
Manspawrha by name, father of Suakpirlaln (one of the most
Powerful Mizo chiefs) was known to set up bisvillage village north of
Chhotachurra peak while his son moved Ins south w- ds
from the area only after 1849. thereMÿos are number of peaces,
«-enns, etc. which "bear the names of indicating clearly
tj- -V* the area which presently falls withm Cachar earlier was
occupied and inhabited by the Mizos (Further studies on this being
undertaken).
4. Our Relations with the British :

When the British took over control of Cachar, the southern
i boundary was vaguently said to be Tripura. The first Super in ten -
\j dent of Cachar Capt. T. Fisher made some" sort of boundary.
on the sylhlet inoura area, out ms map “preserved" in
j National Archives, N. Delhi does not show any line. Pemberton
'in his report in Eastern Frontier of Bengal 1835, writes —
“On the south, the limits have never been accurately defined
and we only know, that on this side the line is framed by the
northern fool of lofty mountains inhabited by the Poitoo
■-m*
I Hi V tH’ifi'Mti+ryVM ItH********-*"
Rookies and by wild and uncxplorer Iracts of territory subjeci

lo Tripura". .
Captain Stewart, the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar in 1867

wrote lo the Bengal Government as follows :
1 he Lushais have always been looked upon as an independent
people but it is not certain that they occupy independent
territory. 1 lie southern boundary of Cachar is idefinite and
may be pushed as far as it is thought proper. The natural
boundary is the water-pent of the hills between this and the
sea and this is the Chutla-choora, a peak which is sometime
talked of as a boundary, is supposed lo be".
Commenting on the above the Surveyor General Col. H. L.
Thullier on 1st August 1867 writes —
“That both Captain Stewart and Pemberton wrote of a boun¬
dary and attempted to describe a tract of country which they
had not only visited but of which no other. European had
explored, or even traversed in a single direction, will be per¬
fectly evident on a first glance at any of the late maps which
have been prepared from the most recent explorations”.
His own findings on the boundary questions recorded in his
of Bengal is as follows : —
letter No. 325 of 3rd April 1867 to the Secretary to the Government
“Major Stewart refers in his 2nd paragraphs to an old order

of the Government forbidding Europeans to be allowed to
proceed beyond the limits of his ordinary (jurisdiction which
are specified. On reference to the old maps of Capl. Fisher
in this office, I find no absolute defined limits laid down for
Cachar District or jurisdiction and I believe no authdriialit'e
boundary has ever been fixed, or definitely approved by the
Government!*.
“ ......
Mr. S. C. Bayley, Secretary to the Government of Bengal in
his letter No. 4209 ,of 5,th September 1,871 to the Secretary to the
Government of India writes n— u n r ■
The gen real understanding is that Government hold the

plains and riot hills, but the limit is hot more eWndlv laid
down. The nearest approach to a defined limit is the. limit of
the revenue survey in the districts which have been surveyed,
m
out it appears that no precise boundary was laid down by the

civil officers and that the survey limits have been for the most
part fixed by the survey Department. Such limits then cannot
be accepted as a conclusive boundary because as explained in
the correspondence enclosed in this letter, there are tracts within
the limits they show, partly or entirely occupied by savage
tribes, and on the other hand there are tracts not surveyed
which are properly parts of the district surveyed
The Cachar limits are much better defined, since they march
with British district, on the west and north have a river boundary
with Manipur on the east, and on the south a line of protection has
been laid down beyond which there are no tea gardens”.
The Revenue Surveyor N. T. Davev addressed to the Superin¬

tendent of Revenue Surveys of Bengal in his letter No. 19, Silchar,
1 7th March 1867 also writes —
“The tracts of country lying between Cachar and Chittagong
is inhabited by the Lushais (an independent hill tribe) who
claim all the unsurveyed counrty to the south of Cachar, shown
on the maps received from you”.
5. On the 6th November 1849, the Mizos attacked their own

brethren in another village belonging to Seipuia known also as Kooki
Raja over a dispute relating to certain gongs. The village was
located about ten miles south of Silchar, close to Sheypoure near
Makachubre Bheel. This area falls under Sonapur Parganah and
from the description of the visit paid by the Superintendent G.
Verner, it was quite isolated from the surrounding settlements.
The British claimed this area to be within their jurisdiction and to
reretatiate Capt. Lister, the Political Agent was deputed to punish
the perpelratores of the outrage. This he did and set fire to Sentlang
village on 15th January 1850. He found the Mizos much stranger
than he expected and had to retreat hurriedly though seriously
wounded and got back to his base camp in four days from which
it took him 11 days to reach the village.
Captain Lister, making his report of the expedition suggested

of India that negotiations with the
to the Government Lushais for
peace be opened and accordingly proposed (1) hostage of
future
r.l WW? WR!V r}4*!ÿ**

*»-*
Young Chiefs be demanded who would be sent to School (2) the

boundary should be pointed out. The Government of India,
however, rejected the first proposal and accepted the latter one
that the Lushais should be told to respect their (British) border
and in turn the British also would respect their border and not
interfere with their affairs.
6.As previously arranged 5 Lushai M uniris arrived at Silchar

on 27th November 1850. Some talks were held but the presence
of the r own chiefs was demanded. As a result Suakpuilala one
of the most influential chiefs arrived Silchar alone on 14th De¬
cember 1850. The other chiefs did not appear. Col. Lister had
a talk with him during 16 — 18th December 1850, at Silchar.
According to Col. Lister, in his report dated Cachar, 20th Decem¬
ber 1850 Suakpuilala was ‘apparently well-satisfied with the recep-
n he had met with an earnest in his promise of future good
behaviour — which he is no doubt for the present at least sincere’.
Mr. Edgar, 20 years later in his diary of 13th May 1870 re¬
ported this meeting with Suakpuilala and writes —
"Suakpuilala contradicted the fable of his visit to Cachar in
•
1850 ”
7 (a) It was apparent that the British told the Lushai Muntris
and Suakpuilala to respect their border and must have pointed
out some line beyond (north of) which the Lushais should commit
no raid or carry on their internal and tribal quarrels. However
no official record indicating 'the exact line of boundary could be
i raced. Even Col. Thullier the then Survey General of India as
pointed out in para. 4 could not trace such line either as far back
as 1867. The nearest definition of such line, we can find in
records, is that Col. E. R. Ellis, Assistant Quarter Master General
in his book “Military Report on the Chin— Lushai Country” pub¬
lished in 1893 at page 27 when he writes
“The boundary line extended from a lew miles above Lakhipur

on the Barak to the Northern limits of Hill Tipperah, passing
through the Southern extremity of the Chuttachurra range,
and the Lushais had been warned thrt any depredationÿ
committed on the British side of this line would be severely
punished.”
&
!1“fi ; ’’,r AV '? - ■
.
1 '!ÿ' JJRStf WWW’ii-:
U
I#
.: JL.
_
8
T. >!. F.'.'h cruclpuon of bouikkry existing then a line

from a few miles above Lakhipur on the Barak to the northern
tip of Tripura the line passes somewhere in the vicinity of the
present Jalenga Tea Garden area where there are significant his¬
torical evidences of Mizo inhabitations and location of a large
Mizo village called Tlangpui1 village which was already indicated
in para 3. The Revenue Survey Map of 1844 is ’also limited in
close proximity with this line in this area.
(Note : There is a report on the existence of a pillar between
Pannibhara and Palawi somewhere in this line which is under
investigation through us).
According to Pu Dahrawka, a Mizo intiquarian the Mizos and
the Borashep of Cachar performed a ‘Sauitari ceremony at Zalenga.
This is a traditional ceremony performed between two chiefs at
the settlement of disputes, particularly on the boundary question.
Col: Lister or Superintendent of Cachar District left no record
about such ceremony except that they told the Mizos to respect
their boundary. However, there was mutual exchange of gifts
taken as a normal course indicating mutual understanding and
goodwill when the two chiefs meet.
Subsequent actions taken by British tended to confirm the
interpretation of Col. E. R. Ellis description of the then southern
limits of Cachar boundary. When they established defensive posts
and connected them witli foot-paths, it follows more or less this
line called Rouphari, which is known to Mizos including local
inhabitants as the traditional boundary between the plains people
and the Mizos. Rouphari means patrol or battle line in Bangali.
Actually when the Inner Line of 1875 was drawn, it runs very
closely along this Rouphari.
It may be mentioned that the British cleverly armed the Mizos
who had settled round about this line to protect their frontier
t against further attack by the Mizos living far beyond the frontier.
8. The result of Lister’s expedition of 1850 and his negotia-
:->ns with the Lushai Muntris and Suakpuilala was that there was
TV? border disturbance for the next 12 years on Cachar front In
I '62 three outrages by the Mizos were reported on the Svhlet
frontier, but it was uncertain if the Lushais were responsible In
-he meantime, revenue survey operation took place, and the Sonai
was also surveyed upto the foot hills. Tea plantations
:;n Cachar sometime in 1855 and spread throughoutwere the
started
area
9
rapidly. Grants of land were made, settlers encouranged and as a

result gardens were being opened on Sonai, Dhaleswary river
banks and in the central hills of Cachar on Dwarband range.
9. The Mizos were aÿrmed at this fast spread of cultivation

towards their country including part of the land they ‘ considered
as theirs. To protest this Vanpuilala, a Mizo chief sent his muntris
who met Capt. Steward, the Superintendent of Cachar, in January
1865. Capt. Steward, in his report No. 5 of 13th January 1865
writes— “The Muntris said that he had been told particularly to
mentions that the Rajah’ was in great dread at the advance of
Tea-gardens upto the river Sonai and to request that they
might not be pushed above as it would interfere with
his hunting ground and the tribe would not know where to go,
I replied that he had nothing to fear from Tea-gardens, that

the nearer they approached his village the greater would be
the advantage to him and instanced the case of Suakpuilala
who in time of famine supplied his village with food by working
for the Tea-planters nearest him. That as the hunting grounds
they must always give place to cultivation and that I had no
doubt that the Tea-gradens would eventually be* made much
further up the Sonai, indeed as far as it was navigable.
The Muntris said that this was what was feared and that
if the gardens came up to their village what were they to do...
The Muntris did not seem perfectly satisfied but they said
no more on the Subject”.
The Government of India too were dissatisfied with what Capt.

Steward said. They asked him to explain how the country of the
Lushais could be considered open to British enterprise in the way
indicated. Evidently the Government of India realised the grave
possible consequence of Capt. Steward aggressive and audiciously
Lmpearialistic and flippant attitude to the Mizos. Capt. Steward’s
bangling to deal properly with the Mizos has been seen in his pro¬
posal to send police expedition in 1865—66 against Suakpuilala
for alleged failure to return the captives. Suakpuilala counter-
allenged saying that three of his subjects were murdered by the
kvy armed by the British. The rains prevented the proposed
expedition. And so the Government of India decided tr reccm
mend negotiations instead of armed expedition.
10
grew among the Mizos and Mackenzie sum¬

lj.oi.aiisi action
marised this period as follows
"In November, 1868, the Governor General’s Agent at Mani¬
pur reported that the Lushais attacked certain Naga villages
belonging to that State. This did not appear intimately to
‘ e“ect us> but is was really the first symptom of a general out-
>reak all along the frontier. Towards the close of Decem¬
ber. the Magistrate of Sylhet reported that a village near
Adampore had been attacked by ICookies, and the Commis¬
sioner thought this movement be connected with that on the
; pur A few clays later finite- reports came to
: Item which it appeared that Suakpuilala had attacked
.yf$ ;n too Hill Tiperrah State and that a chief called
.Mi'-gboom fleeing frem Suakpu'lrla had taken refuge in
v Get. Almost simu.taneously it appeared that a large' party
•f Manipur is under Y anhai Sing, a refugee prince of Manipur,
tad assembled new i*-e east frontier of Caesar while the Lushais
ere threatening the Tea gardens in the South.
■
The Deputy Commissioner lost no time in taking measures

•
OP.
- the protection of other outlying tea-gardens" (Mackenzie
301)?
A. a prelude to things to happen Loharband and Momerkhal

a -dens were raided in 1869. An expedition organised in 1869
iiish the Mizc-s who were suspected of taking part in the raids
;p Other measures to prevent trouble and to protest British

s-jf-Mcts are also taken.
A certain line was fixed as early as 1867 beyond which

c,Tropea ns were allowed to pass. This order was made general
- ~ - ->}\ British subjects by order of the Government conveyed in
T heir letter No. 1130 oflst
July 1870.
:b» Along this line at intervals Police posts were created

- d strengthened.
Col. H.L. Thullier prepared a memorandum on the
anthem boundary of Cachar District in response to some harsh
remarks against the map he prepared in 1867 “to meet the
exigencies of the military expedition from Cachar against the
11
Lu?h?: 1 1 ibe (No. 72 of 4th January 1870,) in which he has

n the southern boundary of Hylakandy to have extended
up'.o Dcmagiii and the Cachai Southern boundary upto the
source of Sonai. *.•
In this memorandum he says -

the great and chief cause of all the troubles in point of
on this frontiei appeuis to be the Lushaees in total
'
Kwc-vnnce of what is or is not British territory, male0 very

r~ rural mistakes in their raids and reprisals, and are unable to
distinguish the tea plantations or jungles of Cachar from the
-UvR or jurisdiction of the Rajas of Manipur or of Tiper-
‘
. ith shown there is perpetual feud. It is desirable for
’ m : G vernment therefore to decide at once what tie British
‘
•Laphn Frontier shall be and whether the small arc? between

the tea planters of Chittagong and Cachar respectively shall
be declared to belong to the Bristish Government or to
independent savages to separate India from Burma’’.
These and other writings indicate that: the British anticipated
trouble over the encroachment by Cachar settlers on land
\-f Lushais claimed as theirs. For these reason they were anxious to
i r- new boundary enclose the Tea gardens so that they
car. cou ter accuse the Mizos of encroaching and violating their
border should the Mizos attack the outlying tea gardens. Lt.Col.
A S Reid, the doctor who accompanied the 1871-72 expedition
- much more detached person remarks in his Book-Chin-Lushai
Land at pages 8 <£ 9
'•Meanwhile it had been discovered in 1855 that the tea plan
was indigenous to Cachar, add soon after garden, for culti¬
vation and production of this important article of commerce
began to be opened out in the southern part of the district,
v. irh rather a disquieting effect upon the neighbouring tribes
who fancied they sow posible encroachment upon their heri-
ditary hunting grounds. The suspicion found expression in a
raid upon the tea gardens, of Loharband and Monierkhal in
the beginning of 1869. A weak policy of concession and con-
cilation was then tried, and between December 1869 and
March 1870, Mr. Edgar, the then Deputy Commissioner of Ca¬
char and Major MacDonald visited Suakpuilal at his home,
and between them fixed a nev boundary, which, a1: after
events will show, was not recognised by the tribes whom
dStiMBfiBgiK
CB£HA9J£jÿ
12
the chief represented. The outrages which soon followed ex-

ceeded in magnitude and ferocity all that had gone bcfoie.
on am ore extensively organised scale and a far more determi¬
ned character of raids made in 1870--71 on the tea gardens of
—
......
Cachar by the Mizos, Lt. Col, Reid ‘writes :
“the alleged grievance of the Lushais was that the tea

planters cleared forests on t‘, e Cachar frontier, under the
promised protection of the Civi’ authorities in tracts which
were claimed by the former as their rightful hunting grounds,
a though regarded by> us well within the newly defined line.”
To Col. H. L. Thullier’s memorandum the Government of
Bengal explained the position in their letter No. 1477 ofÿ24th
March 1870 as follows: —
“In reply, I am directed to say that it seems to the Lt. Go¬
vernor quite unnecessary for the Government to decide at
present what shall be the limits of British territory on its
eastern frontier. Si ch a definition would not prevent raids
or relieve Govt, of any responsibility at present attached to
it. It does, however, appear desirable that the jurisdiction
of our civil and district authorities should be properly defi- •
ned, and limited to the parts surveyed and settled, and

this is what the Lt. Governor would propose to do now in
Cachar, via. lay down the southern boundary of that district,
excluding from it the parts over which our courts can excer-
cise no control”.
The Government of India agreed to
this “with the proviso, that nothing should be said or done to
give rise to the inference that the British boundary is limited
to the surveyed parts and does not extend to the limits
hitherto shown in maps” (No 658P dated 11th Apiil 1870)
The Commissioner of Dacca was accordingly requested by
the Government of Bengal vide their letter No" 215 of 3rd May
1870 which says, “to proceed in communicaton with the
Survey Department to define the southern boundary of
Cachar and submit a draft notification for the approval of
the Government. Care must be taken to draw the boundary
so that i< will include only those parts of the county over
which we have control”.
ft
13
He Ccn nvissioner requested the officii ting Deputy Commissioner

cf C cl.ar to cesciibe the boundary. The Deputy Commissioner
!
Mr. C.C.R. Mc-Williums in his letter No '3(41 Cachar dt 27th

May 1870 dcsciibed the southern boundary of Cachar as follows:-
‘•From north west piller of Alexanderpure grant in a south-

thernly direction, west of that grant and Cultlycheiria.
Thence in an east southeast direction to the Dhullessor, south
along the course of the Dullessore to the most, southern
pillar .of Jhalnacherra, Daryghat, Cookecherra. Borooncheira
t- en in a north-east direction to the point where the river
Jailing h leaves the Loharband grant, north to the noith-east
point of Sunacherra along eastern boundary of Now&rband,
south bomdary of Bora Jalingah grant to the Rukni, thence
south it the Pachai Khali; thence scuth-east to Mynadhar
where the line meets the Barak, which is the eastern boun¬
dary of Cachai, dividing i from V anipure”
TH> was forwarded to the officiating Boundary Commissione

Major Macdonald who in his letter No 121 of 11th July 1870
addressed to the Government of Bengal made the final draft and
c. mmerts as follows : —
‘ÿ•From the south-west pillar of “Appin or Lotakan grant,
the boundary passes south of that grant e stward to the
pillar at the north-west corner of Alexanderpore, whence,
turning southward, it goes along the western limit of *Alex-
s1 derpore* and then along the western and southern limits
cf Cutleycherra south-east to river ‘Dhullesur’; thence along
the course of the Dhullesur to the most southern pillar of
Jhalnacherra on that river; whence along the southern and
eastern limits of Jhalnacherra and then along the easter
boundaries of ‘Deriagat’, ‘Kookecherra’ and ‘Booruncherra’;
thence the boundary runs in north-east direction south of
jungle block No 3,6 & 7 to ‘Monierkhal’ and thence it passes
in a south east direction along south of jungle block No 1
and 2 and of grant ‘Mynadhar’ till it meets rivet Barak,
which is the eastern boundary of Cachar dividing Cachar
from Manipore.
The officiating District Officer in his letter marginally
a;uoted gave the limit of the revenue survey operations as
l--~ boundary of the district. I object u-. tLA bclr.c accepted.
gas
__
i- X.'. g_:“ - r itÿ-r *t *ÿ*j***-ÿ»*Q-ÿlÿilw;:w &&* - - -ÿ— '-•u**' '-•*- - * M**4u Bÿ4
14
wcaase '.here is no possibility of tracing the lines in question

very tourtous through
a ad that it is also very long and
swamps and forest”.
11. At this period there were two opposing opinions in re-
:i:d to the policy towards the Mizos and the border tribes in
zefer/.l on the Norh-eaS'e.r i Frontier of Indii. One headed by
• .
.’.Grey the Lt. Governor of Bengal who “ was ol the opin-
that he Lusha is would never appreciate our friendship until
they had been made to feel our power”. The other opinio i
-tided by she Viceroy Lord Mayor who wrote in a demi-official
c *0 Sit Grey on 23th August, 1S69
Nothing will induce me, if 1 can help it, to have any

•
more n Hi ary expendi'ions on the sou'h-east Frontier .

= 2.As 'ension grew along lie frontiers, the ,government
j-snted Mr. J.W. Edgar (later ’Sir’) who was apparent! v consi-
‘0 be the moct suitable and expert in tribal affairs, as a
-rtr: h Deputy Conn-, issi jn*r of Cach r. Preparations were made
ect more effectively of the frontier by increasing and
•? he -ing the outposts. The Mizos too feh this ension and
:o preparing them selves to do what they could do drive
'
2«: ea- nlanters whom they considered were encroaching on

'iidt. Suakpuilala was anxious to maintain peace and l
t cco'diuglv sent messe yens to Mr. Cdgar to see if better under- i
landing 'could be arrived at.
- Mr Edgar proposed to return to the Lushai hills with

these messengers, a .d endeavour with their help to preserve
a personal iu.ervicw with some of the principal chiefs. The
proposal was approved, and it was arranged that Mr. Edgar
should be a1 tended by a small guard for strictly defensive
purpose and accompanied by Major Macdonald, officiating
Superintended of Revenue surveys (referred to in this note
as boundary Commissioner) Lower Circle, for the special
oi denning the southern boundary of the
Cachar Dis-
k”“8' °r
.v s« avasTti,**8
conveyed to Is follows
Govt, of Bengal is V‘ ?
»<Ull
15
chiefs whom he
•‘Establishment of friendly relations with/*he the
may succeed in meeting. He was to invite chief to settle
in the belt of c, untry to the south of Cachar between the
confines at Manipure and Hill Tippeiah where they were to
be treated as independent, and promised a .supply ol arms
and ammunition on condition of theii; pledging themselves
%
io be peaceful and friendly neighbours.

Mr. Edgar as accompanied by Major Macdonald then visited
L«j'hai land and had a meeting with the Suakpuilala and »ew
other chiefs. Edgar in his diary of 22nd March 1870 records
**i wanted to fix a boundary between us and then which

would be respected by both >f us. They said that there was
a bo u J’I . u i y lixic laid down many years ago by a Superinten¬
dent of Cachar and they wished to have this boundary
upheld. When they tried to describe what this was, I found
some difficulty in identifying it, but it is probably the old
boundary as shown in maps running from Chottactiurra to
Tepai Mokh, and probably crossing Dulleswar somewhere
near Panchpir-Ka-Mokam. After some talk the Lushais
z-zreed to accept my boundary provisionally for this year and
next cold season to send down people to settle on a perma¬
nent b undary. As soon, as this is fixed Sookpilal is to put
a poonji close to it in his aide, and this guard is to be res¬
ponsible for the safety of the frontier”.
13. On their return Mr. Edgar had personal interview with
; Lt. Governor of Bengal Major Macdonald seemed to have
prepared a separate memorandum and also writes vide his letter
. No"131, Calcutta dated 1st Aug. 1870.
"I have the honour to report for the information of the Lt.
Governor, Bengal, that the Cachar Maps will soon be ready
for publication and it is most necessary some settlement of
; the southern boundary of the district should be made.
(2) I have recommended a line that is almost straight
•which can be laid down with accuracy.
(3) The Officiating District Officer, in his letter mar¬
ginally quoted gave the limit of the revenue survey operations
as the boundary of the district. I object to this being
U8KB8533B&! UBS!
iggigpi x’-'Lft-
16
of
accepted because there is ro possbijity
very long
11
ana 1 'T® 'tortotis
veiy tot touts
question, and that it is also 1
through swamps and forest.
placedi both
(4) On the accompanying sketch I _ have
lines of boundary for comparision. and I now
Ct
question for his Honour to decide. TTie cdouud

Deputy
defines tire limit proposed by the officiating boundary
Jmw1
c
tioner of Cachar and the dotted line is the
mend”.
Edgar’s note on the proposal of the officiating Deputy Co mm3 -
sioner, Cachar dated 19th May 1870 runs
“The boundary in blue was proposed by Mr. McWilliams

as the limit of the jurisdiction of Civil Courts of Caen a r.
His proposals had no reference to any arrangements
to be
made with die Looshais”.
Note : — Thus there were two proposals on the southern boun¬
dary of Crchar —
(a) One initiated by McWilliams under definite instructions
from the Government of Bengal giving a* the line the limits
of revenue survey ane habitation “excluding from it the
parts over which the British courts can exercise no control”.
To this proposal Major Mac Donald, the officiating Boun¬
dary Commissioner objected as being tortous and proposed
a less tortous line.
(b) Edgar and Mac Donald put forward another proposal
along a separate line running from Chhotachurra to Tipai-
mukh which has been quoted in Edgar’s diary above.
14. The Lt. Governor of Bengal made up his mind and
accepted the second proposal mentioned as above. The Chief
Secretary in his letter No. 4146 of 12th September 1870 writes
to the officiating Boundary Commissioner, Major Macdonald—
tc,
K4 J‘Lb?Lt0 the receipt of your letter No.
dated 30th ultimo and in reply to state that the
\ernoi sanction the adoption of the
Lt.Go-
line described in the drafts
"he Cac nr D?s«eHc the southern boundary of
the cSfcMfe notlflcatior' "'ill be published in
i7
:To prevent mistakes’ hereafter the iLe in question

should be spoken of not os the boundary between Cachar and
independent Looshai Territory but as the southern boundary of
the Cachar District.' The tract to the south being merely des¬
cribed by the name of the tribes dv.clling there i.e. Lusha is”.
The southern boundary of Cachar as proposed by Mr. Edgar and
Major Macdonald and approved by ’LL Governor was Gazetted
as follows : —
‘Starting from G.T.S. “Chuttac urra*’ the boundary shall run
in a south-east direction. to the mouth of the Bhyrubbecher-
ra” river; whence it shall take a north-east direction to the
top of ‘‘ Noonvai” arid on to the mouth of the Borocooliecherr*
at its junction with the Sonai’ river; thence south east to
‘Tipeemukh’ at the junction of the Barak river (Calcutta Ga-
zette 21.9.1870).
15. Thus the southern boundary of Cachar District as newly-
proposed by Mr. Edgar. and Major Macdonald became the offi¬
cial southern boundary of Cachar District. In this way the raids
m the tea gardens in 1871 can well be descr as taking place
Cachar District-“well within the newly defined line”;
!6. To make the Mizos accept this line it was proposed that
'
Mr. Edgar should visit. the Lushai land in the winter of 1 870-71.
A sunnud to be given to-Suakpuilala was prepared. Mr. Edgar
E his letter No, 815. of 23rd September 1870 to fhe Commissioner
cf Dacca states. : —
think that this (i.e. the one gezatted .already) will
*.[
be found to be the best boundary that we can lay down; but
'Suakpuilal is the only chief to whom I talked about it, and
he made some objections on one point; .consequently 1. settled
that no boundary should de adopted till next season when I
promised reinquiry.- The point in dispute, is where the line
should ci oss the Dullesw'ai river.. Suakpuilal says that the
point fixed by one of my predecessor was Panchpirka Mo-
kam, a place not marked on the maps but which is north of
Bhyrabi Mukh. It makes very little difference to .use which
point is fixed on, as both are known; but I prefer Bhyrabi
Mukh because it is marked on the map. The Looshais seem
to have a super titious veneration for Pamobpriska MUK&H'I,
1 which they call in their language the place of god“.
1
l
.•
!
18
.
NOTE :— The Mizos said Suakpuilala
H=ce Panchpirka Mokum from where he
had a
cojiecte stolon
V
aMhis I
map of m&Q™™ the
toil La t on the traders. Capt. Fisher’s
presence, of a Kookie on the opposite bank of
T]
■
, ‘
Pzÿchoirka Mokam. It may be recalled from Mr, ubo \_ .v L

‘
z-.oted earlier that Suakpuilala wan ed to uphold the /

Suakpuilala described mi
ai'eadv fixed several years ago. When
bccndan, Mr. Edgar could not determine it put *ie $
that the boundary crosses DuMeswar at Panchpirka MOKC n.o
Cant. Fisher the first Superintendent of Cachar was known the
•ied some sort of l:ne sometime in 1834 or so soon after
3- tish annexed Cachar. It was known that Suakpuilala and his
ta-
father Mangpawrha had established themselves north ol Cho een
churra peak. In fact tr.e boundary mentioned to have cou]
n' er fixed by the Superintendent of Cachar evidently
TS been the line mentioned by Col. E.R. Ellis and pointe
oct to the Mizos by Col. Lister in 1850. This boundary
runs
thr north of Panchpirka Mokam. Therefore, what Mr. Edgar ways
-f -He line fixed by one of his predecessors could not have passed
ugh the point at Panchpirka Mokum and indeed his state-
aesi in the above letter saying-“Suakouilal says that the point
fixed
•r* one of my predecessors was Panchpirka Mokum” is
certainly
ss surmise.
The Lt. Governor of Bengal views on the above proposal
explained in Government letter No. 4885 Of 7th November 1870
52 the Government of India is as follows
Lt. Governor when lately visited Cachar discussed per-

sonally with Mr. Edgar the question of boundary between
the district of Cachar and the Lushai tract, and the line
suggested by that Officer has been accepted and notified in
Calcutta Gazette. With reference to the rerhdrks in the 2nd
I paragraph of* Mr.Edpar’s letter, the Lt. Governor must express
his opinion that it is undesirable at piesent to alter the line
by any change which would have the effect of bringing it fur-
i her north. Sufficient consideration
t has been already shown
to the Lushais in fixing this boundary -
The sunnud drawn up by
ved Mr. Edgar is generally appro¬
thcir letter No. 2021 P Fort

1870 writes -
U
1
V-
{ 1-9
,
I -In reply, I am directed to state that his Excellency, the

Viceroy and Governor- General in Council does not take
die same objection as His Honour the Lt. Governor to the
5 alteration of the boundary between the Cachar District and
m the Looshai tract, should Mr. Edgar during his tour find it
desirable to recommend any modification' of the line already
notified in the Calcutta Gazette. From ' paragraph 4 6f my
H . fetter No. 1126P dated 30th June, His Honour will perceive
tsst it was not intended that the boundary should be defini-
*ÿ hxed till after Mr Edgar’s visit. Mr. Edgar, indeed, pro¬
sed Suakpuilala that no boundary would be fixed till next
season. If it should prove that the posession of Panchpirka
VCokum OT any other place on the boundary which may be
i: se-ld in much veneration by the Lushais, is highly valued by
them, it might, in the opinion of his Excellency in Council,
perhaps, be the wisest policy to give it up to them. Places
Situated near to the boundary line marked on the map cannot
ce of any real value to the British Government.
His excellency in Council accordingly prefers to with¬
hold final sanction to the settlement of the boundary till after
Mr. Edgar’s next visit is concluded. It is doubtful, I am to
idd. whether Act VI of 1864 of the Bengal Council, under
fe which the Notification in the Culcutta Gazette was probably
fb issued, empowers the local Government to define the boun¬
dary’ in question. The boundaries which the Lt. Governor is
authorised under the Act to alter are clearly those of internal
divisions and hot the boundaries of the empires or as in the
$
present case, the boundaries of an ordinary civil
I: _ 17. Mr. Edgar went to meet the Mizo Chief again in 1870-71
r 'mzZk zn already prepared sunnud and with authority to incorporate
:
a sSEgfct change in the line should the Lushais insisted on it. When
sSe- L-G. of Bengal under whose direct authority he served expre-
his opinion so strongly. Edgar it appears could not but stick
; se line already notified in the Culcutta Gazette as he also
11 it “because it is marked on the map”. On the 16th Ja-
1971 after explaining the contends of the Sunnud to Suak-
figsifcfb (later confirmed to be counterfeit Suakpuilala) he signed it
€H.' behalf of the illustrious Government and gave it to
?ÿ
him. The
or sunnud was cleverly drawn to confuse the Chief
|*a*ESig; that the area on the north of the line would be called as
; 35ÿ: the Northern Lushais Lands or Marthinlong. The
naming the area could be made only to
—id dr
ambi-
° possibly clashes with the Mizo Chief and his subjects as
■
I Scanned by CamScanner
20
ibis area was under his w' 'Ural of |

BA-AKStextasSunnud
Mizo Chief. The full of the is as follows . s
Suakpuilala,
“TRANSLATION OF the Sunnud Given to I
'
-1871
to the
The order of the illustrious Government. Be it known ' r e
I
|
Looshai Lall (Sookpuilal) and to all other Lalls, Mun
and people of Looshai villages between the Tapaj and Liper
Hills. i
The illustrious Government had laid down the following
I
line of divisions-
3
S
r From Chutturchuira to the mouth of Bhyrubeecherra, r
from the mouth of Bhyrubeecherra to Shyrubee Tillah |
from Bhyiubee Tillah to Kolosep Tillah, from Kolosep |
Tillah to Noonvai Hills from Noonvai Hills to Kobo- jjj
cherra. Mookh, which fallc to.Sonai Nuddee, and it has §
ordered that .the country to the north of the said line shall I
be called Cachar and the Marthinlong or Northern. Loosha1’
Lands; on the other side of that line of division shall be. called i
f
the Looshai Hills. The name Marthinlong or .Northern Looshai I:
include those people who drink the wafer of the-Taovai, Tipai, {;
■; Tuirel.or Sonai, Tinpar or RuknL Si-nlong, -or. Dullessur and
V Kloong Doong or Guttur. I
-The mustrious- Government lias further ordered, that ;
i (Sookpuilall) and all other , Looshai Lalls, M untrees
people shall not in any way injure or annoy any ot the. and
of Sylhet or Cachar. people
I*
;
fi hands of OachaT oT'syMet peopleÿand °f una0yance'at tlle
have his t
I
wrongs- redressed, he must take a S
Burma sahib (Deputy
Commissioner “of cSrÿf
answerable for the sadfeiÿof“]|eSm°f,the. Lo°sliais shall be {
wood-cutters
iHLey §or ntLdr;nek0ÿe flowiÿ tÿTouth! j

8
" Ule east or the Tipai, are
> .'
n
it-
about to attack or annoy any people of Cachar or Syhlet,
and if Sookpuilal etc. know of it and cannot prevent them
from passing through their villages, then Sookpuilal etc. must
at once give information to the Burra Sahib (Deputy Com¬
missioner) of Cachar. . . .
If a dispute arise between Suakpuilal etc. and the
people of the Rajahs of Munipur or Tiperrah, he or they
may inform the Burra Sahib (Deputy Commissioner) of
Cachar, who will endeavour to get the matter enquired into.
When the Burra Sahib of Cachar or any Govt. Officer

•
1; v*ho may be disputed by him goes to visit the Looshai Hills,

p Suakpuilal should meet him in person or by Deputy at some
Igr place to be appointed from time to time within the hills.
If in any year no European Government Officer goes
to the hills, then Sookpuilal etc, shall send to the Burra Sahib
i (Deputy Commissioner) at Doodpate (Silchar) some respec¬
ts; table Looshais.
& If at any time all the above orders of Government be
cot carried out the said Government may revoke this Sunnud
P and pass such orders as it thinks proper. But as long as
H Sookpuilal etc. shall obey all these orders and any similar
ones which the Government may issue from time to time for
the preservation of peace on both sides of the above men¬
tioned line, the Government will not interfere with the affairs
of their villages, and will leave them in the undisturbed
H'; possession of their village land.
t: !
Dated the 16th January 1871.
L-v ‘
The Goverment of India accorded their assent to the Sunnud

sfsBeiading in particulars, the line described in it, in preference to
7 BSS§E1 Government Gazette Notification, although the line ex-
pfes&s upto Sonai only. This was conveyed in their letter No
1S5S4P, dated 22nd July 1871.
jgp Regarding the line in the Calcutta Gazette no-
NOTE
p lÿstion of 21-9-1870 the Government of Bengal “decided that
BS*»Bdary must for the present be accepted as one southern boun-
hmit of the Cachar District “(No 118T, 24th August 1870).
Sunnud, on the other hand described a line from Chotta-
Sonai only dividing the country fcst\vft?rt iht Lusha!
&
r
IT
I:
§E
W
. .. w ..
Otchar
v
__ 22
and northern Looshai London tu®

-v. ,M0 Thii Government of India accepted, in
preference |
2; -Vÿa line unto Tinaiinukh described in the Calcutta Gazzette. |
the area- between |
l- Ttes 'there was no officially recognised line on
f: Secai and Barak rivers.
wil
IS. The news of Edger’s earlier visit and. . his talkscountry
15
f
1
SasLkpuilala and how a sort of boundary deep within a.
Mizos considered as theirs was imposed upon tne lettei,
i
spread out. They decided therefore to take actions on the V

p le=.-£3rdens and settlements encroaching on their land. The ear- ;
;• Hsr raids committed in Cachar and Syhlet area had been coiili- ;;
f sed chiefly to their own clansmen over certain quarrels. This |
§; scxr 0f tffing had been going on among themselves but never
H w&S&out reason. As motives for these raids, head-hunting wa|.
talk of as one reason, looting being another but these l
■
only the results of their victory as the Mizos were not es-
g ssrcÿIIy head hunter.
Mr
Shri Mac Kenzia writes ( pp 305 ) |
I "Before any of the arrangements suggested by Mr. Edgar
could be carried out, while he was actually at Sookpuilal’s
I
Wr Milage, discussing matter with him in January 1871, a series
f of raids were committed by the Lushais, in concert with the
l- ■
Howheys and Syloos, Kookie tribes well known to us on

Chittagong frontier, on a more extensively organised scale I
r and a far more determined character than any previous
incursions”.
:1
In January - February 1871 most of the outlying tea-gardens
f; sc»eresfeeattacked with varying degrees of success or failure. According
Mizos the party sent to attack Dholai Tea-garden
-feinacherra) one of the tea-gardens regarded as encroaching
tneaT :
| ,
stor lands missed their objectives and went further north in the
f; path and attacked
| *IlIed ?nc European anTÿiÿtured his littlTaaugfter Here
Mary
I Dniester by name. What outraged the British most and fired
f-9** the highest pitch of indignation it is l
UPSt t"«}
i;s*64w tribe that infested their Z °bait|eir
lbalous°,wn SaVage "0xl0llS
II stssaised in 1871. The orders of fcrl
Ww ' Mass've exPedition was
I; sen 5 of the resolution is Resolution0
» be found in their
3z~ F ?P0r
General in Council
quoted July 1871 and °’lly
hertrb 1,
f
23
“It must, however, always be borne in mind that retaliation

+
is not the only object of the expedition. The. main end in
view is to show these savages that they are completely in our
power; to establish friendly relations of permanent charac¬
ter with them; to. make them promise to receive- in their
villages, from time to time, Native agents of our own, to
make. travelling safe to all, to show them the advantages of
: trade and commerce; and to demonstrate to them effectually
that they have nothing to gain and everything to loose by
'placing themselves in a hostile position towards the British
Government”
The expedition was carried out during the dry season
1871-72 successfully and the httle girl Mary Winchester reco-
i «sd. The Lushais were also partly successful in their objectives
|cjr_ no further settlement of tea-gardens were ever opened after-
EfeVards towards their country, but those already established were
withdrawn. Lt. Col. Reid in his Chin-Lushai writes.
£
--As I have already said, the theoretical frontier laid down
by Mr. Edgar a few month before and acquiesced by
Suakpuilal was not recognised even by the subjects of the
I chief”, (pp 1 1)
The effect of the expedition was “the Lushais have given

%::mi serious trouble” (Mackenzia 317). On the Cachar frontier the
gfcggsirry was also surveyed and much better informations about
country and the people was gained. What the British used to
or talked about previously was on a subject which they had
IpBEF* imperfect knowledge.
19. Measures taken by the British after the 1871-72 expedi-
mm.
|| TheTke Government of India appeared to be in two minds
Igky boundary line between their empire and those of the
°n Uie one hand they appeared to stick to the Sunnud
F £?kPmlala and on the other they appeared to
govern the area upto the 1867 line only. be content to
fc__¥r\Mc Wllliams visited Suakpuilala in March 1874

that notT
the Suakpuilala he met was
Mr. Edgar gave the sunnud. Yet the chi*f t
of Assam in his' 1et*er lo m -.hief
S*«E. 21st Aoril 1874 JnJÿ W-nw*
*** 7»
i;
24
5
;*T V fraud practised upon Mr. Edgar on hit
visit. ia 1869— ,
;J which has now bcsn btoughi co tight . cauaot, of m
Keatings opinion, be seriously noticed on account
th ‘ bar I
barity of the clan which Suakpuilal represents.
The Chiel i
anything
himself clearly is not concious of having done evidence I
offensive, and there remains the doubt inspite of the
of the Bengalee traders whether even now the real Suakpui- &
, lal has been unearthed”. a
'
It is difficult to know what exactly this boundary line sigm- |

fed to the British Administrators. The Assam Government, lor |
pie, in their Report on the Lushais between 1873 to 1889 |
zscords — |
;iThe southern boundary of the Cachar District was defined
and gazetted under the Inner Line Regulation in August 1875,
and is now marked by 46 boundary pillars’ which were -ins-
pected nearly every year and kept in good order I
Besides the Inner line, three points have been fixed and |
i marked by pillars on the Tipai at Tipaimukh, on the Sonai
at Kulicheramukh and on the Dhaleswar at Bhorabi Cherra- |
<
i 5
mukh, below which the taxation of our traders, woodcutters
etc. by the Lushais is prohibited”.
*
Shri MacKenzia also writes:—
-In April 1880, a party of Lushais who had come down to
oollect rubber fell in with some wood cutters in the Inner
Lins Forest Reserve and demanded rent from them. On the
TT-.artpr being reported to the D C he sent a remonstrance
IQ Sookpuilal, whose subjects the offenders were said to be.
Sookpuilal took the matter up promtly, and summoned the
p- principal offender, one Lalapa, Muntry of Mintang Puangi
5
he fined and chastised”, (pp 324)
The Bengal Government in their letter No 2517 of oath
i May 1870 writes:— 01 i4tn
I1 The L.G. observes that in fixing a boundary, beyond

agree not to exercise civil jurisdiction
.MM that we do not bind
ourselves
wundar.es should, he thinks, be to too
Y which
care must be
much. These
boundaries and ,as a limit looked
oKea upon, not as terri-
amount power, but rather of our
. authority as par-
boundaries of the estates of
r 25
different chiefs within which we agree to abstain from all

interference in respect of internal administration so long as
the chiefs by their uniform good conduct, permit as to excer-
cise this "
forbearance”.
l
The Government of India also writes thus vide No. 282 P
Fort Williams, 30th January 1872.
''It does not necessary follow that actual authoritative juris-
| ictiond should be extended as far as the line, they may or
H
i|
B22v not be necessary according to circumstances. But the
deffnition of some such line will put an end to that indefinite
but certain advance to dangerous and exposed positions
has been the sourse of the difficulties so forcibly
S|. brought to light in the present correspondence. Although
p; officers need not necessarily actively govern up to the boun-
p airy yet they will know that they must not attempt to
zovem beyond it. And if this be kept steadily in view, His
Excelency in Council does not think that the definition of a
boundary will lead to any complication with the tribes but
save rather a contrary tendency. It should also be borne
m- s mind that the definition of the boundary is merely for
rorposrs of jurisdiction, and does not in any way whatever
Ik inect claims to or rights in land lying on the side of the
pv Use nearest to the British territory. (See also definition of
m\. Inner line).
IT:
if 2L Mackenzie writes (317)
Leaving for further consideration the question of the policy
to be followed in future with the Lushai Chiefs the Bengal
Government contended itself on the close of the expedition.
If with placing aline of Strongly manned posts along the whole
|. southern frontier of Cachar and Syhlet”.
The proposals often referred to as ‘outer’ and ‘inner’ weie
e* the former by Lt. Col. Roberts (later Lord) and the latter
local administrator. The Chief Commissioner of Assam
fetter -No. 281, Shillong 14th July 1874 writes
"Col. Roberts .. . in connection with a general .scheme of
p; feemming in the Looshai Tribes by a chain of outposts ex-
.
| along their northern, western and southern limits,

p; proposed to distribute the Cachar guards alone ?
line draw®
mfrom Jhalnacherra to Mviiadhui. leavina
a be' t oi jimgic
S'-
n:
ft
'
2.6
V-
I ciiiiij-miks broad out- !

our district. Thei p :
the cultivated part of cultivation,
posts follow roughly the limit
°JJf"‘Se rÿr
though in some parts it is a good deal
has been survey
of the
Rcve_ 1
i
line up to which the district pnnSU]tation

nee Survey. The Commissioner of Dacca, in con 1
« «ith the Brigadier General Commanding on the North-ba
Frontier and other local officers, preoposed m his No. zi I
dated -26th Oct. 1872, a copy of which is annexed,
to keep |
y
the present line of posts, but to increase their number £
adding one at Roopucherra and one upon the river KUtcni.
if The Chief Commisioner thinks that a permanent miles
ad- i
.....
Tznce of our posts to a position some twenty to
thirty *
beyond the present line is contrary to the spirit of the roi- i
cr of non agression which we are pursuing towards these [n-
fn advocating the retention of the present position «
m
t®*?
■of bur permanent posts, the Chief Commissioner would not
,
m be understood to disapprove of the temporary occupation du-

osg the cold season of a more advanced position merely
§bx the sake of trade and intercourse and the intension of |
political influence, or for the protection of survey parties
m
m
political missions”. i
Tee existing out posts manned by Police were at Mynadhai,
jgt.Mauferkhat, Jhulna.ch.erra and Chattachora and by Military at j
Tteeerk ha 1 and Loliarband. The proposal was to put a new
11' ssSeEiy post at Roopacherra, Jhulnacherra and Chatachoora with
pk .•* saew police post at Rukni-a short disiance above its junction :
Kiffe
fee sonai which from the ‘Inner’ line of posts was approved
Government of India in their letter No 1977-P dated Fort
J
_ 10th September 1874.
ft !Krs were foot-paths
from posts to posts. This was known
| fÿ-v.as R?n, Phary (Patrol Line), [t is clear
kiCflB«a«ioners letter that in the area
from the above
south of this line there
fcjÿysrsa Bws/saegi r
to Mizo tra-
ceremony
i sSSfessent as given by'§the officiating Survey and
£ sa£ ferihe southern boundarv mmtJfi
\hnga
boundary of Bora Jahnga
Cacllar in his propo-
pasSed through the
Tea-garden. What the Mizos I
.11
27
tweeted to was the extension of tea-gardens on Sonai, cental

rJcb&tEH*- Hills and h>hullesor river, south of the line mentioned by
Col
boundary question was raised afresh although the terms
jqo
Sdakpuilala
nnd conditions laid down in the' Sunhud given to thoiight
jiad been violated on both sides. Did the British they
were quits ?.
22. Although the Sunnud given to Suakpuilal extended the
Bristish territory deep into Lushai country, it appeared that the
British had some guilty feeling and though might was or on then
side, yet they refrained from giving grant to tea-estates lands
Survey
to settlers beyond the line piescribed in 186/. Revenue
was undertaken only up to this line and it was along this hne
that the defence posts were dotted.
23. The Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation I of 1873 was
promulgated which gives summary power of legislation to the local
Government to prescribe a line called the ‘Inner Line’. The con¬
cept and purpose of the Inner Line is best explained by Shri
Mac Renzia the then Chief Secretary of Bengal when he writes
“The first use of the power 0f the summary legislation given
by that Ac* (Inner Line Regulation 1873) was to pass regu¬
lation for the frontier districts.
It had been found that there was pressing necessity . , of
bringing under more stringent control the commercial rela¬
tions of .our own subjects with the frontier tribe living on
on the borders of our jurisdiction. In Lackimpore specially
the operations of speculator in caoutchouc had led to
serious complications not only interfiling with the revenue
derived by Government from the Indian rubber Forest in
the plains beyond our settled Mahals, but threatening distur¬
bances with the hills tribes beyond. The spread of tea gar¬
dens outside our fiscal limits had already involved the Go-
vernmenb'in many difficult questions with the hill-men, and
on the whole the Government came to the conclusion that
it was necessary to take special powers and lay down
special rules.
Accordingly a regulation was drawn u.r bv the T.t Goÿer

nor,. and approved by the Governor General ui Council to gÿe
effect to this policy. This regulation gives power to the LI. Co¬
28
I ’’
Inner Line is
“ the iviiicj
vcrnor prescribe a line, to be called beyond no BnusH
. i or aiy of the "... ricts effected,
subject of certain classes or Licence, when given, may be subject
to such conditions as may appear necessary. And rules are
laid down regarding trade, the possession- of land beyond the
line, and other matters, which gives the executive Government
I an effective control. The regulation also provides for the
preservation of elephants, and authorizes Government to lay
u down rules for their capture (pp 56-56 ibid)
Under the orders of the Government of India the ‘Inner Line’
*5 defined merely for purposes of jurisdiction. It does not decide
the sovereinty of the territory beyond. The active control of
the district officer need not necessarily extend up to the boun¬
i dary, but it must under no circumstances be carried further.
Kf- Beyond the line the iribes are left to manage their o\vn affairs
•*ith only such interference on the part of the frontier officer
in their political capacity as may be considered advisable with
& she view of establishing a personal influence for good among
ft
chiefs and tribes. Any attempt to bring the country between
ihe settled districts of British India and Burma under our
, direct administration, even in the loosest way that could be
contrived under Act. XXXIII. Vic., Cap 3, or to govern it
|H as British territory is to be steadily resisted. No European
planters is to be allowed LU accept any grant beyond the line or
treder a tenure derived from any chief or tribe (pp 89-90)
Tbe Commissioner of Dacca in his letter No 295 of 26th
fjjBfcsrsaber, 1873 writes :-
K- -theWithhonour
reference to the Regulation No I of 1873 1 have
i to recommend that the southern
boundary
cf Cÿchar as surveyed by Mr. Davcy be declared the Inner
Usse** .
m Tire Government
jpaasassy, 1874)
of Bengal in reply writes ( No. 207, 13th
§§ » On referring to Mr Davey’s map of Cachar,

the L.G.
K- ©bserves that the southern boundary of that
district, as there
f:>[ % described which it is proposed to
adopt as the Inner
Lise, 5-s a purely artificial line
and runs down on the south'
.pai. Mukh. far beyond the necessary
NAPvV jurisdiction. The inner line of ORDL
sBocd. ib intended to mark line it should be under-
the limit of ordinary juris-
m
Ki-
Hfe: Scanned by CamScanner
HBHOK
29
diction of all our courts, and need not be the exteiior

S&. limit ot the district. All tea-gardens should, as far as possi¬
ble be brought within it, but it- is by* no- means absolutely
necessary, as gardens situated outside they will be Avorked
. under a system of license or passes.
I am to suggest that you will reconsider the line in
I accordance with the above remarks, and that you will be so
good as to submit a ftill report on the subject, stjting where
vou would propose to place the line and giving a proper
verbal description along which it should run”.
i he Chief Commissioner of Assam under whom Cachar was
Sp sfeÿed iecently, proposing the Inner Line on the Southern Cachar
flatter. in his letter No 87, dated Shillong, 4th Jan 1875 to the
HfplFereign Department of the Government of India writes
''I have drawn in yellow, in the Map enclosed with your
letter the boundary of the revenue survey laid down by
Mr. Davey, which does not go within 20 miles of ‘Tipaimukhk
I propose it as an ‘Inner Line’ for Cachar, with the exception
of the part of it lying between the Rukni river and Monier-
khal outpost where I should like to substitute a more direct
Sne (marked red in the map).
The Inner line for the southern boundary of Cachar
must be more or less artificial from the nature of the country,
2S the mountain ranges run nearly from noith to south, the
rivers draining the country between them, of course running
generally in a parallel direction”.
This line has the great advantage of beiug coincident,
except between the Rukni Monierkhal with the revenue
survey boundary. It is the Line on which are situated all the
I frontier posts sanctioned in your No. 1977 P dated 10th Sept.
1S74, with the except on of Roopacherra. It has been used
Poetically a* an ‘Inner Line’ since 1870 when the public were
g to go beyond it without permission. Lastly it
t conflicts in no way with the view laid down by the Chief
Commissioner, in regard to the Sibsagar....
The locality of the line betv ecn Jhulnachepn and
K, has caused the Chief Commissioner a good deal
PC. He would prefer the Roopacherra guard should
pos ed in the line, but the Deputy
Commissioner reports
W:-
30
there isno eligible spot tor it thereon, i he alternative to

bring the line further in and to carry it along the east side
of the Dhaleswar river is objectionable, as inhabitant would
thereby be excluded. Again, the proposed line runs along the
crest of a range of hills and is well defined ; whereas no
well-defined locality could be found in the east side of
Dulleswar. Although generally it is advisable that the frontier
posts should bb on the Inner Line, still it is better that they -
should be within it than beyond it ; and possibly from 5

Roopachevra, which is a few miles within it, it may be v
S
watched and protected as well as from any point on the
range of hills along which it runs.
NOTE.— Photostat copy of the modified map (1878) obtained. p
The piinciple on which this line was made was exactly the same
as one used by Mr. Mcwilliams in his proposed southern boun¬
dary of Cachar in 1870 five years ago. The above letter makes
it clear its relation with the defensive posts.
The proposal and subsequent draft of the Inner Line was
approved by Government of India, Foreign Department in the
Notification No. 2299P, dated Simla, 20th August 1875, as
follows : —
NOTIFICATION — By Government of India, Foreign Deptt.
Linder the provisions of Setion 2 of Bengal Eastern Fron¬
tier Regulation I of 1873 (a Regulation for the peace and
government of certain districts on the Eastern Frontier of
Bengal), the Governor-General in Council is pleased to noti- !
the southern frontier of the district of Cachar : _
fy that the line described below shall be the Timer Line’ on
'
1
:
Jhalnacherra along the tract out by the Police to :ÿ

connect the
\E
outpost of chatterclioora and Jhalnacherra •
thence a ong the
Dullessur River, in a southern direction i n thÿ
h S0Uth-west cor-
c
ner of the Jhalnacherra grant as revised
thence along the southern boundary of
across the Jhalnacherra Khal to the ton
theÿhalnTfi7 m 1871 :
aacherra grant
immediately to the east of that khal 0p ofthe range of hills
ranee in northern direction to the Rn - ’ thlnce along the said -
along the southern and

eastern Knl°5nCÿeirc\granti thence i
1J
BBoan
31
grant, along the ridge which leads from that grant to the top
ot the Rengti Pahar Range; thence along the ridge of the
Rengti Pahar Range in a northern direction, as far as the point
where that range bifurcates into two smaller ones, the one
leading to the Claverhouse, the other to the Bara Jalinga grant.
From the point of bifurcation the line follows the ridge of the
western branch of the Rengti Pahar, as far as the source of the
Jalmga; from this point it runs straight in a northern direction to
the Nowarbund military outpost. From the Nowarband outpost
it runs north-wards about two miles, and then due east to a point
on the Rukni River, at the south-eastern corner of the Bara Ja¬
linga grant. Up to this point the ine follows the boundary up
to which the revenue survey
of the district extended. From the
point on the Rukni River, it runs to the sout-east, till it meets
the western boundary of Monierkhall grant, thence along the
southern boundary of the grant to the Sonai river, opposite the
Monierkhall outpost. From the monierkhal outpost it runs
across the Bhoonbun Hiils to the outpost of Mynadhur, on the
Barak River, along the road connecting the two outposts.
Under the provision of the section above quoted the
Governor-General in Council is further pleased to prohibit all
British subjects from going beyond the “Inner Line” hereby
notified without a pass under the hand seal of the Deputy
Commissioner of Cachar.
The Inner Line of 1875 with the approval of Govt of India
was modified vide Government of Assam Notification No.
10J, dated the 3rd July, 1878 which is as follows
“Under the provisions of section 2 of Bengal Eastern Fron¬
tier Regulation I of 1873 (a Regulation for the Peace and Go¬
vernment of certain districts on the isEastern Frontier of Bengal),
the Governor General in Council pleased to notify that the
line described below shall be the “Inner Line” on the southern
frontier of the District of Cachar.
A line commencing from the site of the outpost established
during the Lushai Expedition of 1871-72, a few miles north of
the Chatter Choora Peak, and running thence to the outposts of
Jhallnacherra along the tract out by the police to connect the
outposts of Chatter Choora and Jhallnacherra; thence along the
7 . . sui River, in a southern direction to the soutii-v, esicor
.
of the Jhallnacherra grant, as revised after survey in 1872; thence

along the southern boundary of the Jhallnacherra grant, across
the Jhalnacherra Khali to the top of the range'of hill. ‘imme¬
diately to the east cf that Khali; thence along -fhe said- range
in a northern direction to Baroncherra grant, thence along the
southern and eastern boundaries of the Baroncherra grant, to
the north-eastern corner of the grant. .Frbm the north-eastern
corner of the Baruncherra grant along the ridge which
lerds from the- grant for a distance of 2 miles to a pucca
piller Thence in an easterly direction to the Reneti Pahar
Range in a nrrthern direction, as far as the point where that
ranee bifurcates into two smaller ones, the one leading to the
Clav.rhouse, the other to the Bura Ja inga grant. From the
point c-f bifurcation the line follows the ridge of the western
branch of the Rengti Pahar as faras the source of the Jalinga ;
thence a long the Jalinga River to the southeast corner oj the
Sonacherra and Nawarband grants to a point where t he police
road meets the later. Thence it follows the police road to the
Rukni river and then runs in a southeasterly direction to the
western boundary of the Monierkhal grant ; and follows ihe
west and south boundaries of the grant to the River Sonai
along which it runs to- the north to the opening of the police
road to the Mynadhar, which it follows to the western :
boundary of that grant. It then runs along the west and i
south Boundaries of Mynadhar grant to the river Barak.
! Under the provisi n of the section above quoted, the
Governor General in Council is further pleased to prohibit
all British subjects from going beyond the ‘Inner line’ hereby
notified without pass under the hand and seal of the
I Deputy Commissioner of Cachar”.
NOTE : Modifications have taken place in two sections of the

i
line. One from Baruncherra grant to Rengte Pahar and the other f
from Jalinga river to Rukni. It appears that the modifications
have been made due to incomplete descriptions of the localityy
through which the Inner Line passes.
!
24. _ Two months before the first notification definins the
.....
sasxjnna, tcscs“”er °r •- ®
S
,Cc Cachar,
and of certain alterations in the
the said district, are published for
_ shall
33
The southern boundary : Starting from great Tri oneometrical

survey station Chatter Choora, the. boundary shall- run " in a
■
south-east direction to the confluence of the . Bhoyrabi Chert a'

with the Dhullessur river ’whence it shall, take.a north-east. •
direction to the top of the BhoyrobiHlh-,;' thence to the top '
of Noonvie, and on the confluence Bufo. Coclie Che ITa with

"the Sonai river; thence south-east to- the Tipaimukh at the
junction of the Barak river.
It may be noted ’here that the Governme it *of Bengal Notifi¬
cation in Calcutta G zette jn 1870, the suuuj givm to Suakpuilala
in 1871. and this notification of 1811..by the Chief Co nmissio i u*
oCAssam refers to the same line with only few verbal cha ges
with the exeption that the line mentioned in Suakpuilala’s sunud
runs upto Sonai river only. The Government of India’s observa¬
tion in paraTT of their letter already quoted in para 16 of this
note over the legality of the Bengal notification in Calcutta Ga¬
zette of 1870 seems to be relev mt in case of the Chief Commis¬
sioner of Assam notification as well as Lushai Hills was still a
foreign country.
25. There were no inhabitant south of the Inner Line except
the Mizos who have settled there in the hill areas from time
immemorial. From the Annual Forest Reports also it is abun¬
dantly clear that there were numerous Mizos Kuki) within this
area in scattered villages when the area was declared as Inner Line
Reserved Forest. The Chief Commissioner’s Province of Assam
was formed in 1874. Cachar remained more or less peaceful.
The Forest Department was also reorganised and in the first
Annual Forest report for the year 1874-75 we find the following
entries
III. The Forests worth conserving are, both in Cachar and

Sylhet, chiefly situated along the southern boundaries
of these districts and arc uninhabited except near the
northern limits, where the migratory tribes, such as
the Kukies, have a few scattered villages. This in all
probability has been brought about by the Looshai raids.
Area of Forest ( Cachar )
116. The Forest area still worth reserving is
within the Inner Line 336 sq. miles
Beyond the Inner Line 489 sq. miles
34
, ,w- mV'Tnner Line’ was first prescribed m

It may be .noted tha t th'
™ re port waS .written presumably

August 1675 only while the ab P
d fee*en -formally notified
before May 1875. After the Inner
L,ne
outside it was ma ag hf ,v diife-

the forest .within and
rent manner - The 1875-76 report says
■
“For political and fiscal consideration, the Forest Officer
m
charge of the tract bordering the Lushai Country, in whic
tract there are se'veral Tea-gardens, shall, for the present, be
placed under the orders of the Deputy Commissioner in all
but technical matters”
The area between the Inner Line and the southern boundary
of Cachar as difined in 1875 by the Chief Commissioner was
I notified in the Assam Gazette as a Reserved Forest on 17thor sim-
March
/ 1877 and designated as ‘the Inner Line Reserve Forest”
/ ply as “Lushai Country”. The 1876-77 Forest Annual report on
J Cachar section reads -
3. Besides the above, the forest situated beyond the Inner
Line, oi between it, was the Lushai’s country, has been dec¬
lared as reserved forest and is, although the Forest Act does
not apply to that part of the district, well protected, in as
much as the Inner Line Regulation, made under 33 vie. cap
3, prevents ingress from Cachar side without the permission
of the Deputy Commissioner
VII. The Inner Line Reserve, area 509 sq. miles. It is ma¬
naged like the rest of the reserves by the District Forest
Officer, who, however, as regards this forest, stands under
the order of the Deputy Commissioner of the District in all
such matters as do not require a technical knowledge
of
As the Inner Line Area became Reserved Forest managed

Forest Rules weie enforced.
Jn
In 1880—81 the Annual Forest Reports read
—
the forest is that of jhuSng a?this°n’
1
,the fgreÿtest . danger to
on by the ‘Kukies’ is a moft lit?'
desfr
will always cut down the vast forÿotÿi
d®
°ne’
°f
SmCC these CultlvaJ10n’
carried
PeoPle
turning back to their old {hums
ind there are many Kukies all
allh XTY
* °anand?,et’ instead of
Cacharis do;
’round
reserves, and a few of
35
the*r V1ca 2 ‘
Qn
iVefÿ°elnsidethe reserves. The latter have been
dÿar • , . People had been enjoined that nothing but
1 ation within
permanei the marked area will- be permitted.
26. n midate the Mizos occasional millitary promenades
were arrange , and no serious trouble
was experience on Cachar
h
frontier. However m 1
—
888 89 a series of outrages took place
on the Chittagong front. A Government of India survey party
was attacked and Lt. Stewarb was killed. A raid on Kuki village
-
;
in Chengri Valley was committed by Lianphunga “to assert his
> right to then lands as an elephant hunting ground’’. At this
t the Bntish decided on military occupation of the whole country.
i Accordingly the southern portion was administered from Bengal
while the Northern portion was administered from Assam. Tn
Jjl98_the whole of Mizoram was formed into a separate regular
J district under the Chief Commissionership of Assam. The Dis¬
c trict headquarters at Aijal was linked with Silchar by 6 ft. wide
road through Dwarband.
i
27. As the district settled into normalcy and regular admi¬
nistration could be carried out, the district officers of Cachar and
1 Lushai Hills faced certain administrative difficulties over jurisdic-
1 tion, in maintenance of road and provision of labour particularly
{ in providing porters for touring officers. Lushai Hills adminis-
ii trators found that they had to arrange their own labour from
ti the ‘Inner Line’ It was then proposed to rectify the boundary
tl between the Cachar District and the Lushai Hills District. The
b more relevant portions of the Chief Commissioner of Assam
IT letter No. 589 Foreign 1626P dated Shillong 14th April 1903 are
le quoted below : —
2. The description of the boundary given in the Chief
Commissioner's Notification of 24th June 1875 copy of which
is enclosed for easy reference, though somewhat vague in its
terms, was formally sufficient for practical purposes. Since
the pacification of the Lushai Hills district, however, the
Lushais have been of late years moving north-wards towards
the plains, of Cachar and the plains people of Cachar, no
longer afraid of the Lushais, have been moving southwards.
Frequent question regarding the boundary have consequently
arisen, especially in connection with the felling of timber along
r ! the banks of the difference rivers which cross it. Application
; 4 ■
for settlement of land near die boundary are delayed owin-y to

the uncertainty as to the district in which the land lies and
'1 there are other inconveniences of like nature.
3. The
and more
Chief
accurate
.. __
Com
*
defii
36
micoinner considers that the revision|

siOo(. (he bounc|ary have now
(0 t|.ansfer from the Cachar
%
I
ff
sas r
caTbetoS'to'TeTusÿai Hills and which contain some
contentedhamlVs
who are dis¬
Lushii It is now a resort for LushatS the control
with their chiefs and who escape from
of the Superintendent of Lushai Hills. Tins tract is :
traversed by the road from Silchar to the main-
Ajjal
tenance of which is exceedingly difficult for the Silchar
authorities whereas under the Lushai system of admi¬
nistration it is comparatively easy. Part of the tract is
is included in the reserved forest known as the Innei Line
Reseive. The control of the Forest Department will not be
effected by the shifting of forest lartds from Cachar to the
Lushai Hills.
(NOTE :— Lushai system administration reffered above may be
sunmarised thus- Forced labour at a nominal rate of payment
could l e dem nded of any village any time and any number of
days. They were paid only for actual working days irrespective
of davs spent from their village to work bite and back. For
maintenance of roads settlement of hamlets were permitted along
the roads, the limbed inhabitants of which are to look after the
roads on a nominal payment. Such inhabitants enjoyed a spea-
cial previlege in that they are not liable to be called up for forced
labour. Forced labour system was most hatred burdensome and
grievous to the Mizo people and they were happy if they could
escape in any manner so being forced upon and so there used to
be a scramble to settle in any of these roads side hamlets).
4. West of the Dhaleswari river the division betwen the two

has up till now been vaguely defined. In the Chief district
sioner’s Notification of 1875 (a copy of which Commis¬
this portion of the boundary is said to run is enclosed)
tachurra peak south-east <o the confluence of from the Chut-
Cherra With the Dhaleswari. Two alternative the Bhomob
lines have been
-
suggested by the local officers. One
trom the crest of the
to the northh running
Chattachura or
range down the Bhagsurra stream to its Sidheswar-Sirispur
Dhaleswari river; the other junction with the
crest of the same ran cre onH ? lhe
Soufh runn<ng from the
streams and the P pkwa stream ? trÿutary
tream t0 wÿere of the Pakwa
d joins Dhaleswary.
37
The northern line would include from the Cachar District some
land suitable for rice cultivation, and Mr. Fuller thinks it de¬
sirable to keep within the boundaries af Cachar areas which
will be colonised by settlers from that district , and not by Lu-
shais. He accordingly prefers to follow the southern line.
5. I am to enclose for reference a map (original pho¬
tostat copy obtained) showing the present boundary
.between the two districts and the boundary which it is now
proposed to adopt, and at the same time to submit for
approval the enclosed draft notification defining the new line.
It will be seen that the effect of the proposal is to transfer
the tract marked. A onthe map east of Dhaleswari from
Cachar to Lushai HilF and the tract marked B and C to
the West and East of that river, respectively, from the
Lushai Hills to Cachar.
9. I am to explain that it has not been found possible
to give a more accurate description of the proposed southern
boundary of Cachar, as many of the small streams referred,
to have no names, but the Chief Commissioner believes that
the definition submitted with the annexed draft notification
1 will suffice for practical purposes.
The proposal was sent to the Foreign Department of the
Government of India and then circulated to various Departments.
Home Department comments -
From administrative point of view, this Department
may accept the Chief Commissioner’s proposals.
Foreign ‘Department comments -
We may accept the Assam

Government’s proposals as
administrative measure •
Legislative and Calcutta High Court agreeing the draft

The accordingly notified as follows
notification was approved and
No.1092 of 12-9-1904. ,
southern and eastern DUUUU

for general information.
. ... . f.. h.
38
the* juncti0n
The Southern Boundary - Starting from
of the Ruangding stream' and the Barak Rivei boundary
shall run due west to the Sonai river. From the bonai river
the boundary shall run westwards up the course of a- small
(a) Panchovva stream south of the Bongking Hill and
crossing that range down a small (b) Pialthleng stream to
its junction with Nobucherra thence down the Nobucherra to
its junction with the Rukni river. From the junction of
the Nobucherra and the Rukni river the boundary shall run
northwestwards to the point on the road from Aijal to Dwar-
band, where in the 102nd miles from Aijal, the toad crosses
a large stream by a timber bridge; thence up the course of
this stream to its source. Thence crossing the stream rises
to the source of a tributary of the Burucherra stream. Thence
ajong this tributary to its junction with the Baruncherra
stream; thence following the Baruncherra to its junction with
another small tributary which rises in the Bhairabi range;
thence up this small tribu tary to its source; thence crossing
the Bharabi range to the source of the Bhairabi stream thence
down the Bhairabi stream to its junction with the Dhaleswari
river; thence up the Pakwa river to the second large tributary '
to its source; and thence in a straight line to the Chata-

churra peak.
On the same day, under Notification No. 1093 of 16.3.1904 the
Northern Boundary of the land transferred to Lushai Hills’ dis¬
trict as a result of redefinition of Cachar Boundary noted above
was defined wherein the laws in force in Cachar are to be barred
and instead to introduce the Assam Frontier Tract Remilatinn ll
of 1880, and the Police Act, V of 1861 etc, ns quoted
North and West-
S ’
below:
—
Starting from the junction of the Ruanding
Stream and the
the Barak river, the boundary shall run due west to the
Sonai river the river. From the Sonai river the bound
shall run westwards up the course of a small stream so ,th of
Bongkpng Hill and crossing that range down a
to its junction with the Nobucherra thence downsmdl stream
Nobucherra to its junction with the Rukni riF,- the '
c
Nobu-
junction of the Nobucherra and the Rukni r feF n-
Jbridlf ““fft
dary shall run northwestwards to the DO n ,i t
Aijal, to Dwarband, ™
fronn where, in the ,02 ;
Aijal, the road crosses a large stream by tunber
t0 itS soÿe
thence
thencf crS-
!
!
UP 1116 f Ce° wh° chh;SheStsrfr
the range in m which the stream rises t0 the source
of a tribu
1
.
39
its 'junction with the' BurunÿerraTtrea0118 ih'S lributary

ream; thence t0
the Buruncherra 10 its iunrtim -l* following
which rises in the Bharaibi
iy till it crosses the present
raneeT/? fn0ther
<2L t lenc,e
sma11 tributary
UP this small tributa-
District as defind in the Chief
Chief 'cn homdary, °f pachar
dated 24.6.1875 Commissioner s Notification
v1?e|,wUr2!y
r ?t
following
°‘
aÿ- own. Induia>
rile u.nder Major Means found it “impossi-
boundary defined above particu'arly between
. K J
the points:- *. •
(1) The Sonai river and the Bongkong range and (2) the
Bongkong range and the Rukni river (no stream of the name
Nobucherra being known in the locality).
'[he Government of Bengal and Assam proposed to redefine
the southern boundary of Cachar more clearly and as agreed to
by the Government of India in their 371 EB Calcutta 14th Feb¬
ruary 1912, (Notification No. 419 P dated 23rd February 1912)
accordingly published a redefined southern boundary as follows
From the junction of the Ruanding stream with the
Barak river the boundary shall run up the former to where
it recieves the 1 ungkulh, thence up that stream to its source,
and crossing the range in a westerly direction down a small
feeder flowing into the Teirangnek stream thence along the
latter tn ii« function with the Sonai river. From this point
ne shall run southwards
boundaiy sn
he boundary up the Sonai river as far
as ns junction Suanepuilawn Lui thence up this
stream to .t June on
or Tuisen Lui to ju
deserted
as
theÿBagkhal, then up the Baghkhal
with large feeder that Saichang
village of Saipum, up
lui takes its rise i r range, and, crossing
this\ feeder to the ? ' Z0ng Teidu Lui to its junction with
that range down th straight line running in a nortwes-
the Rukni river. to the Dholai stream to its
terly direction from J ction
water-shed, it strikes the head-
source, where, crossi and down this stream to its
waters of the nnr.mcherra river tjience following the
junction with the 13 wjtj1 a smail tributary named the
Buruncherra to its juf rJ-ses the ghairabi range; thence
jn
Hmarlunglui (te) whici source, thence crossing the
Up this small tributary Qr Biiaircibi i>i rearm then T v;.
Bhtn’rabi range to taeto us j motion with the Dhaleswari river
the Bhairabi stream
PWHWOWPWWWITliWIiWHTiiWi
40
• pr
thence up the Pakwa
bank,
to its junction with the inbuta y a. ’et with on its leftstraight
rii'er to the second largeto its soutce, ihence jn a
thence up this tributary
line to the Chhuttachoora peaK.
27. Government of Assamthe 4th June

The I you to
1552/7312 A.P. dated Shillong
the Government of India as follows .
of Indw on
(1) I am directed to address the Government Lt he
the subject of the description of an fnner the the Ben„ 1
Lushai Hills District —this Prow* under
Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 (V of l»/4>
i (2) An Inner Lire was prescribed for the adjoining district
of Cachar under the same Regulation by Foreign Depart¬
ment ratification No. 22.99 P of 20th August 1875.
!
Under these orders no British subject was allowed to cross
the Inner Line af Cachar District without first obtaining a
pass from the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar. At that
time the Lushai Hills were not an administrative British
District but a terra incognito inhabited by-hunting savages
whose notorious raids in Cachar tea-gardens had rendered
necessary the Lushai Hills military expedition of 1871-72.
Lands had been leased out for tea in the Cachar District near
its boundary with the Lushai Hills; and it was necessary to
prevent adventourous planters, traders and shikaris from
making excursions across the boundary line which might
lead to political complications.
(3) Later on when the Lushai Hills became an administered

district under resident British Officers and the Lushai rapidlv
became more civilised than any other hill tribes on the
North East Frontier, the necessity for the Old Cachar Inner
Line dm,shed In 895 the then Chief
Assam, Sir William Ward, passed orders Commissioner of
in letter No 399
free agress and ingress of all natives Tn,V c atlecJ;ed the

nF
K
41
to the Manipur State. It is not clear whether Government

of India were informed of these orders, but up date the old
’inner-line of the Cachar District has never been formally
abolished.
(4) For many years now the Lushai Dills District had been
one of the most peaceful districts in Assam and so far from
protecting the plains men against the immigration of undesi¬
rable foreigners.
(5) The Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873 has
never been extended to the lushai Hills District, but for the
last twenty years successive SupperintendenL have by execu-
tive orders endeavoured 1O control the ingress of foreigners
into that district and have punished disobedience to these
orders under section section 188 I.P.C. These executive
orders have been recently the subject of questions and un-
favourable comments in the Assam Legislative Council. The
Governor in Council hopes that the arguments put forward
in this letter will persuade the Government of Tndia to
accept his views that it is neceasary to regularise the execu¬
tive action taken by the Superintendent of Lushai Hills.
(6) For the present, proposals are only submitted as it
gaids the nothern boundary of the Lushai Hills being constitu¬
ted an Inner Line.
ti
(7) To sum up, I am now to submit the fo lowing propo¬
s India
—
sals for the favourable consideration of the Government of
I. The extension of the r engal Eastern Frontier

tion (V of 1873) to the Lushai Hifls District.
Regula¬
til
II. The prescription of the northern boundary of the Lushai
1 Hills as the Inner Line of that district under this regu ation.
H
] The abolition of the Inner Line of Cachar District.
The proposals were accepted and notification No. 9102 AP
Qated 28.8.1930 was published as follows
da!
From the junction of the R rending with the Barak River.
u Inner Line shall runup the midstream of the former to where
th{ 1 receives the Lungkulh Lui ; thence up the midstream of that
it
42
range in a westerly dl
k thej-eede f/ovvmg into the fe-
iuani io iis
source, ana ei
of a 1 to »v
tion down the right bank midstream point t he Sonji
inner ];n
; thence down
rangnek stream
junction with the Sonai nÿrt| up /
the midstream
,
of the
iuj
Lut • n n.
thence up
un
riv
u/
shall run south-westwards Suang awn
as far as its junction with
the
junction w th he Wegn Mial thence
its
midstream of this Lui to Bagh Khal or ■ , June.
desei ted vi|.
up the midstream of the takes its rise near the
lion with a large feeder that of this ieeder to the
up the midstream
lage of Saipum ; thence
range, and crossing that range down the
summit of Bongkong to its junction with the Rukni river.
midstream of the Teidu Lui north-westerly direction from
Then a straight line running in a of the 80th
bridge one furlong north
this junction to the Bhilai point is also the tri.
mile stone on Aijal-Dwarband roaSf this
junction of the Hailakandi/Silchar. subdivisions (District Cachar)
with the Lushai Hills District; thence. up the Qfp.rcuPri it
midstream of the
strikpc
it strikes
Dholai River to its source, where, crossing the watershed
the headwaters of the Chhimluang Lui and down the midstieam
of this Lui to its junction with the Baruncherra; thence down
the midstream of the Barun Chara to its junction with the
Hmarluang Lui (Te), thence up the midstream of this Lui to
its source in the Bhairabi range; tben.ee crossing the Bhairabi
range westwards to the source of the Bairabi stream; thence
down the midstream of the Bhairabi stream to its junction with
the Dhaleswari or TIong river; thence up the midstream of the
Dhaleswarj 1 ivei to its junction with the
Pakwariver thence up
a
4 of a mile south-west of the
with that river.
rrmfii,
11
uence of the
HdÿAssam)
river about
Medli Cherra
3/
Note -miles
(1) The Inner Line falls
in the
l“_4 and 1’ -1 miles publications following survey ■
(a) 83 H and 83 D published

i 1922
- in and 1921 res pectively*
(b) 83 D/15, D/14, D/ll and D/7 published in 1911-12.
(2) The nothern boundaryy
coincident with the inner the Lushai
Distric |
‘
line of Hills
the Lushai Hills Disttict
43
Thus the Inner Line ’ for Lushai Hills
created District was
and the Cachar District ‘ Inner Line ’ abolished.
28. The 1904 boundary definition as amended in 1912 and ■
>
again repeated in the Inner Line Notification of 1930 as above, /
continues to remain unchanged till today as the Northern boun¬
dary of Lushai Hills District or as the southern boundaryÿ of
CacLar District.
It seems necessasy to make a few comments at this stage :-
(a) The boundary line was drawn in the most hapazard and
arbitrary manner. With the exception of the two points Bhairabi
Mukh and Chatterchoora peak, all other points have no historical,
traditional or actual occupational background. Chattarchurra
was a will khown peak, the Survey Department used it as an
important station. Mr. Edgar in his Notes Part II on the Lushai
and other Kookies dated 20th March 1871 ( Mackenzie pp 427 )
mentions that Mangpawrha ( Mongper) father of Suakpuilala at
one time took “ a position north of Chatterchoora Again in
..............
his letter No. 548 of 3rd April 1872 (Mackenzie pp 439-40) says-
Suakpuilala, who before 1849 had advanced north of
Chatterchoora peak, moved his village by degrees south¬
wards to his present position what the Lushais
called guard villages were established on points command ng
_
the different routes from our frontier to the Chief Lushai
villages. All intercourse between our Kookies and the
Lushais was discouraged by the Chief of the latter, and tra-
dei s and wood-cutters were obliged to go by water to cer¬
tain points fixed by the Lushais, from which they were occa¬
! sionally allowed to go to the villages. In this way in couise
of time, the Lushais succeeding in putting between our fron¬
i
tier and their villages a tract of forest which was not only
unexplored by us, but to a great extent unknown by any of
our Kookies, except a few old men ”
One can conclude that Chuttarcherra peak formed the nor¬
thern limit up to which the Lushai Chiefs exercised effective
control on this range. An the Dhaleswari, Panchpirka Mokarn
t tvas known to be one of their toll collecting poT The proper t
•c Cianrtura (meaning ‘Neck-cutting’) on the same river about two
V miles north from Mokarn was also the limit up to which the
C kushai Chiefs exercised control. Choosing Chattarcherra peak
a
l
44
.pH had some definite histor-

was e . bj M ukh was chosen not
where an iron pillar pomt W preference ,Q ,£«» for
jn
background. The other b. M • QoVernment of India agreed ear
a
*
any particular ieason which the jt H
claim of Suakpuilal
to 0„ once
1904 boundary had rea-
that manner
the
Si*t"ÿ fixed'same point.
son for using the
in
of Suakpuilala and the Inner Line were based

The Sunnud Suakpuilala’s Sunnud
principles. The line fixed in a surveyor
on certain Major Me Donald as and based
proposed by
was first
his pioposal with a view to
laying down the line more accurately
and writes —
[ would rather see a line nearly east and
west from moun-
tain peak such as the eye could follow along its whole length
as a practical boundary which I described in my report
to his Honor " (No. 121, 1st July 1871 )
This is something even the simplest man can understand and
perhaps Suakpuilala accepted it, if at all, because it was some-
thing easily understandable and simple.
The Inner Line or as a matter of fact, the boundary proposed

by Me williams, the officiating Deputy Commissioner
was* ‘tortous’ but was based on actual accupation, control of Cachar
traditional background. When the Chief Commissioner and
1904 boundary proposal he had to explain that it made the
ble’ to give a more accurate description and was not ‘possi¬
hoped
‘suffice for practical purposes’. When the survey that it would
to demarcate it in 1910-12, they had to department want
The northern most tip of the line was recommend redefinition.
mile from Aijal, the road crosses a said to be “in the 102 nd
bridge”. 'vh.ch Mr Thomas, the large stream hv a timber
found it difficult to identify even Assistant conseTvator
of
seems to be within the hills whichas eaily as 1914 is This noint
Forÿt
to have no definite principle based mints nr
hi?' Th
Lushai Hills. In other words all thegeographical!,,• belonged to ®
to «
behind it Ch°S6n
The (£oÿedPÿit the line was geographical-
The
the Lushai HUH. boundary ,ine cut fheÿfrÿfÿ
SJ
Je 8
the most natural P -Were
I’tthf **“ ’ s “o the
1:6 Doint1 th',Ilg «
10 determinc in the fixing
10 have done was t0 r°llow
fcsc eS t0 P°lnt where they patters off into the plains
, OH® 'C
.wll'Ch the
°n proposal was based is state
Ac administrative convemence and the Government of India
"L, ac®®Pted j1 Put'.®'y ‘administrative measure”. The inten-
al p obabihty to change the line
was
in again when comu-
jCati°n lS 1R1Prove<ÿ administrative system changed.
, -It also be must noted that the line is ‘toitous’ and zig zag
i/rJfe out
c;,!usion
cultivable land and the best forest for
in Cachar side because Mr. Fuller, the Chief Comm is-
licner
s'
-AlSSam insisted on it. It is clear that the interests of
Tvfizos whose land it was completely ignored simply
yrause somebody thinks that some settlers from some other areas
to settle sometime in future. It was true that the Ms-
J%ht likeknown
'ILngflt
lc were to be Jhurn cultivators and quite adversed to per-
\ their lane
wet-rice cultivation but that is no reason whysettlers ex-
cfn-Vbe curved out for a possible requirement of
outside Mizoram. Had the land in tjwstton beenl
Ewiffrom mediately for settlement, It was quits anotner
k most fertile
d day these lands remains unsettled and
unoccupiea.
the two packets of land thus curved out trom Lu-

ex-
Cachar, it appears, have not been
tended till today.
area belongs to Cacha* Jp1* - , Notification ot 24th June,

* 1
ed on the Assam Ch iei Commiÿe months before the Inner

1875 which was published HBI* already mentioned ear lmt
Inner Line of Cachar was vvas authorised to
it is whether the
doubtful
Ft
Ch - commissioner
. s j,uShai Hills was still
;
eP, given
ud ,fl T"
k G?Verr
by Mi. Edgar
LCLm «s
Qlinnud d.h. area
north or
of
Lu
aPprr°tf
the described
w line was Although
Cachar and Marthmlong

°r Northern Cachar div7des
Js P r-cÿl • •
a° specific mention ]&nas

this “Northern Lusria
*
46
■ -LvJilc
PrYp* aabout
•:;u 3 months and 2
... - r;5*“v
■
be 'noted that DO
betweell the 1870
Cachar in 1875, (It ,e\y have elaR aPP vecj sunnud and
months intervals With the tification of 1875
Southern boundary .
the Assam Chief Co
„°ssioller‘s boundary
Notification).
Government 0f
•
«d«a«y says that
deafly
With the cachar 1872—1889
Lushaiiss during jnncr Line ol 1°
Assam Report on boundary Reserved
Res. ved
the Cachat-Lushai
is
say thÿ the Lp.e
Inner
the Assam Forest ManualTerritory
, t-jie
inner Line of 18/o
Forest belongs to Lushai
was said to be contiguous with
ASS"
The
*rovincial
area
boundary as
between was
defined by the Boundary Comn ‘ • -ona] p0rest Officer, sta-
t« 1 area Was assumed as w.thin
and mucn less

background and sentiments of the Mizo people econon.x ..r
their future interests vis-a-vis their wider contact Bngadier (oai.a
to
national integration programmes. According
tion Army) Ngurliana Sailo, his grand father, in protest
in -m.
last words told his sons that his land extend over tne whole
or
Bhuban hills upto its Northern limits bound by Barak river but
enjoined them to give due respect to the Temple at the northern
end of Bhuban range.
(g) It is curious to observe that there is no separate and
distinct boundary notification in respect to the northern boundary
of Mizoram. The nearest to it, it appears, is the short notes
appended in 1930 and 1933 description of Inner Line of Lushai
Hills. All Other districts have separate and district boundary
descriptions. It is all the more curious that while other district
peaks, deserted village, miles stone stream-; h aani

7 not a ,
boundary pillar. In the absence of
demarcation can be
bonnl
extrer elyambiaoiK Kÿ7,aiy p,lllarS» lhe
singT
gl0unci
may cover an extensive area the in ,.cause deserted village
post is variable with the change orcatl0n, a Particular mile
streams can have more than one n T0ad alignment and the
stream can be applied to several streÿ °r
'
the name of °ne
dary description is, rooms are'ieft
claims and that it culminated
£mbi£uas as the boun-
r dairhs and counter-
when'viV0
July Session of 1965 passed the
resolution DlStrict Council in its
w 47
The boundary does not folin

,
water-shed
, ta«>Ses- running etc. due to the1"’!?-,0011”* of strearas,°or hm
stream!904 was south-north AM,-., ,nature °f land
the liill and
fying made to make Z hÿ6 1912 redefinition mod,
easier to follow oil the ground, it seemÿ,?' all£nment clearer and
boundary line be redefined with nr®a 110w imperative that the
other. immista<eble laud marks i„5 reference to pillars or
the M,"nb< S P‘zo cultivators hol-
ding valid permits issued by of
dragged to civil courts, as
such encroaehers
cases on account
G,°Verair,ent
“"’i
true
had beei1
dismissed ,,r that the- courts
uncertainty of the boundary
'l';
line on die ground. ”
boned that the area

Suakpuiltla Stinnud
b?iwaen
bourd?™
J
** r'aS
j
aJread«v
,ne,of
been men.
Caehar and the
51S Zjg&gtT'SStU SSK

;fc,£ sr;; sW »" WR
■‘there is ,Ui be)ievc
L£ason
Lushais, who are
that the nearer tribes of
. , °"-!nS Passed forward by other tribes in
their near,. would gladly, if encouraged so to do settle
down as friendly neighbours in the waste land r»JoSe t0
our Iron t;er (meaning within the Inner Line Toiflt)
_ 11 tins is so, every attempt should be
made to brin* about
desirable a result. They should be made to understand
that they will not be in any way subject to our Jurisdiction
and that no attempt will be made to interfere with them in
cmy way as long as they are peaceful
jn . h areas south of the line fixed in 1867 and confirmed again
ject aild Anally declared as Inner Line in 1875 no British sub-
J cojjil Hlest
Vl'ere allowed to go on to settle. The proposal of Govern-
Bengal mentioned above was welcomed but the Lushais
i d
‘to not be induced to settle there. Latter when they did want
1C 80 as when Kalkhama proposed to establish a punji a
, , t0
5
H J°urney south of Bongkiong
(Bankang), he was welcomed
i1 Vj?g So- The Government of Assam in their Report on Lushais
dr 1 B72— 1 889 writes
wmAÿ’ n
—
"ÿobiect
rh.nf r
v
f o the establishment of(ppvillages at

T distance1 oVo
j
rniles from our fronts 23)
A
48
mcr,o the Tnr.r; L’.w ~3

iimisa naa no intention to control settlement or internal affairs
of the Mizos living south of Suakpuilal s sunnad line. The Depu¬
ty Commissioner of Cachar proposed to have a buffer of
friendly Lushais 'established in the south of Cachar (page 27 ibid)
m the spirit with which the above letter of Bengal Government
was written before the Chief Commissionership of Assam was created.
It appeared that among the administrators two views were
held : —
(0 to settle friendly Lushais in the Inner Line belt.
(7) to keep -ife Inner Line belt free of habitation.
The Chief Commissioner of Assam view seemed to have
prevailed.
The object the Chief Commissioner has in view is the

w'
maintenance of a belt of uninhabited forest along our fron¬

tier to obviate the chances of disputes arising be! ween
communities settled at short distance from one another
across the border and to prevent our becoming involved
in the feuds and disputes of these uncivilised tribes”(pp 27 ibid;
The point that seems to come out clearly is the fact that
the Britist considered this Inner Line belt as properly belonging
to the Mizos geographically and traditionally "and ignoring what
the Mizos did in the forest regarding rubber-tapping or elephant
hunting.
■ Inoouiiaary
fact, it is not easy to understand,
vvliei4iei- it refer to
when thev sr.e- V of
Uif.il- the Inner Line or Suakpnilata’s
sm.i’iKi hX. auaKnniiala'8 sunnud clearly says that north of the
line is to be caned cachar and the Marthinlong or northern
Lusha, lands Assam Government Forest Annual Reports for
ex n pie, 1891-92 to . 898-99 refers to the Inner Line Seserve Fo-
rest falling witam the Lushai Territory”.
The appendix to Assam forest Manual 1897
ries continguous with provincial onef were
B undary Commissioners and described in defined fwii
“-Rnnnda-
bv
fol>owwgn Mo-
;
t
tif ication : Cachar south Inner Tine No¬
tification No 2299-P, dated the 20th AugstTsÿlCo Plÿ 21).
This makes it quite clear f'n.iKrTfb
bevond
this lÿi
A3 Pro-
vincia. boundary in
“
49
Jn 1899 part of the Inner Line Reserve about 12 square mi¬

les, was disforested for settlement. The area is the present settle¬
on Aijal-Silchar Road between Dholai and Awithang Bazar
ment settlers
pbe are mostly from Syhlet area. During the famaine of
1910 in Lushai Hills, a number of Mizos were also settled in
moved to another site while the new settlers other than Mizos
happily grapped the cleared area for wet paddy cultivation.
_
iliis disforested area. They cleared the forest but next year they
The Deputy Commissioner of Caehar, however, was able to

persuade a few families to accept permanent settlement to
cultivate the flat land. They are still to be found there, however,
in decreasing number due amongst others, to population pressure
from other communities.
The Forest Department, onece it started to administer the
Inner Line Forest according to the Departmental Rules gradually
drove out settlers from the Inner Line area. In 1898-99 some
TCuki’ or ‘Mizos were found to cultivate lands within the Inner
Line Reserve Fosest. Orders were passed for their eviction, but
on their appeal to the Chief Commissioner.
‘‘who observed that he was extremely averse to the adoption
of harsh measures against squatters, and though it might be
necessary to evict others, no steps to be taken as long as
their crops were on the ground. It was added that special
consideration should be shown in providing these men with
land in the areas which may have been deforested, and that
a reasonable time should hallowed to them for the payment
of the value of the timber for which they may be liable. Mr.
Cotton also directed that the criminal Cases which had been
instituted against them should be withdrawn, it is against
these humane provisions that the Conservator protests” (An¬
nual Report, Resolution of 1897-98).
Thus the forest was ruthlessly administered ignoring all humane

considerations. Only very few Mizo tribals were kept for labour
source as forest villagers. Some Sheduled Tribes are also settled
in the Inner Line Reserve area as forest villagers. Beside these,
no settlers are allowed to this day and the population of the
area is predominantly tribal.
.{ FTEMI \rD E.'PENDENCE : In 195/. the Mizo District Co-
was duly constituted under the Sixth Schedule to the Coris-
of India. The right over land in the whole district was
50
- J
*ÿ o v cr '<jo\:a'nii i.c x4 i
SlSi
operation of 1935 ref onus.
from the
“ =“iud3
Department under
When the Forest staff of Assam Forest clearing the
the Deputy Commissioner of Mizo District started
Southern Inner Line Reserve boundary (this is supposed to coin-
cide with the line described in 1875 notification), the District
Council raised objection to the a lignment. A joint survey of the
alignment was proposed in 1964, but the survey party could not
agree in the identification of certain landmarks mentioned in the
declaration of 1875. This raised question in the minds of the
District Council leaders on the status of the Inner Line Forest
Reserve, whether it is still Government Reserve Forest contem¬
plated under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, over
which they have no authority. From examination of notifications
they came to the conclution that the Inner Reserve Forest is no
longer Government Reserve Fore t mentioned in the Constitution.
(Eventually this was confirmed by the Law Department of Assam
Government). In 1908 and 1959 a number of passes for wet
I
rice cultivation was issued by the District Council
on areas they
considered Within their jurisdiction. When the pass holders
started settling the Forest Department objected, holding
/ District Council have no right that (he
to issue passes within tile Inner
Line Reserve Forest. The Cachar Forest T.
that cnme nf , ies* nivis.Wi
Division also claimed
i
RheseTemFomsÿh!n "he Cacha'r

nPnr;t
bou T T U"?
eviction process. All these raised the followiW tTife’sl *****
° northern1 bohndmTTTrf”1
Line Reserve Fo-
3) The actual
District. y alignmentReServ-
oounoai Forest.
of the Mizo
To make the position of the District
quite unambiguous the Council passed a °n the last point
Session of 1965-that the Northern
should run as follows
°
bound?0
aiy utl2n in their July
of Mizo District m
ruang) a
0nrithe Barak (Tui-
II
’ C,1Ce m a straight line to 4: <
51
northcrnly direction
1° Dholai river and thence a straight
line in south- easwi dlfectlon
to 88 mile of Dwarband road;
thence a *traiahi
Une, W westerly ejection to Jhapirnand
L
T F Grant Th,
Tea Gram
vc natnrl0nugthe
tnPiv
boundary of
Burancherra and
Lalmÿ LaU
Kulicherra,
O t
halnacherra t0 its junction with Dhaleswari
L tiier\ce
Raid nil la on the
Bakipula
straÿht line in westerly direction to
bank of Longai.
T mark the claimed area, the District Council planted
seveial maikeis soon after the above resolution was- passed with
a view 1° lake up the matter with the State Government. Tho¬
ugh these were temporary markings it was vehemently objected
by the Assam State Government. All the pillars were seized and
warrant of arrested issued against the District Council represen-
tative who was deputed to erect the pillars.
To resolve the above points several meetings were held bet¬
ween Officers of Assam and the District Council. The last and
most important one was held at Shillong, on the 9-12-1965, at
which the Commissioner for Hills presided. The meeting could
not come to any definite conclusion till the opinion of the Legal
Remembrancer, Assam is obtained. The meeting inter alia
resolved to maintain the status quo and decided to meet after
the legal opinion is obtained. As understood by the Chief Con¬
servator of Assam in his le'ter D.O. No. FG 40/14/11 of
15.12.1970 to Deputy Commissioner, Aizawl the status quo
“means that
while the encroachers during tha-t period should not have

been evicted no further encroachement was also to be done.
It means also that the further permit for operation of trees
etc. in the Reserve Forest should be given by the District-
Council. This also means that the southern boundary of
the Forest as maintained by us should not be' disputed till
the issue of the status of the Inner Line Reserve, is decided”.
It may be recalled that in order to allay the fear of Mautam
and also as a precautionary measures to prevent the possible
.1 alarming effect of the impending famine some portions of Inner
Line Reserve Forest was cleared for cultivation with the permit
1
| issued by the District Council.
1
31. Present. Situated on ike border : As long as Mizoram
was within Assam, people of Mizoram experience ne serious
MB
52
was separated from Assam

■difficulty, but as soon as Mizoram 0]1 21.1.1972 a number
and constituted into a Union border, some of
i of problems arose on .
which are mentioned here below
1 .
•!
1 Council at (a) Buhchang (b) _

authorities have claimed
chang (Phaisen). The Cachai Fo Reserve Fo-
Inner
(b) and (c) as failed inside theiremp
i rest asearly as 1958-59 and made at o appeal made
i tors accusing them as encroached. Bu PP ‘ "
of Assam, the
i by the District Council to the Government
: vat10n Jp-
cultivators were allowed to carry °n wi tb the cultidated
■: 165.
to 1960 vide letter Mo. FOR/SETT/268/58/118
1958 and FOR/SETT/268/58/69 dated 20.12.1960 After die
expiry of these permissions, the District Council made seve¬
ral requests for renewal of the permit. The Chief Executive
Member of the Distric Council even made a proposal in his
letter No. F. 29/65/A 5987-92 dated 29.1.1965 for settlement
of this cultivators proposing that the area already occupied
be deforested and in return an equivalent or slightly more
area contiguous to the Inner Line Reserve Forest be affore¬
sted. There was no response from Assam Government cul¬
tivators from (b) and (c) were evicted by Cachar Forest on
the 8th and 16th May 1972 respectively. The cultivators
in area (a) however, are not evicted by the Forest authority
in Mizoram, respecting the decision to maintain status quo
in a meeting held on the 9th December 1965 at Shillong.
On thft 1 S 1 Q / "* f h Pi R J l h n hn n n d
(T
visited tc
i
\v?.Q
make on tne spot study. On enquiry it was reported
that the dwelling house of 20 families with their barn
houses and cow-sheds were burnt to ashes including
about lOOmds. of paddy. Due to the
on the same night and on subsequent davs it was
torren“aiS
reported Ibat about 500 mds. of
ported to have been damaged. The Primary also
£addy wJs re-
run by the Assam Educational Department building School
of
wffieb waS constructed by these cultivators, was
ed. tne building was also completed also destroy-
destroyed-
fomrpi”ie7ae and Pu ra"8Phai
£haisen) it was learnt
houses were destmved Pa.nuUala.
(l?oth fr0m Phaisen) that If
53
destroyed a pillar. Some of the eviction party members wero

also reported to have said. ‘*We do not want you, we want.
the land. This is not your land, go back to your land
was
Perhaps the cultivators did not understand properly what they
said to them, but they were given the impression and
spread this to other, that the eviction was done becaus
Assam Government did not probably regard them as Jndiai
citizen. In the present context of disturbed conditions pr e.
vailing in Mizoram this kind of news spread like wild
The cultivators from (b) and (c) were reported to nave
to maK
the eviction parties that they are doing cultivation
both ends meet with the permission issued by tne i>isirici
Council to whom they pay land revenue .
(2) On the 5th and 6th September 1973, Assam authorities in
their eviction process have destroyed the standing crops at
Vairengte, estimated at Rs. 29,892.50 (14 acres) of paddy,
etc. just before harvest.
(3) On 9.3.1973 the Mizoram Forest plantation workers while
working at Phainuam area were decoyed by the Cackar
authorites and arrested seven workers and confined them at
Silchar Thana for some days.
.4) The Cachar Forest authorities alleged the Central State
Farm at Lushaicherra to have encroached the Singla and
gadashi Reserve Forests. Warning to take action against
the State Farm was given unless authority to clear the
Forest is produced.
(5) The Mizo people living in the existing boundary notification
as within and inside Cachar area appeals to develop a
feeling of insecurity since a very recent past. Number of them
to some to the Mizoram. Mizo
are preparing themselves Syamacharanpui
people from Palawi and have since moved
into the Mizoram.
(6) Immediately after attainment of Union Territory by Mizoram
private vehicle owners and traders found various difficulties in ,
respect to movement of vehicles within Cachar and tronsport
of essential commodities into Mizoram. It is needless to
emphasis that Cachar is the main autlet for Mizoram with
the rest of India for which Mizoram is dependent on ii p)t -
oi essential commodities from and through dealers in Cachar
before the Government of Mizoram make their o wn arrange-
54
‘ÿPÿedby
ment sudden restrictions have been
price of essential commodities.

as stfa. i free_sale
These and other difficulties have becon

'
cessitating the meeting between the Deputy

of Aizawl and Silchar which was held at Aizawl
November 1973.
—
Commissioners,
on 99 nd
32 The Chief Ministers of Mizoram and Assam met on 9 11.

1972 at Shillong to discuss about problem relating to the Mizo culti¬
vators alleged to have encroached Cachar Inner Line Reserved Forest.
The Chief Minister of Mizoram proposed to maintain the status
quo as was decided upon between the District Council leaders and
the Government of Assam at Shillong on 9.12.1965. However,
the Chief Minister of Assam indicated that these Mizo cultivators
are encroachers so far as they were concerned but was agreeable
to honour the earlier commitment for maintaining status-quo till
further discussion on the matter between chief Secretaries. It
has not so far been possible to have discussion between the
Chief Secretaries.
Again, the Minister i/c Forest etc. of Mizoram met the
Chief Minister of Assam on 11.9.1973 at Shillong over the
question oi the Cachar authorities in destroying the standing
crops at Vairengte which took place on the 5th d 6th September
1973. The Chief Minister of Assam maintained the same ada-
mant stand on the issue of encroachment however he was agree¬
able to refrain from destroying the standing crops onlv&
till
31.12.1973 on payment of nominal fee by the alleged encroachers.
33. OBSERVATIONS :
(1) It is apparent from the existing boundary,
and the map that New Buhchang and Buhrhnn 1 1 r nm
which areas evictions were carried out by
’
are shown within the Cachar Boundary 2a ih*

unilateral action resorted to by the Cachar Pnr -fL
appears to be impulsive keeping in view th
were given for cultivation bv the rw „ ILLMauthorities
ty permissions
960 and its subsequent renewalÿ «Sf,nt °f Assam upi°
District Council (b)
Councils proposal to
the Chier Er
settleh
aatly .Pressed by the
cultl'a? MeTlber, District
o«„pM .Pd .tad, ta,.d b,
thc
1 is
55
C SS2&SOTS 5*&
further discussion on the boundary disputes to be held later on.
It is a practice to settle certain people in the Reserve Forest
areas, as Forest villagers or otherwise but the Chief Executive
Member of the District Councils proposal to settle the Mizo
families was ignored. Various verbal accusasions on the removal
and reerection of pillars towards Mizoram are current. Some
garden’s passes given during British period by the Superintendent
of Lushai Hills within the present Cachar areas. In this way
there are many other allegations against the Assam authorities of
deliverately manouvering these changes which led Mizo people to
believe that certain discriminations have been practiced against
them.
(2) There used to be Mizo villages in the past even to the
northern end of Bhuban Hills. There are numerous historical Q
evidences like names of places and streams - such as Vawklian- /
khua (big pig village) Vawklianlui (big pig stream), Saikah lui j
(a stream where elephant is shot) Sipailui (Soldier’s stream), Ku- j
runglui ( narrow gorge ), Tlurhmanga’s village, Damlui ( shady /
stream) Thangnangchhip (a hill on the top of which cinamon-
flies used to swarm), Mauchap -
(a place where cut bamboos waiting for burning etc. Till today*4
there are mizo families at Jurkhal, Megnathol, Dhikakhal etc, in
the vicinity of Monierkhal Tea Garden.:- Similarly there are his- J
torical evidences in other placesthewhich are now outside the
present Mizoram boundary, but in close proximity of the Inner
;np nC rarhar and the Ronphari mentioned earlier and many
boundary of the District Council.
of them within the claimed
H) During British regime, impressed labour has always
been utilised 1ctrirtlv
3 ucUyWtiwithin
n Mizoram. Mizo people were used
Dwarband. Similarly Government
o be engaged upto and
‘ allowcd to join at Dwar_
LrTlS rt,
band and while leaving Lushai
Lu Hills the hour and date of reach-
c from Lusha- By
rKatpoH on Dhalessuari at Uicherrawas the point.
Mizo people living in the present
(4) More otie the few Forest are alleged to have cleared
Cachar Inner Line Reserv
5*
the jungles thus destroying the wealth of

forest
byAe'Rianÿjÿeoplewho I?e Jiving in and
"!mtfent,IyTunVTunKlIrfedng
are hilHopes for jhuming
permanent cultivation. There
instead of the low lying area fit for
are many Riangs in Mizoram most of whom now lived m settled
villages. While the problem of rehabilitation ot these Kiangs
and landless, tribal people in the Forest area is urgent, the Go¬
vernment of Mizoram can takcle these problems with the direct
backing of the Government of India. ;
■
(5) Hit original inhabitants of Cachar such as Hrangkhawl, |

Biate, Ralte etc! earlier known as Kukis, all of whom are Mizos, :
are scattered in the hill areas of Cachar. These people had been
in contact with “civilised nation” much earlier than the main
stream of the Mizos in Lushai Hills. It is, however, sa>d to note
that they are stil! living in the most abject poverty and ignorance.
With the exception of one or two, none from these group has
matriculated. If the same kind of attention asis being given bv
the Government of Assam now continues, it is apprehended that
they will continue to remain as they were and not experience and
enjoy any of the benefits and fruits of Indepenbence. It is tine
Mat half hearted attempts to develop these backward people by
establishing a tribal belt v, as mooted once but no concrete action
seems to have been taken till to this day. The greatest orob’em
in the management of Tnbal people is the psychological one end
these tnbals wil continue to pose perpetual problem So the ad¬
ministrators of. Assam unless they are completely ignored In
astirwax sugars?
at present the Mizos in Cachar are
A «
following syllabuses of "the
Mizoram Education Department and take nart in u
examinations for the Primary and Middle staves
perhaps the wisest course for the whole nation to
T?1'
Pil
•,
Qualifying
SafeSt
include them under Mizoram. to follow seem to
(6) It may not be out of nlnrv «•«

of State and district boundaries in (YPP TSÿ conception
than during the British regime!
Boundaries'
mstrative convenience and the linvniQtip l le
less
T*'
.drawn for adtr.i-
has been an accepted prmciDlc £ r
boundnÿXT r?aniSati°n of States
say in matters relating to their hav? uever had any
have been conferred on the Mizo \Z‘
people which
t
that a new status
makes it possible
’ www r" —-~
to raise their voice. It is would be satisfied
unlikely that they
unless and until their boundaries are redifined on a sound prin¬
ciple considering historical, traditional and geographical backg¬
round, The distinguished anthropologist and one time Director
of Anthropological Survey of Indie, lafe Dr.B.S. Guha used to
say that tribal unrest has always been the result of an encroa¬
chment into their lands. The problem of M'zos both in Chhota-
churra range in Cachar, Zampuitlang in Tripura and the hill
areas of Manipur which are contiguous to Mizoram, may peihaps
also be remembered.
(7) Saihapui and Phainuam villages used to be within Lus-
hai Hills district, similarlv Medlicherra near Kanhmun uas within
Lushai Hills area also'. Within those areas Orange garden
'
passes were issued by the Superintendent of Lushai Hills.

However,these areas have now been claimed as within the
Cachar district. Villagers of Phainuam were arrested in 1963
on an alleged encroachment of Car’mr Inner Line Reserved
Foaest but were aqquitted by the court of Cachar in 1973 failing
to prove beyond all reasonable doubt as to then act of encroach¬
ment.
(8) It already been mentioned in this report that within
has
the existing Cachar Inner Line Reserved Forest area there are
forest villagers of Mizos and some schedule caste. The following
statistics based on rough survey recently conducted indicates the
population of Mizos and other Scheduled tribes who are cultiva¬
ting within the area.
Population. Area (in acres)

under cultivation.
i) }i
Mizos 2684 1991
M.
.„
ii) other tvibals e.g.
Riang, Chakma, etc. 1008 m
34. The two-man
assx fact finding Committee

/risydfe ?
,j— ~
in the present
.KJGovernment.
ordinary jurisdictional control exercised by
the British

Report

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Report

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

\J»

6<y — ♦ •• > -•' •

Rev. ZAIREMA & B. POONTE

r Published by Govl. of Mizoram.ÿ . -ÿ

REPORT OF FACTS FINDING COMMITTEE ON THE

“At present it is occupied and administered partly by Assam,

nominal than real for in every came we find the •* AM

own sphere continued their inter-clan quarrel. -How far, these

4. Our Relations with the British :

Rookies and by wild and uncxplorer Iracts of territory subjeci

Captain Stewart, the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar in 1867

“Major Stewart refers in his 2nd paragraphs to an old order

The gen real understanding is that Government hold the

out it appears that no precise boundary was laid down by the

The Revenue Surveyor N. T. Davev addressed to the Superin¬

5. On the 6th November 1849, the Mizos attacked their own

Captain Lister, making his report of the expedition suggested

r.l WW? WR!V r}4*!ÿ**

Young Chiefs be demanded who would be sent to School (2) the

6.As previously arranged 5 Lushai M uniris arrived at Silchar

“The boundary line extended from a lew miles above Lakhipur

T. >!. F.'.'h cruclpuon of bouikkry existing then a line

rapidly. Grants of land were made, settlers encouranged and as a

9. The Mizos were aÿrmed at this fast spread of cultivation

I replied that he had nothing to fear from Tea-gardens, that

The Government of India too were dissatisfied with what Capt.

grew among the Mizos and Mackenzie sum¬

The Deputy Commissioner lost no time in taking measures

A. a prelude to things to happen Loharband and Momerkhal

;p Other measures to prevent trouble and to protest British

A certain line was fixed as early as 1867 beyond which

:b» Along this line at intervals Police posts were created

Lu?h?: 1 1 ibe (No. 72 of 4th January 1870,) in which he has

In this memorandum he says -

Kwc-vnnce of what is or is not British territory, male0 very

•Laphn Frontier shall be and whether the small arc? between

the chief represented. The outrages which soon followed ex-

“the alleged grievance of the Lushais was that the tea

ned, and limited to the parts surveyed and settled, and

He Ccn nvissioner requested the officii ting Deputy Commissioner

Mr. C.C.R. Mc-Williums in his letter No '3(41 Cachar dt 27th

‘•From north west piller of Alexanderpure grant in a south-

TH> was forwarded to the officiating Boundary Commissione

wcaase '.here is no possibility of tracing the lines in question

Nothing will induce me, if 1 can help it, to have any

more n Hi ary expendi'ions on the sou'h-east Frontier .

2«: ea- nlanters whom they considered were encroaching on

- Mr Edgar proposed to return to the Lushai hills with

io be peaceful and friendly neighbours.

**i wanted to fix a boundary between us and then which

question for his Honour to decide. TTie cdouud

“The boundary in blue was proposed by Mr. McWilliams

:To prevent mistakes’ hereafter the iLe in question

Pzÿchoirka Mokam. It may be recalled from Mr, ubo \_ .v L

z-.oted earlier that Suakpuilala wan ed to uphold the /

Lt. Governor when lately visited Cachar discussed per-

thcir letter No. 2021 P Fort

I -In reply, I am directed to state that his Excellency, the

ibis area was under his w' 'Ural of |

iHLey §or ntLdr;nek0ÿe flowiÿ tÿTouth! j

When the Burra Sahib of Cachar or any Govt. Officer

1; v*ho may be disputed by him goes to visit the Looshai Hills,

The Goverment of India accorded their assent to the Sunnud

and northern Looshai London tu®