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POST script
FEBRUARY 26, 2012

SEVEN SISTERS

NELit review

FIFTH WALL
UDDIPANA GOSWAMI
Literary Editor

Mizo literature: Opening the door to development

Laltluangliana Khiangte takes a close look at the history and development of Mizo language and literature
had dominated the entire population, with only 4% remaining non-Mizo. The Ralte figure was not available in 1961, which showed the total submission of the clan to Mizos for nationhood. The process of Mizoisation may be a welcome sign for the integration of the different Mizo tribes.

Before the pale horse

HE Mizo hills are lovely and they are peaceful. For nearly 25 years now since the formation of the state of Mizoram, the guns have been more or less silent in the hills the same hills that once resonated with the outcry of violent insurgency against the State. This peace was however, bought at a very high price. Many of course know the history of how the mautam or bamboo flowering led to famine, and how political apathy towards the famine-afflicted hill people led to their rising up in insurrection. The process by which the Mizo people emerged from the shadow of the gun holds up a few lessons for the other nationalities in the region that are warring against the State. Ideally, it should also have given the State some valuable insights into conflict resolution here. As it happens, the war-torn years have left their mark on the psyche of the people and on their way of life. The civilian bombings and village regrouping exercises for instance, have changed the traditional way of life our guest for the Page Turners section this week, JV Lhuna, has written about those years of terror and strife. A generation after, many young poets and writers from Mizoram are today trying to reclaim their lost heritage and tribal ethos, travelling back through their writings to the pre-Christian era even. They are the voices that are often heard in the various forums celebrating literature from the Northeast nowadays. This tendency, and the nostalgia for a past that can only be recreated in fictional narratives, is however not something entirely new to Mizo literature. We revisit a Mizo classic, the first ever novel written in the language, to see how history and folk tradition have always allured the creative mind. Mizo literature has come a long way since the missionaries first gave the language a script. There are many problems however, and Padma Shri Laltluangliana Khiangte who has been active in the fields of literature and education in Mizoram for the past so many decades, speaks of a few in this issue of NELit review. The hope remains though, that the language should be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. T

Present status of the Mizo language

Though the Mizoram Official Language Act 1974 was passed by the Mizoram Legislative Assembly, it was not implemented immediately. The so-called Mizo Language Board, formed by the Government of Mizoram, met once or twice without much significance. After twelve years, the government of Mizoram, following public pressure, notified Mizo as the official language of the state on 15 August 1987. According to the Census of India 1991, 5,37,527 people speak the Mizo language. It is the 30th most used language in India which means that 0.064% of Indians use Mizo. The Census of 2001 puts the population of Mizoram at 8,91,058, showing a growth rate of 2.92%. Moreover, about 3,29,480 people in neighbouring states and other parts of India speak Mizo but not as their mother tongue. The estimated figure of Mizo speakers in India, Myanmar and Bangladesh exceeds 26 lakhs. The Mizo language, considering the number of people who use it, should be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The leading literary organisation in the state, Mizo Academy of Letters, which was formed in 1964, has been taking major steps for the development of the language, literature and culture. It brings out Thu leh Hla, a monthly magazine which carries stories, articles, essays, poems, reports and critical writings in the language. Since 1989, the Academy has been giving the Book of the Year Award to the best book published in a year. About 200 books are published in Mizo every year. In 1993-94 alone, more than 200 new books were published, mostly by the churches, on the occasion of Gospel Centenary Celebration. Books related to music, science and computers have also been published recently.

G RRRRRRT
HE original inhabitants of Mizoram are known by the generic name Mizo. They form several major and minor tribes in the state. Mizo is a word of the Lusei language. The Luseis seemed to have used the term Mizo while referring to themselves and kindred tribes, who have adopted the Lusei language discarding their own dialects. Mizo has gained a wider meaning through the ages. Mizos are an important hill tribe of the Indian subcontinent. A pioneer missionary, James Herbert Lorrain, in the introduction to his Dictionary of the Lushai Language, wrote, their speech belongs to the AssamBurma branch of the TibetoBurman family of languages. There is a quirky story about how the traditional tribal group of Mizos lost their original script. The script was written on an animal skin which was one day eat-

FRONTIS PIECE
en up by a stray dog, leaving the Mizos without a script that they could call their own. However, after setting foot in what was called the Lushai Hills, missionaries started the process of Christianisation of the area. In 1894, the Christian missionaries compiled what is referred to as the Mizo alphabet, using the Hunterian system of Roman script, in line with the script used in the writings of Lt Col. TH Lewin in the 1870s. Although there are some minor dialects like Hmar, Lakher, Pawi and Ralte in Mizoram, Duhlian or Mizo Tawng is the official language lingua franca of the state. Many of the Mizo tribes have forgotten their original dialects as almost all of them speak Mizo, a language that binds them together. Mizo Tawng was called Lushai during the British regime, a corrupted term of Lusei. It is sometimes referred to as Duhlian or Zotawng as well. According to Pastor Vanchhunga, who made a contribution to the October 1916 issue of the popular Christian monthly magazine, Kristian Tlangau, ...there were as many as 46 tribes that could be identified as Lusei...and 40 dialects of the tribe have died... In fact, the state is characterised by a unique example of a true tribal harmonious pattern. It is also a very ordered society with clearly defined social roles and responsibilities for all. Mizo society values and maintains its customs and lifestyles while at the same time accepting modernisation and global influences even on its language. Mizo is mainly spoken in India,

WHEN a reader goes through any of these tales, she sees a vivid picture of what the rural Bishnupriya Manipuri life looked like and to some extent, still does
Myanmar and Bangladesh. The total Mizo population in 1961 was three times bigger than that in 1901. From the figures thus projected, no less than 96% of the population wanted to be called Mizos. As per the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908), since 1908, 87% of the population had spoken the Lushai dialect. It is observed that in the course of half a century only, the Luseis who wanted to be called Mizos

Mizo in educational institutions

The vernacular Lushai (Mizo

subject) began to be taught in 1930 at the matriculation level under Calcutta University. Gauhati University introduced Lushai at the intermediate stage in 1961 and then in its degree course in 1962. Mizo was introduced as an elective subject at NEHU, Shillong in 1983. The hill university made Mizo part of its honours course in 1993. The Mizoram Campus of NEHU introduced masters degree in Mizo during the 1997-98 session. Since the birth of Mizoram University on July 2, 2001, its Mizo department has been functioning as a full-fledged post-graduate institution. Justice cannot be done to a description of the spurt of Mizo literary works in recent years without a full-fledged study. Suffice it to say that the literary award given to Rev Liangkhaia, a prolific writer, by Mizo Academy of Letters in 1979 and Padma Shri to James Dokhuma by the President of India in 1985 show that the doors are now open for a massive development of Mizo literature. Thirteen litterateurs have been honoured with Padma awards for their contribution to Mizo language and literature. Nine writers have also been awarded the Academy Award in literature by Mizo Academy of Letters. The greatest impediment to the growth of Mizo literature is lack of funds for printing of books on a large scale. Publication of a literary work, unless it happens to be a text book or is supported by the government or church organisations, is a losing proposition for a writer in Mizoram. Under the Mizoram Publication Board Bill 1993, which has been made effective during the last ten years or so, more than 200 new books have been published with 75% assistance from the government. Mizo has now become an important subject from primary to masters degree level. The Mizo Language Committee which came into existence in the last part of 2006 has been functioning effectively for the promotion of language and literature under the wings of Mizoram Board of School Education. Today the Mizos have a good number of poems, plays, essays, novels,articles, critical reviews and other prose works which can be translated into different languages of the world and circulated outside the state of Mizoram. As the Mizo language is the lingua franca and official language of the state of Mizoram, due recognition should be given to it by the leading literary organisations as well as the government of India. It is high time that the government included Mizo in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. T

Northeast

DUST OFF

Illustration: Amrith Basumatary

NEW PRINTS
DOWN THE ROAD
Ahmed Faiyaz, Rohini Kejriwal (ed.) Westland, 2011 `195, 225 pages Paperback/ Fiction

NUGGETS

uWhat is the present name of the organisation which was called Young Lushai Association when it was set up on 15 June 1935?

t The organisation is now called the Young Mizo Association. It was set up by Christian workers as a substitute for the traditional Mizo institute for education of boys called Zawlbuk (boys dormitory) which declined with the coming of Christianity. It was registered in 1977 and is active in social work. It has been effective in significantly lowering the expenditure during elections.

Love, folklife, history: the making of a Mizo novel

RINI TOCHHAWNG

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t When Mizo Hills was a part of Assam state the people were angry with the poor Government response to the famine in 1959 and the attempt to impose the Assamese language. The Mizo National Front (MNF) declared independence on 1 March 1966 and tried to take over Aizwal. On 4 March 1966 the Indian Air Force bombed Mizoram the first time in Indian history that the Government bombed its own citizens. MNF signed the Mizo Accord in 1986. Source: Haksar, Nandita (ed.). 2011. Glimpses of North East India. New Delhi: Chicken Neck

uThe Mizo Students Union observes 1 March as Zoram Ni (Mizoram Day). What is the significance of that day in Mizo history?

AILED as the first novel written in the Mizo language, Hawilopari was the masterpiece of L Biakliana (1918-1941) who never lived to see it published. The story speaks of the love shared by a group of young boys and girls who grow up in difficult times. This love triumphs and the tale ends with the lovers united in matrimony, despite the obstacles each life is made to face. An interesting facet of the novel is the depiction of elements that have close links to the repertoire of Mizo folklore. We find a cruel stepmother who initiates the action from which the main plot of the story springs. Hminga and Liana, unable to live under the constant torture by their cruel stepmother, finally leave home and join the army. The author does not introduce this stepmother without warning. The brothers know of the stereotypical cruel stepmother in folktales and compare their own situation to that of the children in the folktale Pafa Hruaibo. We also find the character of Zema who, although unrelated to the brothers, fulfills the role of a guardian, much like the fairy godmothers or help-

A picture of the Mizo society and glimpses of its historical journey is given to us in the space of the ten years. Biakliana has masterfully woven the intricacies of the Mizo way of life into his story
problems, probably more so than any of her friends male or female. Her parents are affected by tragedies that make her the sole bread earner in the family, in a society that does not prize women except as trophies for their beauty and practical skills. She is the main suspect over the disappearance of Hminga and his friends and often called to court by the council of the chief and his elders. To add to her misery, Hawiloparis beauty brings her a curse in the form of Khuala, the son of an elder in the chiefs council. Khuala has tried to court Pari for a long time, but she never wavers from her affection for Hminga. Khuala seeks revenge for his failure leading Pari and her family to despondently leave the only village they had ever called their home. This brings before us another important element in the novel depiction of the life of its times. Biakliana is believed to have finished Hawilopari in 1936, but the story is set in the period between 1850 and 1890. While writing the novel, he used historical facts such as the capture of Mary Winchester (1871) and the subsequent campaigns into the Mizo Hills by British colonisers. At that time, the chiefs were the be all and end all of the villages. Their councils of elders had great power too, and we find that loyal citizens such as Pari and her parents could be evicted on the basis of the false testimony of an elders son. Moreover, Paris mother asserts that their lands will belong to the chief once her family moved a practice that once again shows the power of the chief. The insecurity of life and the warring nature of the tribes are brought out in the Pawite attack on Paris new village and their capture as slaves.

HAWILOPARI
L. Biakliana Tlangveng Press, 1983 155 pages Paperback/Fiction
ful other-worldly characters in folktales. He leads them to find a new life in the army and sacrifices his life to bring about the union of Hminga and Hawilopari (Pari). Another interesting folkloric twist to the story is the rivalry between women the antagonist in the person of Hmingas stepmother and Thangi, who poses as a friend of Pari but is motivated by jealousy over Khualas affection for Pari. As is often the case with woman protagonists, Hawiloparis life is riddled with

It is interesting to note the mention of the biblical story of original sin and of Paris prayer to her Maker in a time before the advent of Christianity. Although Biakliana was careful to avoid the use of the word Pathian, now used for God, the idea of a personal prayer had never been a part of the animistic practices of worship in native Mizo religion. More in keeping with the beliefs of the time was the supernatural nature assigned to the reflection of a mirror held by Hminga and his friends. When Pari speaks of this seemingly unnatural light her mother is quick to put it down to a portent of gloom while their old lady neighbour accepts it as a sign of good things to come. A picture of the Mizo society and glimpses of its historical journey is given to us in the space of the ten years between the friends farewell and their reunion. Although the main plot of the story centres round Hminga and Paris struggles, Biakliana has masterfully woven the intricacies of the Mizo way of life into his story. It is easy to identify with his characters, even if many of them appear to be only foils, and realise the ultimate Mizo love story of faithfulness and devotion, rewarded with a union against all odds. T

collection of short stories that relive the unforgettable memories of life in school and the college campus

JOUTUK AIN: BIJNAR ASTRA AJNAR BIPAD

Bikash Sarma AANK-BAAK, 2011 `150, 192 pages Hardcover/ Non-fiction

critical analysis of the dowry laws in India and their effects

ULFA
Mrinal Talukdar Kishore Kumar Kalita Bhabani, 2011 `190, 289 pages Paperback/ Non-fiction

historical account of the 32-year long struggle of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)