Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Aizawl: The All-India Chakma Students Union is pushing back against online chatter. They want the facts straight. The group released a statement today citing government documents and archives to clarify the history of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the town of Tlabung, known formerly as Demagiri in the Lunglei district.
History matters here. The group notes the Chittagong Hill Tracts were governed by the Chakma, Mong, and Bohmong Rajas under British rule. The Chakmas stood as the region's largest hill tribe. Cartographic proof dates back to 1525. Portuguese mapmaker Diego de Astor labeled the area Chacomas on the eastern bank of the Karnaphuli River. Joao de Barros later published this map in 1615.
British policy shifted everything. Prof Jangkhongam Doungel of Mizoram University argues that colonial intervention broke the Chakma kingdom in 1860. The British split the land into two parts: Chittagong as a regulated district and the Hill Tracts as a non-regulated one.
The name Tlabung holds a complex past. The AICSU claims Demagiri comes from the Pali words Deva and Giri, meaning god and hills. Spelling varied in colonial records, appearing as Demagree or Demagri. MLA Saitlawma officially pushed for the name change to Tlabung during the fourth session of the Mizoram Legislative Assembly on September 27, 1973.
Administrative borders moved often. Major Anthony Gilchrist McCall wrote in his 1949 book, Lushai Chrysalis, that the Sailo clans expanded toward Demagiri by the early 19th century. Former Assam Governor Sir Robert Reid noted that an 1892 order placed Demagiri under the South Lushai Hills despite its geographical location within the Hill Tracts. A proclamation on April 1, 1898, later handed administration of the area to Assam.
The group points to an 1879 Government of Bengal notification to solidify their claim. That document placed the Inner Line boundary north of Demagiri, keeping the town inside the Hill Tracts. Relying on these public records, the AICSU claims the evidence is clear. "There is no controversy surrounding these two issues," the organization said. They want the public to stop guessing and start reading the history books.
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