Raymond Thanhlira was an Indian politician from modern-day

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

(then

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

). He was a Member of Parliament, representing Assam in the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

India's Parliament The Parliament of India (ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President o ...

as a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. He was also the chairman of

Assam Public Service Commission The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) is a government body of the state of Assam, India, for recruitment of candidates for various government jobs under the Government of Assam, including government departments, organizations, state public ...

from 30 August 1968 till the end of his term in 1974. He was the first Scheduled Tribe person from

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

to be elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Early life

Raymond graduated from St. Anthony's College, Shillong in 1941. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a non-combat clerk. During his four years and nine months, R. Thanhlira was decorated with four medals such as 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal and War Medal.

Political career

Raymond joined the

Mizo Union Mizo Union (6 April 1946 – 12 January 1974) was the first political party in Mizoram, in Northeast India. It was founded on 6 April 1946 at Aizawl as the Mizo Common People's Union. At the time of independence of India from British rule in I ...

on May 13, 1947 as vice president and was elected as president on November 1, 1948 which he held the post till October 1950. He was a member of the

from April 3, 1952 to April 2, 1958. In 1952, He moved a private resolution to end the system of forced unpaid labour in the

Lushai Hills District The Mizo District, formerly called Lushai Hills District, was an autonomous district of the Indian state of Assam from 1947 till 1972 until it was granted the status of a Union Territory. This region was a significant part of Mizo history as it ...

, a colonial legacy left by the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. He withdrew his resolution after receiving assurance from the Assamese government to end the practice, which they did. He also presented a government bill to change the name of the Lushai Hills District to

Mizo District The Mizo District, formerly called Lushai Hills District, was an autonomous district of the Indian state of Assam from 1947 till 1972 until it was granted the status of a Union Territory. This region was a significant part of Mizo history as it ...

to promote unity between the different tribes living in the district.

References

Rajya Sabha members from Assam Indian National Congress politicians from Assam 1917 births Year of death missing Mizo people {{Assam-INC-politician-stub

Early life

Political career

See also

References