‘Zoram Ni’ or Zoram day was observed in different parts of Mizoram on Monday under the aegis of the State’s apex students’body, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (NZP) or the Mizo Students’ Association to mark the 52nd anniversary of the alleged bombing of Aizawl by Indian Air Force in 1966.
In Aizawl, the observance of Zoram Ni was held at the Lal Thanhawla auditorium where several prominent speakers spoke on their experiences on that fateful day on March 5 in the year 1966.
Speakers participating in the programme stressed on the need of observing the day to instil a sense of patriotism among the younger generation.
The air raids on Aizawl on March 5, 1966, were conducted at the onset of Mizo National Front-led rebellion.
The Air Force had never been used to tackle insurgency in any other part of India before that incident.
Aizawl and several other villages were air-raided, a few days after the unilateral declaration of ‘Mizoram Independence’ by the Laldenga-led Mizo National Front.
While Mizoram now has emerged as one of the most peaceful states and marching ahead as one of the most developing states of India, memories of the inferno still remain with those who survived the trial by fire.