Modern Mizoram: History, Culture, Poetics

175 Pages·2018·2.798 MB·English

by  P. Thirumal, Laldinpuii and C. Lalrozami

Modern Mizoram
Mizoram is situated at a unique cusp in North East India, in terms of both physical
and social contexts. It shares its borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, while
cultural influences range from the indigenous to the Western. This book offers
an alternative understanding of the modern history of Mizoram through an
analysis of its cultural practices through language, music, poetry and festivals.
It explores the roots of modern cultural works not just in Christianity, but also
in precolonial Mizo traditional practices. The authors closely examine text,
performance and sculptural images, including the first handwritten newspaper
Mizo Chanchin Laisuih (1898) and the P uma Zai festival (1907–11) from the
early colonial period along with a contemporary sculptural image. They argue
that cultural works open up to new forms of interpretations and responses
over time. The book indicates that the Mizo creative sensibility enmeshed in
theological, capitalistic-material and political/ideological regimes informs its
modern enclosures, be it region, religion or nation.
This book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of cultural
studies, literature, media, history, politics, sociology and social anthropology,
area studies, North East India studies and South Asian studies.
P. Thirumal is Professor at the Department of Communication, S. N. School of
Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. His areas
of interest and specialization include t heory and history of media, histories of
technologies and communities, borderland media history and the North East
region of India. He has published in The Indian Economic and Social History
Review, Seminar and the Economic & Political Weekly and has written for
newspapers and periodicals.
Laldinpuii teaches English at Government Aizawl West College, Mizoram,
India. She was awarded a PhD at the Department of English, University of
Hyderabad in 2017. Her thesis dealt with the formation of identities through
Mizo and Khasi folktales. She has presented papers in national and international
seminars and conferences and has contributed articles to journals.
C. Lalrozami is Programme Coordinator at the Directorate of State Council for
Educational Research and Training, Aizawl, Mizoram, India. She has presented
papers in several conferences and seminars and contributed articles in books
and local magazines. She has prepared a number of documentary films and
educational television programmes which have been broadcast in national
channels such as Doordarshan Kendra and the regional channels.
Modern Mizoram tries to meet the following challenge: how does one
write the history of a culture when the writing of history contradicts
the oral spirit of the culture?
In attempting this formidable task, the authors examine a range of
archival materials, i.e. newspapers and other records, without suc-
cumbing to a linear historical narrative of how Mizoram became mod-
ern according to India’s hegemonic expectations. The book addresses
the problem of how Mizo culture transforms itself under the pressure
of the Indian state which oscillates between a developmental ideology
and a war machine.
This organic account of the history of Mizo culture is a useful addi-
tion of perspectives, methods and strategies of research. It will be of
interest to scholars in Mizo political history, aesthetics, development,
art and culture.
– R. Srivatsan , development theorist, Critical
Development Studies, Health and Healthcare
Systems, and Public Domain and Outreach
Initiatives, Anveshi Research Centre for Women’s
Studies, Hyderabad, India, and author of Seva,
Saviour and State: Caste Politics, Tribal Welfare
and Capitalist Development (2015)
Modern Mizoram
History, Culture, Poetics
P. Thirumal, Laldinpuii
and C. Lalrozami
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 P. Thirumal, Laldinpuii and C. Lalrozami
The right of P. Thirumal, Laldinpuii and C. Lalrozami to be identified
as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-55963-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-44799-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To the Mizos Upas (Elders) who have unfailing faith
in the vitality of their cultural soil.

Contents
List of figures viii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 On the discursive and material context of the first
handwritten Lushai newspaper Mizo Chanchin
Laishuih 27
2 The celebration of P uma Zai and the self-fashioning
of the Lushai 61
3 The postcolonial inheritance of Puma Zai 103
4 Cultural works and their conversation across
temporalities: the Pheichham image 132
Glossary 155
Bibliography 157
Index 161
Figures
I.1 Undated photograph showing children playing in
Zawlbuk. This institution of the unmarried male
dormitory disappears in the first decade of the
twentieth century. Reproduced with permission
of Synod Archive. 8
I.2 Aizawl during the height of the insurgency movement,
undated but shot likely during the 1960s. Reproduced
with permission of Synod Archive. 11
3.1 Aizawl in the New Millennium. Reproduced with
permission of Harini Kumar. 109
4.1 A frontal image of the sculpture P heichham (2012).
Reproduced from the personal collection of P. Thirumal. 134
Acknowledgements
This book is a study of the life of colonial and contemporary Mizo cul-
ture. There are so many people who contributed perceptibly and imper-
ceptibly to the making of this work. Several versions of the manuscript
were read and critically commented upon by colleagues and friends.
Sasheej, Srivats, Shilpa, Dickens and Narmada require special men-
tion. We think their comments have enlivened the chapters and helped
it to acquire intellectual weight and moral aesthetic direction. We have
been extremely lucky to have met several important Mizo academics,
intellectuals and critics who were generous with their time and shared
the deep insights of their land and culture. We would like to make spe-
cial mention of Lalthangfala Sailo, Lalthangliana, R. L. Thanmawia,
Rev. Lawmsanga, Rev. Vanlalchhuanawma, C. Lalkhawliana, Margaret
Zama, Laltuangliana Khiangte and Lalrinawmi. Our friend Lalringliana
was most hospitable whenever we visited Aizawl. James Khamliansawm,
the young artist whose work is the basis for the writing of the last chap-
ter, was extremely gracious to share his artistic and political concerns. To
those friends and near ones like Raghuram Raju, Manju, Christy, Shruthi
Bala, Amma, Anu, Ratna Mala and innumerable others, who have con-
stantly urged and encouraged us to bring forth this volume, we owe our
work in the deepest sense possible. We were lucky to have friends like
Sharmila, Jenson, Ranjit and Harini who accompanied us on our various
field trips to Mizoram and helped us with our work. We received edito-
rial support from Chitralekha, Prabha Zachariah, Shiv Trishul, Himabi-
ndu and Jampa; it was wonderful working with them. Special thanks to
Mikey for her conscientious absorption in our work and providing such
endearing warmth.
We presented drafts of these chapters at various places including
University of Tubingen, IIT Mumbai, University of Hyderabad and
at Anveshi. We acknowledge the assistance given to us by institutions
such as the Synod Archive, Aizawl, Mizoram State Archive, Aizawl