Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma’s speech in which he called for a united nation for the Chin-Kuki-Zo people in America went viral. Lalduhoma addressed the “elephant in the room” in a speech in Indianapolis, US, in September, expressing concern that there was a real danger that his religion would become a source of separation and division rather than one that “shepherds the flock and transforms them”. Transform the church into a united, strong and impenetrable fortress, as it should be.”

Lalduhoma’s speech on September 4 was about religion in the context of the Zo people, an indigenous group residing primarily in Mizoram, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Zo people are part of the larger ethnic group commonly known as Chin-Kuki-Mizo, sharing linguistic, cultural and historical ties.

At the end of his speech, he said that the main reason he accepted the invitation to visit the USA was to seek “unity for all of us”. “We are one people, brothers and sisters, and we cannot afford to be divided or separated from each other,” the Prime Minister said, without saying a word about what he wanted in the future. “I want us to have the faith and confidence that one day, with the power of God who made us a nation, we will rise under one leadership to realize our destiny of becoming a nation.”

Lalduhoma, a former IPS officer, continued: “While a country has borders, a true nation transcends these limitations. We have been unjustly divided, forced to exist in three different countries under three different governments, and this is something we can never accept.”

In a question-and-answer session at the same event, the prime minister said the current borders were not acceptable to the Zo people. “We will never accept the division of our people into three countries,” he said. “This is never acceptable. The borders are borders drawn by the British government. We are never represented on this committee, we are never consulted. “So this is an imposed limit and we will never accept it.”

Lalduhoma’s speech on American soil fueled debate over whether a foreign country was truly planning to create a separate Christian nation. Sheikh Hasina reportedly mentioned this just months before she was forced to flee and flee Bangladesh.

In May this year, months before she was forced to step down as prime minister, Hasina warned that a plot was afoot to create “a Christian country based in the Bay of Bengal and taking over parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar.”

Writer and YouTuber Abhijit Chavda expressed concern about the prime minister’s speech, summarizing it this way: “Kukiland for Jesus, from US territory!” He said the current Mizoram chief minister “refuses to accept India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty” and that “Indian government’s inaction will cost us dearly”.

Another social media user, Bikramjit Kangabam, also felt something was wrong and suggested Kuki’s role in the ongoing violence in Manipur. He said India needs to understand the bigger game plan of “Manipur violence engineered by Kuki-Zo and its implications in North East India”.

Research expert Sana Jaoba described Lalduhoma’s speech as “a threat to national security and integrity”. “His words risk fomenting division and disrupting the harmony we have worked so hard to create in India,” he said, adding that the prime minister’s suggestion that the communities should form a separate nation ignores the importance of unity within India.

Prashanth Kini, an astrologer who follows geopolitics, linked the prime minister’s speech to what Sheikh Hasina said about a Christian nation months before her ouster. Kini said, “Whatever Sheikh Haseena said was true” and blamed America for the problems in Bangladesh. “It is now history how some anti-nationals destabilized the Government of Bangladesh with the help of external forces… Terrorist activities can be seen in Manipur, Mizoram, Chittagong.”

Months before the troubles began in Bangladesh, the Dhaka-based Daily Star reported that Hasina had mentioned a “white man” in her proposal to establish a naval base in Bangladeshi waters. “It may seem like they are only targeting one country, but it is not. I know where else they are planning to go,” The Daily Star quoted him as saying. Hasina said she was offered a peaceful election if it allowed her to establish a base in Bangladesh. Hasina rejected the offer and was out of power by August.