Sinlung Hills Council

The Sinlung Hills Council (SHC) is a local administrative body in Mizoram, India. Unlike other Autonomous District Councils in the state, the council has limited administrative autonomy.^[4] It was created on 9 July 2018 as an administrative body for the Hmar people and covers Hmar-dominated areas in northern Mizoram across the Aizawl, Kolasib and Saitual districts.^[5]

The term Sinlung refers to the supposed ancestral origin of the Hmar people.^[6] The headquarters of the council is located in Aizawl.^{[7] [1]}

^{[2] [3]}

Sinlung Hills Council covers an area in and around the inter-state borders with neighbouring Assam and Manipur in the north eastern corner of Mizoram. The Council covers 31 Villages under 3 (three) different Rural Development Blocks and under 3 (three) different districts. As per 2011 Census, it has a population of 30,160with 94.68% literacy and 95.27% Scheduled Tribe population.

In July 1986, some Hmar leaders in Mizoram formed the Mizoram Hmar Association (MHA), which was later renamed as the Hmar People Convention (HPC). The HPC spearheaded a political movement for social, economic, cultural and educational advancement of the Hmar people in line with the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) of the Lai, Mara and Chakma. The HPC representatives and the Government of Mizoram, after multiple rounds of talks, signed a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) in Aizawl on July 27, 1994 and the Sinlung Hills Development Council was officially formed on August 27, 1997.

At the time of the MoS signing in 1994, some of the HPC leaders formed the HPC (Democratic), which has continued an armed movement for autonomy within Mizoram. To end a prolonged militancy in Mizoram, a series of Peace Talks were held between the Government of Mizoram and the Leaders of the Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic). Settlement on various issues were reached during the course of the Talk and Memorandum of Settlement to give enhanced autonomy in the manner of administration, in the sphere of socio-economic, political and cultural development of the people under the jurisdiction of the Sinlung Hills Council was signed between the Government of Mizoram and the Leaders of the Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) on 2nd April, 2018. Sinlung Hills Council was established by the Sinlung Hills Council Act, 2018 (No. 6 of 2018) which came into force on 5th July, 2018. ^[3]

The council comprises 31 villages in the Hmar-dominated northeastern part of Mizoram. It covers three assembly constituencies in the districts of Aizawl, Kolasib and Saitual.^[5]

SHC estimated population

The total population is an approximate calculation based on the 2011 Census of India data for 29 villages, with population data for East Damdiai derived from a 2009 village record^[8] and Mauchar obtained from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Mizoram.^[9]

The council has 14 members. 12 of whom are elected and 2 are nominated. The council is headed by a Chief Executive Member.^[10]

About 20,914 voters were eligible to vote for the election. It was the first election since its election.^[11] The MNF-HPC alliance won 10 seats, and Independents won 2 seats.^[10]

^[12]

The alliance between the Mizo National Front (MNF) and the Hmar People's Convention (Reformed) (HPC-R) secured a majority in the Sinlung Hills Council elections held on 5 November 2024.^[13]

The MNF–HPC(R) combine won seven seats in the 12-member council, surpassing the simple majority mark required to form the executive body.^[13] The ruling alliance between the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) and the Hmar People's Convention (HPC) suffered defeat in the polls, with ZPM winning three of the eight seats it contested.^[13]

The HPC failed to secure any seats out of the four constituencies it contested, while the Indian National Congress managed to win one seat out of the twelve it contested.^[13] The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which contested one constituency, failed to win any seats.^[13]

Election officials reported that a total of 49 candidates, including one woman, contested the election, and voter turnout stood at 71.69 percent of the 23,789 eligible voters.^[13]

Submitted to the Commission at 5:00 PM after the Close of Poll^[12]