RELIGION AND POLITICS IN MIZORAM: ROLE OF THE CHURCH LETKHOLUN HAOKIP DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE MIZORAM UNIVERSITY iii MIZORAM UNIVERSITY Post Box No. 190 Gram : MZU AIZAWL:MIZORAM Phone : (0389)2331610/ www.mzu.edu.in 2331609 Fax : 0389 – 2331610 Prof. K.V. Reddy Department of Political Science CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis entitled “RELIGION AND POLITICS IN MIZORAM: ROLE OF THE CHURCH”, submitted by LETKHOLUN HAOKIP for the award of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, is a research work, done under my supervision and guidance. The thesis, submitted by him has not formed the basis for the award to the scholar for any degree or any other similar title and it has not yet been submitted as a dissertation or thesis in any university. I also certify that the thesis represents objective study and independent work of the scholar. (PROF. K. V. REDDY) SUPERVISOR iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My sincere thanks to my supervisor Prof. K.V. Reddy, Professor, Department of Political Science, Mizoram University, whose creative suggestions and accurate corrections have shaped my raw ideas into this meaningful piece of work. His constant support and guidance enabled me to complete this humble work. I am truly indebted to him. I am deeply grateful to Prof. Jangkhongam Doungel and all the Faculty members of the Department of Political Science, Mizoram University for their help and encouragement to accomplish my research work. My sincere acknowledgement and heartfelt gratitude goes to all the interviewees and respondents of my questionnaires without which this work would have been incomplete. I am greatly thankful to all those who have supported and helped me in words and in deeds during the course of this work. My sincere gratitude to my wife Esther Veineilhing, my son Joshua Thangminmang, my daughter Faith Hoineichan and my sister-in-law Hatneimoi for their constant encouragement and prayer support. Finally, I will be failing in my duty if I don’t express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents for their unceasing love and prayer support. Above all, in all these endeavors I am thankful to God my benefactor. June 2019 Letkholun Haokip v ii MIZORAM UNIVERSITY JUNE, 2019 DECLARATION I Letkholun Haokip, hereby declare that the subject matter of this thesis is the record of work done by me, that the contents of this thesis did not form basis of the award of any previous degree to me or to do the best of my knowledge to anybody else, and that the thesis has not been submitted by me for any research degree in any other University/Instituted. This is being submitted to the Mizoram University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science. (LETKHOLUN HAOKIP) (PROF. K.V. REDDY) (PROF. K.V. REDDY) HEAD OF DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR viii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. INNER COVER PAGE i DECLARATION ii CERTIFICATE iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv GLOSSARY v ABBREVIATION vi-vii CONTENT viii CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION 1-43 CHAPTER II : HISTORICAL BACKDROP 44-140 CHAPTER III : CHURCH AND SOCIO-POLITICAL REFORMS: POST-STATEHOOD 141-242 CHAPTER IV : ROLE OF CHURCH IN POLITICS: MAJOR IMPLICATIONS 243-287 CHAPTER V : CHURCH AND POLITICS: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS 288-331 CHAPTER VI : CONCLUSION 332-351 APPENDIX 352-379 BIBLIOGRAPHY 380-394 PARTICULARS AND BIO-DATA OF THE SCHOLAR 395-397 vi ABBREVIATION AMC Aizawl Municipal Corporation BCM Baptist Church of Mizoram BJP Bharatya Janata Party BMS Baptist Missionary Society CADC Chakma Autonomous District Council CEO Chief Electoral Officer CSO Civil Society Organization ECI Election Commission of India ECM Evangelical Church of Maraland EFCI Evangelical Free Church of India EPIC Electronic Privacy Information Center EVM Electronic Voting Machines LADC Lai Autonomous District Council LIKBK Lairam Isua Krista Kohhran MPC Mizoram Presbyterian Church MADC Mara Autonomous District Council MBA Mizoram Baptist Federation MDA Mizoram Democratic Alliance MNF Mizo National Front MKHC Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitu Committee MLPT Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition MLPC Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Control vii MPAB Mizoram Peace Advisory Board MPCC Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee MPF Mizoram People Forum MHIP Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl MSU Mizo Students’ Union MUP Mizoram Upa Pawl MU Mizo Union MZP Mizo Zirlai Pawl NGO Non-Government Organization NLUP New Land Use Policy PC People’s Conference PRISM People Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram RCC Roman Catholic Church SA Salvation Army SDA Seventh-Day Adventist SEC State Election Commission SEDP Socio-economic Development Programme SVEEP Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation UPC United Pentecostal Church YMA Young Mizo Association ZKHC Zoram Kohhran Hruaitu Committee ZNP Zoram Nationalist Party ZPM Zoram People’s Movement 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Religion and politics are two of the most important dimensions of human life. Religion is one of the most powerful, deeply felt and influential forces in human society.1 It has shaped people’s relationships within the society, influencing family, community, economic, and political dimensions. Religious beliefs and communitarian values motivate human actions. Due to the awareness of religious aspects in the socio-political context, the old theories of secularization, which predicted that religions would disappear in continually modernized societies, lost their plausibility. Religion is a reality of Indian politics. It can neither be ignored nor overlooked, nor even eliminated. “But by adopting secularism as the principle of equal respect for and equality of all religions and by cultivating a rational love for religious values, which fortunately happen to be the same in all religions, the harmful and negative role of religion can be replaced by a positive, healthy and unifying role of religion in Indian politics”.2 Obviously religion is not a mere collection of rituals, traditions and ways of worship. Rather it is a set of values which it upholds. Any religious person follows these values along with their rituals and traditions. As Mahatma Gandhi says, “Truth is my God.” All religions stand for such supreme values as God, truth, non-violence, morality and respect for all people. In the last few decades, it has not only been the civil society organizations, but also the religious organizations that have been increasingly participating in the socio- 1 Meredith B. Mcguire, Religion-The Social Context, Fifth edition (Belmont: Wadsworth Thomson Learning, 2002), p.1. 2 U.R. Ghai, Indian Political System-A Study in Indian Government and Politics, Tenth Edition (Jalandhar: New Academic Publishing Co., 2012), p. 55. 2 political life of the people. The Christian churches along with other movements began to take part in socio-political development. The Latin American liberation theologies, social commitment and political involvement continued to be part of these progressive movements. The question of the relationship between Church and State, religion and politics, was therefore raised again. This aspect was discussed at the conference hosted jointly by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Philosophical Research Institute of Hanover, Germany in 2007.3 The theme of the Conference was “The Church and Civil Society – The Role of Christian Churches in the Emerging Countries of Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa.” Such a kind of focus and discussion shows that the relationship between religion and politics involves certain challenges for both civil societies and the Church. The religious groups facilitate improvement in political culture and the forming of a mindset which helps citizens to understand themselves as responsible members of their states. In doing so, the Church has played the role of a facilitator for advancing the socio- political and economic development in the developed countries where Christians form the majority. However, the situation in some parts of the world like Asia, where Christians form small minorities appears to be different. India being a secular democratic state, the Indian Constitution embodies secularism in letter and spirit, and it is accepted as a principle affirming that there is no religion of the state as such, there is equality of all religions in the eyes of the law and that there is freedom of each religious group to establish and maintain religious and philanthropic institutions, with their own organizational setups. However, there is a prohibition of religious instruction in recognized, and government and government- 3 Wilhelm Staudacher, “An Introductory Welcome”, in Church and Civil Society: The Role of Christian Churches in the Emerging Countries of Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa. Eds. Gerhard Kruip and Helmut Reifeld (Berlin: Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 2007), pp. 7-10. 3 aided educational institutions. And the role of the state in religious matters has been kept limited to preventing the violations of public order. The preamble of the Constitution, while defining the scope of ideal of liberty, holds that it includes liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles 25 to 28) stands enshrined in the Constitution as one of the Fundamental rights of an Indian citizen and as such enjoys a constitutional guarantee. However, adoption of secularism in the Indian Constitution and its actual practice in social relations demonstrate a wide gap. The state does not prefer any religion and yet maintains its relationship with all religions. Like any other liberal democratic constitution, the Indian Constitution guarantees to the citizens the freedom to form their associations as well as the right to freedom of religion. But this has led to the organization of several political parties on the basis of various religions. For instance, religion-based parties like the Muslim League, Hindu Maha Sabha, Shiv Sena, Akali Dal, also play a crucial role in the Indian elections.4 The religious affiliation of a party becomes a determinant factor of voting behavior. The political parties try to develop their vote banks among the minority religious groups by appeasement policies that have even influenced the process of government making.