Love

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
                                       -Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem In Memoriam:27, 1850

Letter to Times of India

Hi,

Your front page article dated 4^th October, 2010 on the Commonwealth Opening Ceremony by Bobilli Vijay Kumar reported that the girl who led the Indian team wore a Naga dress. I request you to make a correction that it was a Mizo dress and also to tell your reporters to do their homework well in the future. Mizoram may not be rich in natural resources but we pride ourselves in being one of the most peaceful states in India along with the second highest literacy rate. We are also proud of our culture, including our traditional dress. It is quite belittling when you don’t spell our names right and attribute our traditional dress to another state on a national newspaper.

Regards,

A proud Mizo girl

All things Mizo

This reminds me of one of the core values of Mizos which is "honesty". Crops are being placed unattended on roadside shops with their prices displayed. Customers can place their money inside the jar and walk away with the crops. It is popularly known as "Nghahloh Dawr" meaning "Unattended Shop".  In the olden days as well as in some of the towns today, Mizos don't lock their doors because they trust each other. 

Sharon flowers blooming 

Road accident in Mizoram

Good Samaritans: People always stop to help each other.

Pumpkin leaves- a delicacy in Mizoram

Bamboo trees and a YMA signboard that greets travellers upon leaving "Samulkhai' Town

Traditional Mizo "Saum Bur" where pork fat is fermented

A foggy day in Mizoram

“Most Peaceful State in India”=”Disturbed State”? - Mizoram and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 was enacted by the Parliament of India to enable certain special powers to be conferred upon members of the armed forces in the areas which were proclaimed as disturbed areas, which, during the time were the seven sisters of the north east i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. The Act also applies to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Under this Act, all security forces are given unrestricted and unaccounted power to carry out their operations, once an area is declared disturbed. Even a non-commissioned officer is granted the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion that it is necessary to do so in order to "maintain the public order". The AFSPA gives the armed forces wide powers to shoot, arrest and search, all in the name of "aiding civil power."

The Mizoram Story

Mizos are believed to originate from Shinlung or Chhinlungsan, located on the banks of the river Yalung in China who migrated to India during the time of the great Mongolian wave of migration from China.

Mautam Famine

In 1959, Mizoram experienced a great famine known as “Mautam” which was caused by the boom of rat population as a result of the flowering of bamboos which fed on food grains and infested the villages. During this time, many organisations were formed to help the starving population and enable the supply of food to villages. One such organisation was the Mizo National Famine Front (MNFF) which later became a political movement known as the Mizo National Front (MNF).

Insurgency

The MNF was formed on 22nd October 1961 to free Mizoram from Indian colonialism and establish a sovereign state of Mizoram. In February 1966, armed militant groups captured the town of Aizawl and took possession of all government offices. It took the Indian army one week to recapture the town. The army responded viciously with air raids. This is the only place in India where the Indian Security Forces actually aerially bombed its own civilian population.

The birth of the most peaceful state in India

In 1986, the Mizo Accord was signed between the MNF and the Government of India which marked a beginning of the journey towards one of the most peaceful states in India. On 21st January 1972, Mizoram became a Union Territory and was given statehood on 20th February, 1987. The state of Mizoram, within its short tenure has managed to achieve the second highest literacy rate in the country at 88.49%. It is also the only state in India which is getting peace bonus from the central government over & above their normal budget.

Given the level of progress that Mizoram has made, it is high time that the Government of India withdraw the Armed Forces Act from Mizoram, which is more peaceful than any other state in India by all standards. A part from the obvious physical defects of this Act, the status of a “disturbed state” throws a bad light on the image of Mizoram. As of now, the general opinion even among the most educated of people at the most elite of colleges in India is that the whole of the north-east is disturbed. The irony is that many states in India where innocent citizens are tortured and murdered for religious and political reasons by religious and political fanatics are not proclaimed to be “disturbed”. One reason could be that if the government does such a thing, the rebels of these states will possibly cause some more violence to retaliate against their new status. Hence, I would not suggest that a “disturbed state” status be to these states. However, I do not see any problem in giving the “most peaceful” state in India its rightful status.


References:
http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/resources/armed_forces.htm
http://mizoram.nic.in/about/history.htm
2001 census India

Why blame it on the women

It is a common phenomenon in India for women to get blamed for being raped, abused or killed. However, this is prevalent not only in India but in countries as advanced as France (as told by Audrey, my dear friend from France). I was told that the sentence for rape depends on how the victim was dressed at the time the crime was undertaken. So, the less one wears, the lesser the sentence.

 We need to look into a few aspects before pointing our fingers at these poor victims:

 1. The emotional turmoil that the victim/ victim's family is undergoing: First of all, a victim of rape will be going through a lot of anguish, fear, embarrassment and sometimes even guilt. If we put ourselves in the victim's shoes, imagine how we would feel if someone blames us for something done to us that we never asked for.  Like - why have you been cheated on, why have you let this person steal from you, why did you let him hit you, why did you let them call you 'chinki'.

2. The perpetrator: By blaming the woman or her conduct and clothes, we are giving a signal to the perpetrators and people who think like them that their actions and thoughts are justified.

 3. The fact: I have been a victim of sexual abuse ( well who is not? especially those of us who have lived in the residential areas of Bangalore and have been regular pedestrians). There are two instances that I can clearly recall: Incident 1: One was in Koramangala 5th block as I was coming back from class and I was fully clad in a salwar, carrying my books( I would have looked like a shy, obedient and studious college girl:). Believe me, I did not display any sort of provocative behaviour and the hands that attacked me caught me by a surprise. Incident 2: The next incident happened in Brigade road in a crowded street. That time too, I was fully clothed to the extent that only my feet, hands, face and neck were visible. So, you see, perverts are perverts no matter how fully clothed one is. If one was to blame a woman's behaviour for these acts, how can the rape and murder of millions of the "shy salwar clad or burkha covered homely women" be justified?

 5. Provocation? I am sure a woman who wants to have sex will always find other means to get it!

 6. Why are we so biased?: Many of us, including women are biased in the way we judge. A typical example of this:
Case A: A woman commits adultery - Typical Response: Shameless woman, how can she do this to her family and her children and BAM!! social position goes down.
Case B: A man commits adultery - Typical Response: Oh! I feel sorry for the family... It's also the woman's fault because she was always nagging, never cared about her husband ... blah blah blah!!

Also, to all the Mizo men who think that people from other states respect our women less, the reason could be you! Stop eve teasing and treat women with respect and kindness. I am sure that will change things drastically!