Mizo identity and Indianisation: A case of conflict transformation in Mizoram
- 2016
- p.623-635.
- Jul-Sep
This article examines the process of conflict transformation in Mizoram following the signing of the Peace Accord in 1986. First, the article examines the process of 'Mizoisation', which was responsible for bringing together all the diverse groups and elements inhabiting the Lushai hills of the erstwhile Lushai district of the then Assam province. Second, it examines whether Mizoisation has been complementary to the process of 'Indianisation'. Although the process of Indianisation started as early as the colonial times, the project of national integration after Independence faced numerous challenges to the extent of interrogating the efficacy of the Indian state. Thirdly, the article examines the Mizoisation process by using the conceptual tool of conflict transformation. Conflict transformation is a process of change in the relationship and the discourse of conflict into the constructivist domain to redefine issues of identity and sharing the power structure to the well-being of the community. Fourthly, the author interprets the process of conflict transformation in the context of the post-Accord developments in Mizoram. In the concluding section, he argues that the process of Mizoisation is complementary to the process of Indianisation that was ushered in intensely since Independence. - Reproduced.