Mizoram: Beyond the Hype

Source: MNF Facebook Account 

Recently, five states in India witnessed the assembly elections namely Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram. The political activities have intensified in these states to form the governments. As the political pundits declared that these assembly elections are very important to know the mood of the nation prior to the General Election 2019 is around the corner. In this backdrop, news media covered and chased various political developments in the four states but their reporting was very biased towards Mizoram.

Perching on the high hills of the North Eastern corner, Mizoram is a storehouse of natural beauty with its endless variety of landscape, hilly terrains, meandering streams deep gorges, a rich wealth of flora and fauna. Flanked by Bangladesh on the west and Myanmar on the east and south, Mizoram occupies an important strategic position having a long international boundary of 722 Kms. Mizoram is a landlocked state in the North East which shares international boundaries with Myanmar and Bangladesh. After the election, the Mizo National Front (MNF) is going to form the government where the Congress suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the MNF in Mizoram. As the MNF won 26 of the 40 seats in the election, it is reported that the MNF banked on the phenomenon of the anti-incumbency.

Source: Mizoram Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)

Mizoram is a mountainous region which became the 23rd State of the Union in February 1987. It was one of the districts of Assam till 1972 when it became Union Territory.

Historians believe that the Mizos are a part of the great wave of the great wave of the Mongolian race spilling over into the eastern and southern India centuries ago. Their sojourn in Western Burma, into which they eventually around the seventh century, is estimated to last about two centuries. They came under the influence of the British Missionaries in the 9th century, and now most of the Mizos are Christians.

Source: Census 2011

After the assembly election, Mizoram Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 40 newly elected MLAs from the Mizoram 2018 Assembly Elections which are very interesting and illustrated below:

Crorepati MLAs in Mizoram:

As Mizoram Election Watch and the ADR illustrated, Out of the 40 newly elected MLAs, 36 (90%) are crorepatis where out of 40 MLAs analyzed during Mizoram 2013 assembly elections, 30 (75%) MLAs were crorepatis.

Source: Mizoram Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)

Acocrding to the Census 2011, sex ratio in Mizoram is enuncuaited below:

Writing in the Economic & Political Weekly (EPW: 2018), Roluahpuia argued,  “The narrative of peace in Mizoram has become a part of national memory, but it is also embedded in larger politics of erasing a violent past.” It is worthwhile to mention that Mizoram recovered from the insurgency and a huge number of rebels joined in the democratic process while contesting in the election. It is a fascinating case in India which is seeking more attention.