By Chiranjib Haldar
A fortnight back there was a landslide in the heart of Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram claiming 17 lives and injuring many. The landslide had swept away dozens of houses including a PWD office building and the toll may well rise since a number of people still remain untraced. The story was hardly visible in the national media and was relegated as a brief in the inside pages with hardly any follow up. Television channels often going berserk with stories and playing them up repeatedly in bulletins had not picked up the tragedy. There were other important prime time agendas and panel discussions which could perhaps be a rating point booster and grab more eyeballs. Neither did the north eastern satellite channels really pay as much importance to a human tragedy or headline it in their rundowns as they would have had in case the incident had occurred in a metro city. Can a state which may be geographically far flung remain a blurry distant dot in the national mindspace that too of the mainstream and regional media? Only local dailies cared to report on a landslide tragedy that struck the most peaceful north eastern state and the fact that cyclone Mahasen has lost steam sparing Mizoram.
Many would justify the ignorance suggesting that what followed the recovery of bodies and damaged vehicles from the rubble would be the obvious. Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, an ex-gratia payment to the families of the deceased and kin of those injured. He has also set up a committee of state government officials to probe the disaster and take concrete measures so that such calamities do not recur. And the principal opposition party in Mizoram, Mizo National Front (MNF) has demanded an independent judicial inquiry into the tragedy and the resignation of Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, who also holds the PWD portfolio. MNF has held the Chief Minister and his younger brother Lal Thanzara who is the Secretary, PWD responsible for the incident. Former Chief Minister and MNF Chief Zoramthanga has called for a judicial probe and wants those responsible to be punished.
We often hear the phrase – lack of sensitisation about the North East – in various quarters. Even as Aizawl overcame a human tragedy, not many in the other north eastern states, leave aside New Delhi, were abreast of the massive landslide and its aftermath. However in an age of social networking it takes seconds to upload photos or information about natural calamities. Thus Facebook and Twitter were abuzz with information and updates on the Aizawl landslide and the rescue operations, the extrication from rubble and the human dimensions of the tragedy. Mizos settled elsewhere and those interested in the state could connect with the tragedy via the social network. The underlying message that emanated from many Mizos settled in metros was that the national media in most cases simply ignores Mizoram. With internet and social networking the geographical isolation has been reduced to a large extent but the media mindset is yet to change. The North East does not mean only Guwahati and there are vast tracts beyond which are important states. It is time the regional and national mainstream media bridge the gap and establish a positive reconnect.
When it comes to the North East, the national media mostly like to report stories on insurgency and conflicts. Mizoram which has largely been peaceful since the accord signed in June 1986 by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has witnessed calm and tranquillity in the last three decades. The Mizoram accord has worked because New Delhi came to a settlement with the then entire Mizo insurgent leadership and not with any splinter group. Peace has been durable and the MNF, despite factionalism, has had three stints in governing the state. What is most important is that no breakaway group or faction has taken to the jungles again or emerged after regrouping. The sporadic disturbances which erupt off and on are caused by outfits representing ethnic tribes, the Hmars and the Brus demanding autonomy. However these tribal militias have also reached agreements with the state government though the exodus of Brus to Tripura and their repatriation is still in abeyance.
For many people in Mizoram the ignorance is more painful and flabbergasting owing to the state’s position in national literacy. Mizoram is the second most literate state after Kerala where the Church wields enormous influence till this day. Though there have been complaints of religious persecution on ethnic minorities like Reangs, Maras, Chakmas, Lais et al, alienation has never escalated into major flare ups in the last two decades in this predominantly Christian state. The recent landslide tragedy has also not seen much of a response or reaction from the rest of the country even after those domiciled updated developments and posted pictures of crumbling houses and salvaging on social media platforms. Some attribute this isolation to the fact that people in the state are disciplined and prefer to remain closeted.
While it is true that Mizos follow certain tenets which are distinct from even other corners of the North East. But that cannot justify the regional and national disconnect. Most mainstream journalists have stereotyped mindsets in the sense that they believe Mizoram has only select coverage to offer be it bamboo flowering, turmoil engulfing Brus and other ethnic sub-sects and the Mizo Jews migrating to Israel. Thus the explosion ripping through a temple inside the premises of the 26th battalion Assam Rifles in Aizawl is widely reported.The other deterrent to assimilation could be that the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) and Young Mizo Association (YMA) have been at the forefront of the movement to expel illegal migrants. For some, these student-youth groups are saviours of the community and defenders of their interests but for many these outfits represent the fountainhead of parochialism and extra-constitutional forces in state politics.
The other reason could be that the media in Mizoram is itself a cocoon which retreats into a shell. Notwithstanding logistic bottlenecks, the image of a sleepy, peaceful state has often been a cause of apathy. Mizoram achieved full statehood in February 1987 as a culmination of the Union Territory of Mizoram coming into existence in January 1971. But as a precursor to statehood, Mizoram witnessed insurgency and violence for many years. The MNF was formed in October 1961 under the leadership of Laldenga with the specific aim of achieving sovereign independence and resorted to armed insurrection till it was banned in 1967. The Mizo District Council delegation met then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1971 reiterating its demand for statehood but the government converted it into a Union Territory with the assurance that statehood would follow.
Statehood was a pre-requisite to the accord signed by Laldenga on behalf of MNF and the Union Government in June 1986. And by then the MNF had also realised that bidding farewell to arms and assimilating into the political mainstream as respectable citizens would be best for the development of the state. Hence MNF went into an interim power sharing agreement with the Congress after Mizoram became a state. Leading analysts have argued that the Mizo insurgency would have ended earlier in the late 1970s if the then military regime of Bangladesh did not allow the MNF to reactivate their lost bases in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Historically a state born out of turmoil and insurgency but has developed economically and remained free of conflicts.
Thus it may be a question of the mindset changing that will allow the rest of the country or even the other parts of the North East to connect to Mizoram. It is scarce to find any mention of the history of the North East, its tribes or culture in school level text books. Hence the younger generations are also oblivious of happenings in Mizoram or other neighbouring states. So a landslide resulting in many casualties in the capital Aizawl is hardly worth taking note of whereas the IPL spot fixing saga may fill up pages in leading dailies. Or the fact that the only instance of the Indian Air Force bombing within its own territory was in Mizoram in March 1966 to quell insurgents. Hence sensitisation and erasing the detachment would be the sure recipe for a close knit state like Mizoram to turn from a blip on the radar to a bright light.
(The writer is a commentator on South Asian affairs.)