Mizoram

Mizoram is one of the states of Northeast India, with Aizawl as its capital city. The name is derived from "Mizo" (which is the name of the native inhabitants) and "Ram" (which means land) and thus, Mizoram means Land of the Mizos. In the northeast, it is the southern most landlocked state sharing borders with three of the Seven, now with the addition of Sikkim, Eight sister states, namely Tripura, Assam, Manipur. The state also shares a 722 kilometer border with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Quotes

 * Insurgency and peace are relational concepts. There were five key relationships of Mizoram to the federal government of India involved in the MNF insurgency and the eventual peace. First, there was weak Mizo involvement and identification with the dominant religions and languages of India, together with almost no participation in the politics of pre-British India, British India, or the Congress led Independence movement. Second, in independent India, major Mizo leaders and many of their followers came to see themselves as a nation that was not being treated well by the government of India and launched insurgency activities for complete independence. Third, the military conflict would have ended if either the government of India or the insurgents had won a decisive victory at any point. Neither outcome happened, so the mutually hurting stalemate ensued. Fourth, the government of India made an innovative offer for Mizoram to have a form of extreme asymmetrical federalism with large guarantees of cultural autonomy. Fifth, civil society and political society in Mizoram, led by a united armed underground leader, was sufficiently united to be able to arrive at a self-binding acceptance of the offer; normal state-nation politics rapidly ensued, and peace has endured.


 * In 1958, Pu Laldenga, secretary of the erstwhile Mizo Cultural Society, in several of his public speeches repeatedly stated, “Mizoram is for Mizos only”.
 * (Nibedon:1980). Nibedon, Nirmal (1980): The Daggers Brigade (New Delhi: Lancers Publishers). also in W Singh: Quit Mizoram Notices