The first USA Zofate Unity Conference, held at the Mizo Christian Church in Indianapolis, has put the spotlight again on Zoram Thar, a group whose activities have straddled religion, politics and the idea of a common Zo identity.
The conference, held on Friday evening and Saturday morning, was organised jointly by the Zoram Thar headquarters in Mizoram and its USA branch.
It brought together Mizo, Zomi, Chin and other Zo communities, along with church and community leaders, for discussions centred on unity among Zo communities.
The event was led by Mafeli Hlawndo and Rebecca Mawii, with prayers and worship conducted in several Zo languages. Religious leaders and community figures from different Zo communities in the US addressed the gathering.
Rev Dr Zaichhawna Hlawndo, president of Zoram Thar, was among the principal resource persons. Hlawndo told the gathering that the different Zo communities shared a common ancestry and argued that divisions had emerged over generations. He said identities such as Mizo, Lai, Mara, Hmar, Kuki, Zomi, Hakha and Falam should be understood within a wider Zo identity.
He also argued that the politics of individual sub-groups should give way to what he described as politics based on a common national identity of the Zo people.
What is Zoram Thar?
Zoram Thar, literally meaning “New Mizoram”, was formed by Hlawndo in 2016 after he returned to Mizoram from the UK. At the time, Hlawndo described it not as a conventional political party but as a movement seeking to bring what he called “godliness” and biblical principles into public life.
In the 2018 Mizoram Assembly election, the group entered electoral politics, fielding candidates as Independents on a common symbol. Reports put the number of candidates at between 18 and 24, depending on whether constituencies or individual candidates were counted; Hlawndo himself contested from Serchhip and Aizawl West-I.
Hlawndo’s daughter Lalruatfeli Hlawndo was also a Zoram Thar candidate in the 2018 Assembly election. She contested as an Independent associated with the group and publicly argued that politics based on godliness and biblical principles could be used to tackle corruption.
Zoram Thar did not win a seat in that election. Its electoral intervention nevertheless established the group as part of Mizoram’s political conversation around governance, Christianity and the role of religion in public life.
From political reform to a common Zo identity
The group’s agenda has also extended beyond conventional electoral politics. In an earlier interview with EastMojo, Hlawndo said one of Zoram Thar’s objectives was to move away from the existing party-political system. He also spoke of church reform and a project to build a church that could be shared by Christians belonging to different denominations.
That idea subsequently took concrete form in the proposal for Zofate Pathian Biakinpui at Thenzawl in Serchhip district. In 2022, Zoram Thar announced plans for what it described as the world’s largest church, to be built on a site measuring 23,809.52 square metres.
According to the plans released by Hlawndo, the church would have 30,000 seats inside and a courtyard capable of accommodating around 70,000 people. The proposed church was intended to serve Zo communities across denominations and host religious conferences. The project was presented as a common religious space for Zofate.
At the time, Hlawndo said the proposed church would belong to Mizo or Zo kindred tribes irrespective of denomination and could be used by different Christian groups for worship and religious assemblies.
Why the Zo identity question matters
The identity question raised at the Indianapolis conference is part of a much broader conversation involving communities spread across India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma has also spoken publicly about a common Zo identity, although his political position and Zoram Thar’s political history should not be conflated.
During his 2024 visit to the US, Lalduhoma told a Zo diaspora gathering in Indianapolis that Zo communities had been divided across three countries and called for greater unity. He said he hoped the Zo people could eventually find a common nomenclature with which different communities could identify.
For Zoram Thar, however, these themes have historically overlapped. The group’s 2018 electoral campaign presented politics as a vehicle for religious and moral reform.
Hlawndo said the movement wanted to establish a form of governance based on Christian principles, while also calling for reforms to the existing political system. The latest US conference extends that same emphasis on unity into the diaspora.
At the Indianapolis gathering, Hlawndo argued that terms such as Chin, Kuki and Lushai were names used historically by outsiders and said the different identities used by Zo communities today should be understood as part of a broader Zo identity.
He called for a move away from what he described as “tribe-based politics” towards politics centred on a common Zo identity.
For Zoram Thar, the question of Zo unity is not confined to church fellowship. It connects religious unity, ethnic identity and political organisation, three themes that have featured in the group’s activities since its formation.
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