Mizoram History

History

About every 50 years Mizoram’s endless bamboo forests flower for three seasons, producing millions of egg-shaped fruit. Although inedible to humans, these fruit are adored by rats, which multiply rapidly to enjoy the free feast. But after the third year the bamboo stops fruiting. Suddenly hungry, the rats swarm onto anything else edible, notably human crops. This last happened in 1959 causing a serious famine. The Indian government’s inept response left Mizos feeling entirely abandoned. The Mizo Famine Front (MFF) later spawned the Mizo National Front (MNF) insurgents. In 1966 they launched a stunning surprise raid, briefly capturing Mizoram’s then-tiny capital Aizawl. India’s appallingly heavy-handed response was the infamous ‘grouping’ policy. The entire rural population was corralled into virtual concentration camps. The old jhumming hamlets were then destroyed to deprive insurgents of resources (so don’t look for ancient ‘traditional’ homes in Mizoram). Obviously such tactics backfired massively, creating a huge wave of support for the rebels. However, after two decades of fighting, the 1986 cease-fire led to a lasting peace settlement. Today the MNF holds a majority in the democratically elected state government and Mizoram is proud of being the safest state in the northeast. Many Mizos remain bemused as to how their ‘country’ ever got attached to India. But everyone’s relieved that at least they didn’t end up within Myanmar. In late 2006 the bamboo forests started flowering again. Let’s hope that everyone will be better prepared for the inevitable in 2009.