Front Matter 1 Mizoram

Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-07339-5 - The Camera as Witness: A Social History of Mizoram, Northeast India Joy L. K. Pachuau and Willem Van Schendel Frontmatter More information

The Camera as Witness A Social History of Mizoram, Northeast India

Joy L. K. Pachuau | Willem van Schendel

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-07339-5 - The Camera as Witness: A Social History of Mizoram, Northeast India Joy L. K. Pachuau and Willem Van Schendel Frontmatter More information

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schendel, Willem van. The camera as witness : a social history of Mizoram, Northeast India/Willem van Schendel, Joy L.K. Pachuau. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-107-07339-5 (hardback) 1. Mizoram (India)—History—19th century. 2. Mizoram (India)—History—20th century. 3. Mizoram (India)—History—19th century—Pictorial works. 4. Mizoram (India)—History— 20th century—Pictorial works. 5. Mizoram (India)—Civilization. 6. Mizoram (India)— Civilization—Pictorial works. 7. Mizoram (India)—Social conditions. 8. Mizoram (India)— Social conditions—Pictorial works. 9. Mizoram (India)—Social life and customs. 10. Mizoram (India)—Social life and customs—Pictorial works. I. Pachuau, Joy, 1969-II. Title. DS485.M684S544 2015 954 ’ .166—dc23 2014030968

ISBN 978-1-107-07339-5 Hardback

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Table of Contents

List of Figures v List of Maps xxv Acknowledgements xxvii

I: Becoming Mizo 1 1 Introduction 3 2 Coming into View: The First Portraits 24 3 Adjusting Mizo Culture 36 4 Domesticating a New Religion 59 5 Getting Educated 87 6 Controlling the Hills 109 7 The Trouble of Travel 145 8 First Stirrings of the Market Economy 168 9 Mizos in the World Wars 189 10 Mizo Visual Sensibilities 212

II: Mizoram in the New India 231 11 The Long Goodbye 233 12 The Emergence of Popular Politics 245 13 Mizoram and the New Indian Order 253 14 Mizoram Comes to Delhi 266 15 The Search for Authenticity at Home 275 16 Mizo Style: Cowboys at Heart 288

III: Visions of Independence 295 17 Famine and Revolt 297 18 The Mizoram Government at Home and in East Pakistan 318 19 The Mizoram Government in Burma, China and Bangladesh 341 20 A State and its Minorities 359

Table of Contents

IV: Mizo Modernities 377 21 Being Cool: The Music Scene 379 22 Being Cool: Sharp Dressers 397 23 Studio Modernity 410 24 Conclusion 423

Copyrights and Sources 425 Glossary 439 Bibliography 443 Index 463

List of Figures

Chapter 1 1.1 Lalsawma makes a self-portrait, 1974 14 1.2 P. Rohmingthanga capturing a cultural event, 1970s 14

Chapter 2 2.1 Twekam, the Khumi chief of a village on the Kaladan river 25 2.2 Likebo, a Shendu/Lakher/Mara chief 26 2.3 Lushai woman 27 2.4 Gopi, a Khumi girl 28 2.5 A young man, Pangkhua sub-group 28 2.6 Tington, the headman of Chepui 29 2.7 Lushai woman with pipe 30 2.8 Portraits of Lushai, Paite and Lai (Poi) men 30 2.9 Young man of the Mru (Mro) group 31 2.10 Group of Lushai, 1872 32 2.11 Lushai chiefs posing with guns during their visit to Calcutta (Kolkata), 1872 32 2.12 Pakhoma, a village chief near Tlabung (Demagiri), 1882 33 2.13 Lushai women at the loom, Pakhoma’s village, 1882 34

Chapter 3 3.1 Lushai implements 38 3.2 Mara musical instruments 38 3.3 The band of Chapi village, southern Mizoram 39 3.4 Chapel in the small village of Rotlang: A traditional drum hangs in front of the pulpit, 1932 39 3.5 A group of hymn-singing Mizos, accompanied by a trumpet and a snare drum 40 3.6 A group of performers wishing a happy New Year 41

List of Figures

3.7 ‘Strumming!’ Zawnga and his banjo, 1940s 41 3.8 A group of fashionable young Mizos pose with their guitars 42 3.9 Boys with a ukulele 42 3.10 The first Mizo choir to tour northern India, 1929 43 3.11 Missionary Katie Hughes directing a church choir rehearsal in Durtlang 44 3.12 A Christmas carol party in Venghnuai, 1949 44 3.13 Lushai women spinning, combing and drying cotton, southern Mizoram 45 3.14 Lushai women spinning, combing and drying cotton, southern Mizoram 45 3.15 Mizo women weaving, Aizawl 45 3.16 Inhabitants of Chelam (Selam) and Durpang villages, northeastern Mizoram 46 3.17 Lushai boy 46 3.18 Young Lushai man in front of his house 47 3.19 The first Sunday School in Mizoram 48 3.20 Our first three students 49 3.21 Laltawnga, the first Mizo to become a licensed medical practitioner, and Thuama, the second, 1913 51 3.22 Chuautera and Challiana, schoolmasters at Serkawn 51 3.23 Lalbeveli and M. Suaka, c. 1920 52 3.24 A group of educated young men, 1920–1925 53 3.25 Kaithuami dressed in homespun with western shoes and stockings, 1923 54 3.26 Family group with pet dog, 1938 55 3.27 Group of nurses in festive dress 55

Chapter 4 4.1 British troops at the memorial site of Vanhnuailiana, a recently deceased chief, near Champhai in eastern Mizoram 60 4.2 Vanhnuailiana’s shrine with memorial stone: A human head, skulls of sacrificed animals and rice–beer container 60 4.3 ‘Prayer house’ 61 4.4 Memorial stone showing human figures, spears and the horned skulls of sacrificed cattle 62 4.5 Shrine in northern Mizoram 63 4.6 Hut serving as the first church in Mizoram 64

List of Figures

4.7 Preaching the Gospel in Mizoram 65 4.8 Khuma and Khara, the first Mizos Christians, 1899 67 4.9 Passage from pastor Chhuahkhama’s sermon, delivered in the Mission Veng chapel, Aizawl, on 26 April 1931 68 4.10 The printing press at Serkawn, 1940 70 4.11 Sunday School in Aizawl, c. 1929. 71 4.12 In 1910, 13-year-old Lukira of Serkawn Sunday School passed his scripture exam and received this certificate of merit 72 4.13 Mizo students in Silchar reading The Children’s Newspaper 73 4.14 Young ex-Christian, 1932 73 4.15 A bachelors’ dormitory or zawlbuk 75 4.16 A Christian village with the church on the hill to the left, 1930s 76 4.17 People coming to church in Rotlang village (southern Mizoram) on a Sunday morning in 1932, against the background of a cloud-filled valley 76 4.18 The journey of souls after death 77 4.19 Killing a gayal 78 4.20 Y-shaped posts, each erected to commemorate the killing of a gayal at a feast, c. 1910 79 4.21 Two gayals to be slaughtered for Christmas in Venghnuai village, 1944 80 4.22 Feeding salt to gayals before slaughter at a wedding, 1958 80 4.23 A feast of gayal meat being prepared among Christian graves, Sihfa village, 1956 81 4.24 Women evangelists or ‘Bible Women,’ 1923 81 4.25 Evangelists setting off for Burma, c. 1910s 82 4.26 Choosing a new sakhua: A mass baptism in southern Mizoram, c. 1913 84

Chapter 5 5.1 Mizo villagers and a Gurkha interpreter (in white), 1894 88 5.2 Preaching in a Mizo village, c. 1913 89 5.3 Missionary Fred Savidge and his helper Challiana at work in the study of the Serkawn mission house, c. 1914. 89 5.4 Teachers and children pose in front of the Aizawl Mission School, 1903 90 5.5 Geometry lesson, Lunglei school, 1905 92

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5.6 An early Mizo primer, produced by the missionaries and printed in Madras, 1909 92 5.7 Hrangshela, the schoolmaster of Dawn village, sits on a chair, surrounded by his pupils, 1914 93 5.8 Hopeful boys in the school playground 93 5.9 Mara youths who used to board at Serkawn before schools were opened in their own region, 1932 94 5.10 A model timetable for school teachers, 1905 95 5.11 Friday morning hygiene lesson in Serkawn kindergarten: Teacher Chhumi supervises the cleaning of the classroom furniture 95 5.12 Against a background of morning clouds, students and prefects of Serkawn Girls’ School line up in classes, 1926 96 5.13 Schoolgirls marching to music at a rehearsal of Open Day at Serkawn school, 1923 96 5.14 The first Mizo students in Shillong, 1906 97 5.15 Kaithuami and Laii, nursing students in Shillong, 1919 98 5.16 Mizo B.A. students in Kolkata in 1920 99 5.17 Mizo students in Shillong in 1929 100 5.18 Mizo students in Jorhat (Assam), 1937 100 5.19 Mizo students at Cotton College in Guwahati (Assam), 1948 101 5.20 Studio portrait of Lalthanliana, Philadelphia, 1937 102 5.21 Theological School, Durtlang. An exercise book for lessons in Reformation and Church History, 1925 104 5.22 Lalsiami and Chhumi, the first nurses trained in Serkawn, c. 1923 105 5.23 Nursing students at ‘stretcher drill’ on the first Open Day of the South Lushai Girls’ School, Serkawn, 1923 105 5.24 Students of the Theological and Teachers’ Training School in their scouting uniforms 106

Chapter 6 6.1 Army camp, probably at Tipaimukh, at the northern edge of Mizoram 109 6.2 Breakfast at Tipaimukh camp 110 6.3 ‘Camp Joi Bûm, Lushai’ 110 6.4 British officer surveying in Mizoram, 1872 111

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6.5 Darpong gives the cry of peace 112 6.6 Hilltop outpost of Sirtay on the border between the Chittagong Hill Tracts (British India) and the independent country that would later be known as Mizoram, 1882 113 6.7 Gurkha border soldiers in Demagiri (Tlabung), 1882 113 6.8 The expeditionary force in southern Mizoram, 1890 115 6.9 ‘Officers’ tents in the camp on the banks of the Tui-phai stream, during a march to Kairuma’s village, December 1895’ 115 6.10 Lunglei in the 1890s 116 6.11 Fort Tregear (today: Darzo) in southern Mizoram was constructed and stockaded during the final invasion of 1889–1890 116 6.12 Gate of British stockade with Gurkha soldiers, 1896 117 6.13 The stockade at Champhai, c. 1924 117 6.14 Rendezvous of the highest British military men 118 6.15 A. Porteous, ICS – Superintendent from 1894 to 1896 – surrounded by military and civilian assistants 120 6.16 Superintendent A. Porteous and missionary Fred Savidge sitting in a tent while on tour 123 6.17 Official rest house with British official, pony and servant 124 6.18 Chiefs’ sons with their headmaster, 1930 125 6.19 Khamliana Sailo, chief of Lungleng, c. 1910 125 6.20 Chiefs with British officials in Lunglei, 1940 127 6.21 Khawvelthanga, the Christian chief of Maubuang village, who freed his bawis in1909 127 6.22 Chiefs alternate with British officials and their wives at the farewell ceremony to Superintendent N. E. Parry, Aizawl, 1928 128 6.23 A chief is half-hidden behind the Governor of Assam, as he and his wife arrive at the Superintendent’s Bungalow in Aizawl, 1938 129 6.24 Chief Khawvelthanga with the memorial to King-Emperor George V’s silver jubilee, which he erected as a sign of his allegiance to the British Crown, 1935 130 6.25 The newly established market of Sairang on the Tlawng river, 1896 131 6.26 Captain Loch with friends and dog in Aizawl, c. 1893 131 6.27 Constructing the Quarter Guard, Aizawl, 1896 132

List of Figures

6.28 The Quarter Guard almost completed, with Gurkha soldiers in front, 1896 132 6.29 A view of Aizawl in 1896 133 6.30 The bamboo hut housing the post and telegraph office, Aizawl, 1896 134 6.31 Assam Rifles Ground (Parade Ground), Aizawl, 1920s 135 6.32 Aizawl in 1895, with the ‘crater’ to the left and the Superintendent’s bungalow to the right 136 6.33 Assam Rifles soldiers cleaning out the water reservoir, supervised by Pakunga, the first Mizo to attain the rank of subadar (junior commissioned officer), in coat and hat 137 6.34 A British picnic near Aizawl, 1895–1896 138 6.35 Gurkha soldiers about to sacrifice a water buffalo, Aizawl Parade Ground, 1896 139 6.36 Tying the sacrificial water buffalo to the pillar displaying the regimental insignia of crossed kukri (curved knives) and crown 140 6.37 Gurkha women and children in festive dress, Durga Puja, Aizawl, 1923 140 6.38 Staff, students and friends of Aizawl Gurkha Hindi School, 1953 141

Chapter 7 7.1 Woman returning home with bamboo containers full of water (and a gourd for dipping up the water from the spring) in her basket 146 7.2 Men on a path in the southern hills, 1913 146 7.3 Missionary and porters travelling along the bed of a mountain torrent between Runtung and Hauruang in southern Mizoram, 1913 147 7.4 The Tlawng river during the dry season, 1895 149 7.5 A bamboo raft serving as a ferry by means of a cane ring and ‘cable’ (Tuichawng river, 1932) 149 7.6 Boat travelling from Cachar to northern Mizoram on the Tlawng river, 1897 150 7.7 Trains and launches would take travellers from Kolkata to Chittagong 151 7.8 The pony trip from Tlabung/Demagiri led to Lunglei in 4 days 152

List of Figures

7.9 Unloading luggage from boats at the Barkal rapids, 1904 152 7.10 Missionaries Herbert and Mabel Lorrain posing at the Barkal trolley, on their way to the Serkawn mission, 1904 153 7.11 Matu women on the bank of the Kaladan near Saikao 154 7.12 Porters carrying an official’s luggage across a river, 1896 155 7.13 Missionaries Herbert and Mabel Lorrain on tour in southern Mizoram, 1906 156 7.14 On tour in southern Mizoram, 1904 157 7.15 Mizo labourers boiling snails during a missionary tour 157 7.16 ‘The kind of hut we sleep in when benighted in the forest’ 158 7.17 Man posing with the tiger he had just killed, c. 1928 159 7.18 Labourers holding aloft European women, 1895–1896 159 7.19 Mizo and Santal labourers carrying a female missionary from Aizawl to Sairang, 1927 160 7.20 Missionary Maud Lorrain in her sedan chair, c. 1950 160 7.21 Improving the road from Sairang to Aizawl, 1896 162 7.22 Broadening a path into a road, Serkawn, 1913 162 7.23 ‘Precipice Walk’ on the Lunglei road, near Aizawl, 1913 163 7.24 Lushais with baskets and Lais with a hunting gun, on their way to their fields, use a new road, c. 1910 163 7.25 Group of Mizos on a level road, c. 1924 164 7.26 Suspension bridge between Lungsen and Pachang in western Mizoram, 1932 164 7.27 Dilapidated suspension bridge, 1930s 165 7.28 The first truck to reach Mizoram, c. 1942 166

Chapter 8 8.1 The weekly market in Lunglei, 1914 170 8.2 A newly cleared hill field with a temporary field hut 172 8.3 Women returning from their fields with baskets loaded with vegetables, rice and sweet potatoes, near Lunglei, 1906 172 8.4 Irrigated and hill agriculture in the Champhai valley, 1920s 174 8.5 Chief Khamliana Sailo in his new orange orchard, 1908 175 8.6 Display of commodities at the Aizawl Exhibition, 1904 177 8.7 Schoolboys thatching a roof in Serkawn, 1905 179 8.8 Mizo road workers, Serkawn, 1913 180 8.9 Pakunga Chawngthu in 1922 181

List of Figures

8.10 Two girls flanking a uniformed Mizo, 1936 182 8.11 Market day in Dawrpui (The Bazar), the commercial centre of Aizawl, in the 1920s 185 8.12 Selling agricultural produce in Aizawl’s main market in the 1930s 186

Chapter 9 9.1 Members of the 26th and 29th Lushai Labour Company in Monchy-au-Bois (France), 1917 193 9.2 Sainghinga and friends, France, 1917 195 9.3 Army hockey team in Mesopotamia, c. 1918 195 9.4 Sainghinga receiving a gift from the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major General N. Ramchandra of the 57 Mountain Division, at the Reunion of Ex-Servicemen of Mizoram, Aizawl, 1978 198 9.5 Sainghinga laying a wreath at the war memorial, Aizawl, 1982 198 9.6 Mizo chiefs and colonial officials join hands around the Union Jack to pledge allegiance to Britain in its war effort again the approaching Japanese 200 9.7 War fund stall in Demagiri (Tlabung) erected by chief Sangkhuma, 1940 203 9.8 The Lushai Hills War Committee, 1941 203 9.9 Decorated Mizos, 1942 204 9.10 Volunteers leaving Aizawl to join up, 1942 204 9.11 ‘Them three’ 205 9.12 Postcard of soldiers, 1940s 205 9.13 Hmelmawia had this studio portrait taken while serving in Iran during World War II 206 9.14 Laithuama Lushai’s grave 207 9.15 British soldiers in Aizawl, c. 1942 207 9.16 A jeep at Kulikawn, c. 1942 208 9.17 Girls posing with a jeep in Ngaizel, c. 1942 208

Chapter 10 10.1 Hranglianchhingi’s grave in Dawn 213 10.2 Family and friends of Ngurbiakvela gather around his grave, 1937 214

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10.3 Rothangpuia and his wife during a visit to the grave of Dr Lukira (1896–1961) in Lunglei 215 10.4 Relatives posing with the coffin, probably in Champhai, in 1955 216 10.5 Officers of the Salvation Army posing behind the coffin of their fellow officer, major Lalchawna, Venghnuai, 1982 216 10.6 Teachers and students of the Mizo High School in Aizawl, 1950 217 10.7 Teachers and students of the Mizo High School in Aizawl, 1963 218 10.8 Group portrait of Superintendent’s Office employees, Aizawl, 1953 218 10.9 Three sisters – Thansiami, Thankhumi and Thanchhumi – in Chhinga Veng, Aizawl, Christmas 1930 219 10.10 The C. Vulluaia family on New Year’s Day (kumthar), 1961 220 10.11 Christmas carol party, 1951 220 10.12 C. H. Kela and his tea-drinking friends, New Year, 1930 221 10.13 Gents only party, New Year, 1950 221 10.14 New Year’s party at Venghnuai, 1950 222 10.15 Mizo men serving in the Assam Regiment pose for a New Year’s greeting, 1965 222 10.16 The first Mizo-owned bicycle, proudly displayed in front of the village shop (Bawla’s shop) in Theiriat, 1932 223 10.17 Schoolboy Taite Hmar Durkanga with his new bicycle, 1932 224 10.18 Liani with bicycle at Kulikawn, 1937 224 10.19 Rosanga with his bicycle, studio portrait, 1955 225 10.20 Driver Tlangbawia driving a wartime jeep for the Burmese army, 1949 226 10.21 Dr Zokhuma and friends in a jeep, New Year 1953 226 10.22 On the Zarkawt-Dawrpui road, 1956 227 10.23 Barefoot on a motorcycle, 1970s 228

Chapter 11 11.1 The power elite of Mizoram just after India’s independence, 1948 235 11.2 Missionary John M. Lloyd and his wife Joan with the second batch of tenth graders from Mizoram going up for the matriculation exam, 1949 236

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11.3 Missionaries and students at a teachers’ training course, Aizawl, 1951 236 11.4 Missionaries on their way to the Presbyterian General Council meeting, Aizawl, c. 1951 237 11.5 A moustached missionary ( J.M. Lloyd) surrounded by other delegates at the Presbytery in Farkawn, 1959 237 11.6 The first committee of the Student Christian Movement, which was initiated by missionary O. W. Owen in 1954 238 11.7 The Chanmari Church Choir bids farewell to Joyce Horner and Gwen Rees Roberts, Presbyterian missionaries being expelled from Mizoram in 1968 239 11.8 The last Baptist missionaries to leave Mizoram were nurses E. M. Maltby and J. T. Smith, here shown with pastor H. S. Luaia, who led their farewell service at Serkawn church, 1968 239 11.9 Three generations of the missionary family of Saikao: Margaret Tlosai Lorrain Foxall, her daughter Violet and her mother Maud Lorrain, 1950 240 11.10 A printer, Bruce Foxall and a night guard of the Lakher Pioneer Mission holding bibles, Saikao (‘Lorrainville’), 1950 241 11.11 Violet and Lapi Mark with their children Frederick, Susan, Frank and Michael, 1979 242 11.12 Violet and Lapi Mark on the veranda of the Saikao mission house, 2011. 243

Chapter 12 12.1 The Young Lushai Association celebrates Christmas at the Civil Hospital in Aizawl, 1946 247 12.2 Mizo Union volunteers in Kulikawn, c. 1947 249

Chapter 13 13.1 Mizo delegates from Mizoram to the Assam Hills and Plains Peoples Week, Shillong, 5–11 November 1947 253 13.2 The Governor of Assam in Aizawl, January 1948 254 13.3 The Barkataki family with Mizo servant and chiefs, c. 1950 255 13.4 The sons of Mizoram chiefs invited to tea in Shillong, 1949 256 13.5 The Superintendent and chiefs of Mizoram with the Chief Minister of Assam at a conference in Shillong, 1950 256

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13.6 On election duty: A party of officials in a dugout on the Kaladan river in southern Mizoram, 1952 257 13.7 Farewell to Deputy Commissioner Barkataki at the Aizawl Tennis Club, 1953 258 13.8 The Pawi-Lakher Regional Council, 1953 259 13.9 Independence Day celebrations in Aizawl, 15 August 1949 260 13.10 India’s Prime Minister Nehru addresses the newly installed Autonomous Mizo District Council, Aizawl, 1953 261 13.11 Prime Minister Nehru and his daughter Indira pose with members of the Autonomous Mizo District Council, Aizawl, 1953 261 13.12 Spectators under an arch waiting for the Prime Minister to arrive, Aizawl, 1953 262 13.13 Jawaharlal Nehru in Aizawl, 1953 262 13.14 Thangliani in conversation with Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Aizawl, 1953 263 13.15 The Prime Minister performs an impromptu dance, Aizawl, 1953 263

Chapter 14 14.1 Mizo women pose with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the lawn of Flagstaff House, New Delhi, on Republic Day, c. 1954 267 14.2 Cultural group from Mizoram with Indian President V. V. Giri outside his official residence, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi, 1973 268 14.3 Cultural group from Mizoram taking part in the Republic Day parade, Delhi, 1973 269 14.4 The Mizoram float and dancers at the Republic Day parade in Delhi, probably 1990s 269 14.5 Rehearsing the bamboo dance (cheraw) in a near-empty National Stadium in Delhi for Republic Day, 1954 270 14.6 Mara cultural group posing with President S. N. Reddy in Delhi, c. 1977 271 14.7 Mara cultural group in Delhi 271 14.8 Prime Minister Nehru with guests, Republic Day, Delhi, 1953 272 14.9 The Mayor of Delhi with guests in assorted ‘tribal’ dress, 1966 273

List of Figures

Chapter 15 15.1 The Spring Festival (Chapchar Kut) in Aizawl, 1962 276 15.2 The head of the Mizoram government, Chief Minister Ch. Chhunga, wears a homespun shawl over his business suit while inaugurating the reinstated Chapchar Kut in Aizawl, 1973 277 15.3 The circular chai dance at the Chapchar Kut, Aizawl, 1973 278 15.4 Participants forming a Star of David at the Chapchar Kut, Aizawl, 1982 279 15.5 Independence Day in Lawngtlai, 1983 279 15.6 Teachers’ Day in Aizawl, 1978 280 15.7 A game of inbuan during the Chapchar Kut celebrations in Tahan (Burma), 1978 280 15.8 Inbuan champions with their trophy during Chapchar Kut celebrations in Tahan (Burma), 1970s 281 15.9 Lalropuii with a banner for Vangpui Kut, Manipur, 1973 281 15.10 Performing the bamboo dance (cheraw kan). 1952 282 15.11 Performing the bamboo dance, 1962 283 15.12 A vakiria, 1882 284 15.13 The Lalbuta family, 1969 285 15.14 Mizo cultural group on Chin National Day (Burma), 1972 285 15.15 Lalkungi, Malsawmi and Saihlupuii show their festive costumes, Dawrpui (Aizawl), 1976 286

Chapter 16 16.1 Studio portrait of Mizo students in Silchar, 1921 289 16.2 Lalnithanga as a student in Shillong, 1942–1943 289 16.3 ‘Cowboy somewhere in Happy Valley, 1948’ 290 16.4 ‘Will there be any cowboy up in Heaven!!!’ 1950s 290 16.5 Thangsailova, 1957 291 16.6 Rock ’n’ roll music band, Silchar, New Year, 1958 292 16.7 ‘Eastern Cow Boy’ 292 16.8 Zokura Hnamte and Rozama, Sialsuk, 1965 293 16.9 Cover of a Sudden Muanga comic book 294 16.10 L.T. Muana, 2012 294

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Chapter 17 17.1 Mizo men, women and children gathered at the government bungalow in Demagiri (Tlabung) to receive rice during the bamboo famine of 1882 298 17.2 Celebrating the end of weeding in the famine year 1959 299 17.3 Government jeeps used to distribute rice during the famine of 1959–1960 300 17.4 Air dropping of food supplies in rural Mizoram during the famine, 1960 301 17.5 Officials from different government departments at a discussion on rodent control 301 17.6 ‘We Do Not Want the Assam Government!’ Demonstration demanding autonomy for Mizoram as a Hill State within India, 1961 303 17.7 Dawrpui, the bazar area of Aizawl, after air raids by the Indian Air Force, March 1966 305 17.8 Villagers of Mualvum are dismantling their church before being removed to Kawnpui, a ‘Protected and Progressive Village’, in 1967 307 17.9 A forcibly resettled family: The Kawlbawias in Vairengte PPV in 1968 309 17.10 A convoy of supply trucks during The Troubles, 1960s 309 17.11 The Supervisor of Village Grouping, Major-General Rawat, in Sairang, 1970s 310 17.12 Road-building under the Employment Guarantee Scheme, Ruantlang village, eastern Mizoram, 1973 310 17.13 Indian army officer handing relief goods to a Mizo woman, 1970s 311 17.14 Ceremonial dancing in Thingsulthliah, a cluster village in central Mizoram, marks the start of a development project in 1974 311 17.15 Prison-produced Iron Bar Magazine, 1969 313 17.16 The Dawngliana family pose for their family identity card, 1967 314 17.17 Identity card photograph, Lalnghinglova family, 1967 315 17.18 The Suakchhunga family of Zarkawt have their photograph taken for the family identity card, 1967 315

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Chapter 18 18.1 Military ceremony of the underground Mizoram Government, 1967 320 18.2 The Mizo National Army and their cave hideaway, 1967 320 18.3 A group of fighters at Hliappui camp, 1968 321 18.4 Living quarters, Hliappui camp, 1968 322 18.5 Demonstrating weaponry at Lungkawlh, 1968 322 18.6 Christmas at Saichal camp, 1968 323 18.7 V. L. T. Muana (Chief Commissioner of Rûn) and his assistant Lalnghinglova passing through the abandoned village of Sialhau on their way to East Pakistan, 1969 324 18.8 Looking at Mizoram from a mountaintop in East Pakistan, 1970 325 18.9 The Mizoram Government in exile, Mahmuam, East Pakistan, 1969 326 18.10 The exiled administrators of Run in East Pakistan 326 18.11 Elected Members of Parliament and Senators of sovereign Mizoram in East Pakistan 327 18.12 Newly elected Members of Parliament take the oath of office, Mahmuam (Old Chhantlang), East Pakistan, 1971 327 18.13 Two sides of the identity card of Zamawia, Minister of Defence of the Government of Mizoram, 1970 328 18.14 Two sides of the identity card of Zamawia, Minister of Defence of the Government of Mizoram, 1970 328 18.15 Members of the Christian Youth Fellowship with Pangkhua friends, Chhippui, East Pakistan 329 18.16 Mizo Evangelical Choir at the Baptist Union Assembly, Mahmuam, East Pakistan, 1971 329 18.17 Christmas Carol party 330 18.18 Ball game near Mahmuam, 1969 330 18.19 Lalthlamuani with bridesmaids on her wedding day in Mahmuam, East Pakistan, 1969 331 18.20 A drum precedes newlyweds at ‘Jordan camp’, Mahmuam, East Pakistan, 1970 331 18.21 Mizo troops in Mahmuam (East Pakistan) readying themselves for a military operation in Tripura (India) 332 18.22 Lalzika in the jungle, East Pakistan, 1971 333

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18.23 Lalthansangi and Chalmawii, Lion Brigade headquarters, East Pakistan, 1969 333 18.24 Three policemen in a photo studio, Chittagong city, East Pakistan 334 18.25 Mourning at the grave of Corporal Lalsaingura Sailo in Rangamati, East Pakistan, 1970, are Corporal Lalruala (left) and Corporal Ramchhana. 334 18.26 Officers of the V Battalion of the Mizo National Army, East Pakistan, 1970 335 18.27 New Year’s wishes from the Lion Brigade, East Pakistan, 1970 336 18.28 The Medical Department of the Mizo National Army, Mahmuam, East Pakistan, 1969 336 18.29 Happy in Rangamati, 1971 337 18.30 Mizo officers have their picture taken with a Pakistani colleague in Barkal, Chittagong Hill Tracts, East Pakistan, 1971 337 18.31 President Laldenga inspects the Guard of Honour in Mahmuam, East Pakistan, on Independence Day 338 18.32 Laying a wreath at the Memorial to the Departed in Mahmuam, East Pakistan, on Independence Day 338 18.33 President Laldenga and Defence Minister R. Zamawia with the Mizo national flag at the funeral of Colonel Lalliana, Mahmuam, East Pakistan, 1970 339

Chapter 19 19.1 Mizos during their flight from Bangladesh to Burma 342 19.2 Mizos in ‘Bawm Ram’ – the tri-junction between India, Bangladesh and Burma 342 19.3 Women of the Communist Party of Burma who gave protection to the fleeing Mizos in Arakan 343 19.4 Maj. Ngurliana Sailo and Maj. Ngursailova Sailo in Arakan (Burma), c. 1974 343 19.5 Mizo commanders at the Mizoram Government headquarters in Arakan (Burma), 1970s 344 19.6 Lalhmingthanga and Laldenga, representing the Mizoram Government as Foreign Minister and President, in Beijing, 1970 344

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19.7 Zoramthanga, secretary to Laldenga, in China, 1970 345 19.8 The Mizo fighters of the ‘China Contingent’ at Mang Hai Training Centre in Yunnan, China, 1973 346 19.9 The ‘China Contingent’, led by Demkhawsiak and Lalthawmvunga, at Mang Hai, Yunnan, China, 1973 346 19.10 Mizo rebels in the Stone Forest, Yunnan, China, 1974 346 19.11 Members of the China Contingent displaying their new uniforms and arms, China, 1974 347 19.12 The China Contingent in Pajau, ‘Kachinland’, Burma 1974 347 19.13 A Mizo guerrilla (Saihnuna) operating in Mizoram 348 19.14 The Mizoram national flag flying high above representatives of the Mizoram Government-in-exile, probably in Bangladesh, c. 1980 349 19.15 The Cabinet of the Mizoram Government, Chhimtlang, Bangladesh, c. 1980 349 19.16 President Laldenga inspects the troops at the Capital Headquarters in Bangladesh, 1981 350 19.17 Undercover Chinese-trained wireless operator at work in Aizawl in 1977 351 19.18 Mizo fighters with their equipment, Bangladesh, c. 1980 351 19.19 Patrolling near the Mizoram Government’s ‘Tactical Headquarters’ in New Lawngkawr, northern Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, 1986 352 19.20 A delegation from the Mizoram Government-in-exile takes a break at Seling (Mizoram) on their way to peace negotiations with the Indian authorities in 1978–1979 352 19.21 Mirth after the signing of the Mizoram Accord in Delhi, 1986 353 19.22 Zoramliana poses with boxes containing the bones of fallen Mizo fighters – ready to be taken back to Mizoram 354 19.23 Crossing the border from Bangladesh, 1986 354 19.24 ‘Welcome MNF. The people of Diltlang offer you our highest honour’. Welcome gate for returning troops, 1986 355 19.25 ‘We welcome the warriors and martyrs of the Mizo nation!’ Welcome parade with flower-bedecked coffins in Aizawl, 1986 355 19.26 ‘Welcome home MNF’ and ‘Farewell to Army’. T-shirts for sale in Aizawl, 1986 356

List of Figures

19.27 Voters during the elections of 1987 356 19.28 Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to Aizawl, 1987 357 19.29 The bamboo dance is being performed for Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Aizawl, 1987 357

Chapter 20 20.1 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi landing in Aizawl for the ceremonies to upgrade Mizoram to the status of Union Territory, 1972 360 20.2 Crowds gathered at the Assam Rifles Ground in Aizawl to witness the inauguration, 1972 360 20.3 The first Governor of Mizoram greeting local notables, 1972 361 20.4 The Pawi (later: Lai) District Council office in Lawngtlai, c. 1980 363 20.5 The Pawi (later: Lai) Autonomous District Council welcomes Lal Thanhawla (chief minister of Mizoram) and his wife by ‘chairing’ them: Holding their chairs aloft and carrying them around, Lawngtlai, 1986 364 20.6 Monument celebrating 25 years of the Chakma Autonomous District in Chawngte/Kamalanagar 364 20.7 The Treasury Bench and the Opposition Bench face each other in the Council Room of the Chakma Autonomous District in Chawngte/Kamalanagar, 2000 365 20.8 The Chakma language, written in the script unique to it, and English appear on the emblem of the Chakma Autonomous District Council 366 20.9 Using a ‘flannel graph’ to preach Christianity to Chakma villagers in Sihfa, 1965 367 20.10 A Chakma refugee camp in Mizoram, 1960s 368 20.11 A Chakma refugee in Mizoram, 1964 368 20.12 Taking a census of Chakma in Tlabung/Demagiri, 1979 369 20.13 Indian officers overseeing the forced repatriation of Chakma refugees to Bangladesh, Tipperaghat (Mizoram), 1986 369 20.14 A group of Bru in Rotlang village pose with a Mizo visitor, 1956 370 20.15 Bru villagers, 1960 371 20.16 Bru women with Mizo visitors near Tlabung/Demagiri, 1980 371

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List of Figures

20.17 A Bru village, 1980 372 20.18 Bru women pounding rice, 1980 372 20.19 A meeting of the Hmar Student Association in Manipur in 1979 373

Chapter 21 21.1 Villagers gathered around a gramophone, c. 1940s 380 21.2 A Mizo band performs, 1959 381 21.3 A Mizo trio at a college function in Kolkata, c. 1960 381 21.4 Music group with guitar, bass and mandolin, Khawruhlian, 1964 383 21.5 Music band, 1965 383 21.6 ‘The Beginners’, 1965 384 21.7 A musician proudly displays his electric guitar, a novelty in 1967 385 21.8 Portrait with electric guitars, Mandalay, Burma, 1960s 386 21.9 Young women with stylish bouffant hairdos and guitars, Tuila, 1960s 387 21.10 The ‘Young Generation’ present themselves at the ‘Chinar Beat’, Aizawl, 1972 387 21.11 Lalhmingliana and friends during their first concert for All India Radio, 1969 388 21.12 The Vans, with singer Vanhlupuii, in action during the First Mizoram Beat Contest, Aizawl, 1975 389 21.13 Musicians of the band Creation Flame having a good time at the Beat Contest, 1975 390 21.14 Creation Flame on tour in Churachandpur, Manipur, 1976 390 21.15 Creation Flame (wrapped in Naga blankets) and friends in Mokokchung, Nagaland, 1976 391 21.16 Creation Flame performing for a crowd in Aizawl, c. 1980 391 21.17 Lalsangzuali Sailo in 1978 392 21.18 Vulmawi in concert, Assam Rifles Ground, Aizawl, 1981 392 21.19 Zodi lead guitarist T. Zorampela in the recording studio, Mandalay, 1977 393 21.20 Zodi on tour in Kalemyo, Chin State, Burma, 1979 393 21.21 Cover of a Zodi audio cassette, 1980 394 21.22 Album cover, 1990s 395

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List of Figures

Chapter 22 22.1 Thanbuangi posing against the rock face at Durtlang, 1947 397 22.2 A portrait of F. Sapbawia, 1950 398 22.3 Parthanchhumi (Pari) and Lalrochhungi in trousers with cinch belts, 1958 399 22.4 Thanbuangi and her friends showing the latest designs, Lunglei, 1959 399 22.5 Pari reading a magazine, 1960 400 22.6 C. Manliana (centre), Zakhuma (right) and friends with imitation rolled-up jeans, Aizawl, 1961 400 22.7 ‘Costume parade’, Aizawl, c. 1964 401 22.8 Backcombed hair and flaring skirts in Kulikawn, 1960s 401 22.9 Thanpuii (in miniskirt) and friend in their Christmas dresses, Lunglei, 1971 402 22.10 Mizo guerrilla fighter in jeans, c. 1980 403 22.11 A soldier of the Mizo National Army in uniform, c. 1980 403 22.12 The rebel as style icon: Cocking his firearm on a hilltop, 1985 404 22.13 Two rebels taking a rest, 1980s 404 22.14 Teenagers, 1970s 405 22.15 V. L. Ruata, Malsawmkimi (with doll) and Rohmingliana, 1975 405 22.16 Vulmawi singers Lalruanga and Butta (Lalbuta), Aizawl, 1981 406 22.17 An Andy Gibb poster on the wall at the Mizo ‘Capital Headquarters’ in Chhimtlang, Bangladesh, 1986 406 22.18 Hlawha (Lalhlawhliana), 1973 407 22.19 Dawnghlua and his friends in Lamka, Churachandpur, Manipur, 1979 407 22.20 The platform shoes that Lalhlawhliana wore in the 1970s 408

Chapter 23 23.1 A group of friends, c. 1920 411 23.2 Young men in front of a garden scene, 1940s 412 23.3 A river scene with a rowing boat frames the uniformed shape of Chuaua in this photo from a Shillong studio, 1946 412

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List of Figures

23.4 Two brothers (Lalbiakzuala and Daia) with a pith helmet in Silchar, 1951 413 23.5 A couple before a lakeside fantasy building, 1957 413 23.6 P. Vanlallawma and Lalthianga with friends in a Manipur studio, 1968 414 23.7 P. Vanlallawma and Lalthianga with friends in a Manipur studio, 1968 414 23.8 Nunsangi and Rammawii in Biakhnuna Photo Studio in Churachandpur (Manipur), 1968 415 23.9 Kapzauva and Ziri in Kaladan Studio in Lawngtlai, 1977 415 23.10 Pathai and Khaichhua in a Saiha studio, 1985 416 23.11 Lalramchuani and Parmawii pose in a photo studio in Moreh (Manipur), 1982 416 23.12 Malsawmi in front of the Taj Mahal, Aizawl, 1969 417 23.13 An image from the same studio, 1960s 418 23.14 Champuii in a studio in Dawrpui (Aizawl) in 1976 418 23.15 101-year-old Chhunruma in the same studio in Dawrpui (Aizawl), 1978 419 23.16 Zonunsanga (left), Hruaia and friend, possibly in the Krossmawi Studio in Darlawn, 1979 420 23.17 P. C. Lalnunthara relaxing in front of K. T. Zama’s photo studio in Aizawl, 1970 421 23.18 The R. L. P. Mobile Studio on the road 421

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List of Maps

Front Matter 1 Mizoram. xxvi

Chapter 1 1.1 The mountain ranges known as the Naga, Mizo, Chin, Chittagong and Arakan hills – and today’s international borders. 4 1.2 Colonial fragmentation: The hill country divided between three provinces of British India: Bengal, Assam and Burma. 7

Chapter 12 12.1 Mizoram as an outlying territory of the Republic of India (shown in gray), 1948. 246 1 = Assam (India); 2 = Kingdom of Tripura; 3 = Kingdom of Manipur; 4 = (East) Pakistan; 5 = Burma.

Map 1: Mizoram.

xxvi

Acknowledgements

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the many people who generously shared their images with us and who gave us permission to reproduce a selection in this volume. Their help was essential; without them we could never have created this book. We also owe a large debt of gratitude to Lalhlimpuii Pachuau (Mimi). Her untiring efforts to locate, copy and describe many images in Mizoram and Delhi were invaluable. We also thank her for her cheerful company during one of our trips through Mizoram. There were others who gave us important support in the making of this book. For assistance of different kinds we would especially like to thank (in alphabetical order): Kyle C. Jackson, Lalhmingmuana (Lunglei), Lalmalsawma Khiangte (Aizawl), Masoom Reza, Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff, Siamtei (Churachandpur) and Bianca Son Suantak. We are grateful for the financial assistance provided by the University Grants Commission, the ICSSR-NWO Social Science Scholar Exchange, WOTRO Science for Global Development (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research), Charles Wallace India Trust, the research group Moving Matters of the University of Amsterdam, and the International Institute of Social History. Joy L. K. Pachuau Willem van Schendel