Killing Me Softly

I wrote this way back in 2004. Pu L. Keivom emailed me today as he found it in his computer. I didn't have the article with me anymore.

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I regret to write this. But the need let me feel it otherwise as I do not want it to kill me, together with you slowly and painfully. This is based on a true story and not on fiction. You are into it and have a role to play as much as I do. We can neither reject the roles, nor are we in a position to reject it. If both of us don’t play it well and smooth, expecting it to hit the box office will be a futility. You cannot blame yourself. You cannot blame me. Neither can I. We will be both to be blamed. The roles that I am talking about have everything to do about our very own “Mizo”.

I often see and hear the misinterpreted use of “Mizo” both by people who refer themselves by it and others. My heart would ache notoriously, bleeding ferociously. Every time I come across a person that I find to be “illiterate in Mizo, my heart would ache out for the person. And I would often find talking to myself “If only the foundation is proper, it would not have been this way. What wastage of pride!” The illiteracy is about the identity, language, etc of “Mizo”. But well, it’s not too late yet. Rather, optimistically it’s only the beginning.

Most of us are proud to identify ourselves as a Mizo. I bet you are. And I am too. But have you ever contemplate on what really a “Mizo” is? One participant during the Delhi Mizo Kut 2004’s extempore speech competition argued it as the persona of an individual in terms of “tlawmngaihna”. Almost acceptable but with a but.

Anyway, that is not where I would want you to put your eyes upon. The probable answer lies in another direction. Most probably like many others, your answer of “Mizo” will be “tribe”. I do not blame you. But sorry to say, I pity you. And that may be the line separating you and me. Maybe I am keeping myself too high above you in that sense. Well I should say I have a right to put you below me because you got it all wrong in the wrong sense. And I find it my business to make you aware of the dangerous and fragile bridge you and I are crossing which might collapse under our own weights.

So illiterate we are in “Mizo” that we continue to walk the lone narrow path that will in the end lead us nowhere but to oblivion. Of course, we have and will continue to have our “Mizoram”, singing “Kan Zoram nuam” and reciting “Mizo kan ni kan hmel a tha”. But the story does not end there. At the end of the day and our journey, with the wrong path we are taking we will have only that to boast about and nothing more.

Our present perspective on “Mizo” needs a change. Mizo was and is never a tribe. Mizo is a Nation. Misinterpreting “Mizo” as a tribe than as a nation is a sin as much as a sin is a sin in the eyes of God. All Mizo who refer Mizo as a tribe can be said to as a “Lost Mizo”. They know not what they are doing and where they are going. I am pained to even think about it.

Think about this – you, who identify as a Mizo. Don’t you think you are defaming “Mizo” by your “tribalistic Mizoism” With such a misinterpreted, illiterate and narrow view; you not only malign “Mizo” but walk amidst those planning to demolish the status of Mizo from a nation to a mere tribe. Is this a joke? You can say that. I find it humorous that we preach integration while not having the slightest idea that what we are sweating for is what we dread most - disintegration. Don’t you think that it’s high time that we change our integration tactic?

We talk about integrity, unity and diversity. Have you ever given a thought of how wrongly cheated we are by ourselves? Those are just a bunch of crappy words and good only for loose talk. We instead are firm supporters of their negatives.

We, Mizo call ourselves as being liberal to the extreme. Give a second thought; it’s the other way round. We are all a bunch of racists. This may sound to be a tough word. But it’s the truth. Truth cannot be fact-less. I wonder who ever came out with such inventive words such as Mizo 1, Mizo 2, Mizo 3, et al. A Mizo body should recognize the individual and honor him with a creativity crown. His “Mizoism” indeed becomes an important part to be thought about in our quest for a unified “Zoram”. But I advise that the person’s narrow racist ideology should never be taken for granted for realizing a “Zoram”. If ever we take his line of “Mizoism”, we will be bound to seeing our “Zoram” vanish in the air like a smoke.

A nation cannot have only a single language, culture, et al. A nation is a composition of different traits of people, of tribes, communities, societies; having, using and following their own unique languages, cultures, traditions, beliefs, religion, etc.

Mizo is not composed of a single tribe, but many kindred tribes. It is saddening to point out that our present scenario is not in a position to strengthen the Mizo Nation. It seems we do not believe in becoming a nation. We instead are tailing off to where we should not expect a nation to move along. We dishearten the recognition of different tribes that Mizo is composed of and the languages they use, the customs and traditions they follow; all in the name of “Hnam Humhalhna”, which in my humble opinion is just a staged program of the unknowing “Mizo Hmelma(s)”.

However bleak our “Zoram” may be, but I ain’t disheartened. I am a dreamer. I dream of a “Zoram” some day. Rugged the path may be. Lonely and long the journey may be. I hope to remain a dreamer. Let me dream. Dream along with me. Let’s each play our own roles perfectly and let go ourselves for the top at the box office.

If you eat, sleep and drink Mizo, and want to stop the extinguishing Mizoism in our hearts; there is one thing we first need to be convicted of – Mizo is a Nation. Unless our current outlook of Mizo changes, it is going to die a slow painful death. I see no chance of any survival.

And that’s the bottom-line.

(December 22, 2004, New Delhi)

Photo courtesy: Shahnaz Kimi (Sunset over Mizo Hills)