GUWAHATI: Undeterred by the 69 votes she had obtained in last year’s assembly polls, Lalthlamuani (63), who has promised to create a ‘New Jerusalem’ in Mizoram, is contesting this year’s election to the lone parliamentary seat in the state for a reason which very few candidates have elsewhere in the country.A resident of Aizawl’s Dwarpui locality who claims to belong to a lost tribe from Israel whose members are scattered in Mizoram, Manipur Myanmar and parts of China, Lalthlamuani says she is in the election fray because she had God’s vision. “The vision that God had shown me is written in the Holy Bible in Matthew chapter 15 verse 24. I believe in the Bible and it is my duty to proclaim what he has shown me about India and the world that we are a lost tribe of Israel and the MP election is the best platform to highlight it,” she adds.Lalthlamuani, who is the only woman candidate in the state fighting the election this time, says, “Women have played pivotal roles in the Bible. There are stories of women like Esther, Debori and Judith which inspire me. That is why I am contesting the MP election. A woman contesting the polls is good for the country and also for the future generation.”With only Rs 25,000 cash in hand, Lalthlamuani is on a house-to-house campaign at present to highlight the cause she is fighting for in this year’s election. Her son Franky Sailo, marketing head of a oil company in the state, is helping her. In the last assembly polls, Lalthlamuani was fielded as an Independent candidate by the Zoram Thar Party headed by envangelist Reverand Zaichhawna Hlawndo.Lalthlamuani, who is contesting as an Independent candidate this time again, is pitted against C Lalrosanga of the ruling Mizo National Front, TBC Lalvenchhunga of People’s Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram, Nirupam Chakma of BJP and two other Independents — Lal Hriatrenga Chhangte and Lalnghinglova Hmar.Though her intention of creating a ‘New Jerusalem’ is still very much on her mind, Lalthlamuani wants to work for the lost tribe and will seek easing of travel rules for members of the tribe who want to visit Israel if she wins the election. “I will also make efforts to take up the genetic test that found resemblance with us and the people of Israel at the global level,” says Lalthlamuani. She adds that fighting corruption, employment generation and uplift of farmers are also on her agenda.Lalthlamuani’s late husband Lalchhanhima Sailo had set up the Chhinlung Israel People’s Convention in 1999 to campaign for the recognition of one of the lost tribes of Israel. In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem is Ezekiel’s prophetic vision of a city to be established in Jerusalem that will be a meeting place of 12 tribes of Israel. Of the 12 tribes, 10 are believed to be lost.A section of Mizos in Mizoram and also people of some other tribes in Manipur claim that they are the descendants of Bnei Menashe tribe, who are believed to have settled in the two states after a long sojourn through central Asia and China’s Chhinlung region.

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