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Kohima, Oct. 5: The 24-hour strike called by the Zeliangrong Baudi (hoho), Nagaland, ended peacefully at 6 this morning.
The strike was called in Peren district to express solidarity with Zeliangrongs living in Assam and their resentment against the proposal to declare Assam’s Dima Hasao district the Dimasa Territorial Council.
The Baudi has warned the Assam government and the Centre that the Zeliangrongs would not part with even an inch of their land to the council, as, it claimed, they were the original settlers of Dima Hasao (since 1820) and not the Dimasas. It added that the Assam government was trying to rewrite history by forming the territorial council.
Zeliangrongs inhabit Peren district of Nagaland, Dima Hasao in Assam, Tamenlong district and part of Senapati district in Manipur.
The Baudi said Dimasas constituted only 35 per cent of population in Dima Hasao and demanded either rollback of the undemocratic decision or creation of another district for the remaining 65 per cent population. It also warned that it would resort to an agitation to stop formation of the council.
The Zeliangrong Hoho (Nagaland, Assam, and Manipur) today warned that they would launch to an aggressive agitation to stop exploitation of the indigenous people of Dima Hasao by Delhi and Assam.
Zeliangrong Hoho general secretary Elu Ndang told The Telegraph that they would have a final sitting with all its subordinate organisations to chalk out the further course of action, adding that the next course of action would be aggressive. “They should not touch our land,” he said.
He said the indigenous people of Dima Hasao had been demanding a separate district but the government of Assam was ignoring the demand, while adding that the Dimasas were not endemic to the district.
To educate people about the rich history of the Zeliangrongs, the newly formed Zeliangrong Citizens Forum is organising the Zeliangrong Ancestral Land Expedition 2012, which will be flagged off by Nagaland planning and coordination minister T.R. Zeliang from Peren town on October 6.
The expedition will pass through various Zeliangrong ancestral sites in Assam and will end at Makuilngdi in Manipur’s Tamenglong district on October 22.
Ndang said the forum had organised the tour to promote cultural education among Zeliangrongs spread out in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur. He said the team would visit Dima Hasao on October 9.
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