AIZAWL, Oct 12 - External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has requested the Myanmar Government to take measures to protect a banyan tree at Khampat in Myanmar, which is regarded as the Mizo family tree.
Earlier this year, Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had urged Swaraj to take measures to protect the ancient banyan tree known to Mizos as �Khampat Bungpui� which is now in danger of being washed away by a nearby river.
Swaraj, in her letter to Lal Thanhawla recently, said that India has written to Myanmar Government requesting it to protect the banyan tree situated on the outskirts of Khampat village in Sagaing region of north western Myanmar. She said the issue had also been raised during the Foreign Office Consultations held in August.
Legends have it that forefathers of the Mizos, as they migrated westwards from China in the 17th century, planted the banyan tree at Khampat where they settled for a brief period. They had vowed to return to the place once the branches of the tree touches the ground. Some Mizo families from the present day Mizoram had migrated back to Khampat as early as the 1940s and the village is now predominated by Mizos.
Zo Re-unification Organisation (ZoRO), an umbrella organisation for ethnic Mizo tribes scattered across India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, in a statement on Friday thanked Lal Thanhawla for requesting Swaraj to take steps to protect the Mizo family tree.
�We hope that the action would have a far-reaching impact on strengthening bilateral ties between India and Myanmar and the bond between Mizos in India and Myanmar,� the statement said.