T. Kaithang
Finance Officer, Emmanuel Hospital, Delhi
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(A Seminar paper presented by the author at the One Day Jubilee Motivational Seminar Organized by Youth Department, Zomi Christian Fellowship, Delhi, on the occasion of its Silver Jubilee).
1. Introduction:
The Indian Zo people comprising of Mizo or Zomi tribes dwell in the contiguous geographical areas falling within Mizoram, Manipur, parts of Nagaland and small pockets of Tripura States. For some reasons, the Zo people confine themselves to the rugged, mountainous regions and it is only recently that they have started coming down to the plains. Historically, it has been seen that those inhabitants of river valleys and coastal plains get the benefit of development in economic, social or other sectors faster than those living in the barely accessible mountainous terrains, as has been demonstrated quite clearly by the lack of development seen among the Zo people, and accounts for the reason why we lag so far behind even in the 21st century after the birth of Christ. For such laggards, catching up with others, and keeping up with them, is a big issue. Chronic lack of development is associated with problems of alienation, deprivation, poverty, crimes, diseases, etc. Hence, their relevance today.
A reference to the topic of our seminar will immediately bring us to the key words-Youth, Metropolitan Cities, and Restoration in the context of Zogam economy. While it is not my intention to define the terms, allow me to say that Youth would mean those from our own Zo background who have lived and imbibed the benefits of learning and experience that only urban, city background can provide. To me, Zogam would have to mean areas under occupation of the Zo people as discussed briefly above, since the same term does not find mention in any official world map and atlas published so far. Restoration would also mean more than merely getting back to whatever economic stature might have been presumed to be lost, but making positive gains in all economic parameters of development.
2. Development:
The question now is: What is development and what is the development we want for us? Broadly speaking, I would like to see a level of development that will ensure food security, acceptable health standards, employment opportunity for all (well, almost all anyway), intellectual and spiritual growth opportunities, transport & communication facilities, preservation of culture, etc. In order to achieve these ideals, let us try to examine what needs to be in place. The following points, and not necessarily in order of importance, I think, are important for our upliftment.
2.1 Transport & Communication:
Physical transport system forms the backbone of any development. Thus, roads, railways, shipping routes and air routes combine to provide different modes of an integral transport and communication system. Although these modes of transport have been in existence for centuries in almost all parts of the world, for the world of Zo people, asking for even the most basic one, i.e. road communication, is akin to asking for the moon. While the country is talking of quadrilateral highway network spanning its length and breadth, restoring just one highway called the Tippaimukh Road stretching from Lamka to North Mizoram (hardly 300 km long) is a major challenge. Just how one good highway can transform the economy and lifestyle of the inhabitants has been seen earlier. We had been witnesses to trucks and buses trundling along carrying goods and passengers-increasing rural agricultural and non-agricultural production including related economic activities like roadside tea shops and hotels. For many, the road provided the means for accessing many amenities, including health care facilities for treatment of illnesses at larger centres. However, all good things, especially in our Zo areas, usually had to come to an end too soon. The brisk agricultural activity again collapsed when the road collapsed because of disrepair. Naturally, this adverse development disrupted whatever little benefits people along the road may have had during its short-lived usefulness.
Emergence of the Guite Road-or Lamka-Sinzawl-Khawzawl-Aizawl Road as an alternative link to Mizoram boosted trade and agricultural activities, though not always quantifiable, in several areas. Despite its deplorable condition, the road has been a lifeline not only for moderate trade and commerce, but for bridging the societies living in the two states of Manipur and Manipur. In fact, this road has proved to be a boon as it has often cushioned the economic impact that many bandhs called by bandh-crazy Manipuris organized. Thus, good roads are our basic need for development and are vital for bringing about transformation of the people. There is a report that the large sum of money sanctioned and released for repairing the Tedim Road from Lamka to Singngat was not used by the contractors for the intended purpose. Such fund diversion, etc., can now come out in the open through invoking the RTI Act. This is where smart, intelligent, educated city youth should come in.
2.2. Another equally vital means of communication is the telecommunication system provided by the postal system and other wired or wireless systems. In an age when communication systems have become virtual and instantaneous, when telephones, faxes and the internet have now become by-word for many, Zo folks in the hills continue to rely on word-of-mouth messages or letters to be delivered by passing travelers. Imagine the frustration of the boy from one of the villages studying in, say New Delhi, having got used to mailing messages and graphics over the internet, who, on returning to his village has to fall back on the primitive methods! The contrast is too real when one comes face to face with the fact that even the village post office, euphemistically referred to as the BPO, is non-existent. Existence of such communication system would have made living in the interior Zo village more livable. One would like to see that all modes of communication-the postal system, the telephones, the electronic medium and even Television- are extended to the Zo rural folks. These will bring about exchange of information which, we all agree, will radically change the outlook of the villagers. I look to the youth to accelerate the process.
2.3. Formation of social capital-I use the term social capital rather loosely to mean the capacity of manpower available- is the beginning of creation of other forms of capital. This formation involves availability of educational institutions from primary level to XIIth standard, if not higher. Sadly, the position is alarming in the Zo inhabited areas of Manipur. Where there had been high schools catering to Xth class level earlier, these same institutions have simply collapsed for lack of teaching staff(teachers posted there simply refused to turn up) or the buildings alongwith the infrastructural facilities just rot(for lack of maintenance). In these places, some churches make valiant attempt to meet the needs without much success as they are strapped for resources. Education brings along awareness among the people which in turn transforms the economy and social life of the society. There can be no progress unless social capital is strengthened to meet and anticipate the ever evolving needs of the people. I would strongly suggest that the educated among us go back to the rural sector- either on full time or part-time basis- to educate our new generation and prepare it for the future. The youth may consciously equip themselves in education courses, special education courses, technical courses, etc.
2.4. Our Zo people are faced with perpetual shortages. In the face of so many shortages, there is one thing that we have in abundance: land. In fact, vast land is available to us in such abundance that we do not know how to make use of it. The beauty of this abundant blessing is that land is not barren-it comes with rich variety of flora and fauna. Tragically, however, our people have wreaked havoc on this wealth of forest life through ignorance and greed. It is imperative that we take immediate steps to regenerate the forest. This will be different from shifting cultivation, but it will still be a shift called paradigm shift in our mindset and land use.
a) First, we need to realize that land and whatever lives on it belong to the community-the past, the present and the future generation-and that we are custodians to conserve but not to destroy. In fact, there is a recent positive development heard about the younger generation actually obtaining training in re-generation of land through scientific and systemic intervention. The mindset change should also accept the fact that our right over the land is inalienable. Land is our inheritance and not someone’s personal fiefdom. A landless man is lost. This should be the strong message for everyone. The second involves adoption of better cultivation technique that encourages conservation while giving profitable yield. This step may require us to re-examine our shifting cultivation method in favour of high yielding crops or animal husbandry. Again the need for new ideas from educated, trained youth.
b) The land and the thick jungle around our Zo villages, the lofty mountain peaks, the clear bubbling streams, the dark rivers, the clean breeze, the cascading waterfalls and the salubrious climatic condition offer one of the most attractive getaway options to city-bred people. This new yearning for outdoor activity among natural surrounding is now called eco-tourism. The day is not far off when our villages will host, hopefully, domestic and foreign tourists who are prepared to rough it out. This potential opens very many gainful employment (including self-employment) scopes in managing tourist lodges, providing guides, ferrying or transporting the tourists, etc. Can we prepare our people for the dawn of such a day?
2.5. Poverty and Ignorance usually go in hand since one is the product of the other. A consequence of this vicious cycle is the chronic dependence on the government. In our Zo context, we tend to view the local MLA or Minister as the representative of the Government and expect him/her to bring about an end to our economic miseries through grants, doles, subsidies or appointment to some government jobs. This expectation being habitual, our dependence on government becomes chronic. Thankfully, this trend is beginning to be reversed after well-meaning NGOs run by enlightened, educated, and city bred people begin to take initiatives for development of rural areas in right earnest. Many of these initiatives began small, but grew and enlarged rapidly in a few years. It is reported that quite a few have grown both in stature and size as to be recognized and consulted by the formal agencies. Some have even gone up to represent the NGO sector as members of high-powered national level committees. This is an area where the well-educated city-bred youth can venture into and make a difference in the lives of the marginalized people. Again, the precursor will have to be training in the appropriate fields. Can we look forward to the day when the representatives of Government come to our doorstep for favour(not for votes!) and not us going to them?
2.6. Deprived of the many conveniences of modern day life, including proper education, our folks in the interior continue to live primitive existence. To them, today is pretty much the same as the day just gone by, and the morrow does not promise anything remarkable either. Issues such as human rights, tribal right to forest, etc. have no relevance in their lives until or unless such laws suddenly impact their routine, mundane existence and bring about some kind of upheaval. As of now, we don’t see any form of advocacy carried out on behalf of their rights by anybody. Our Zo people need protection from all sorts of inroads into their legitimate and fundamental rights. Our Zo folks need some form of outlet to air their grievances. Our Zo community are in desperate need of informed representation to talk to and act on their behalf. It is, therefore, important for them to have on their side someone to speak and act for them and stand by them. This is a vacuum a city-bred, educated person can only perform.
2.7. One of the essential infrastructural facilities which collapsed in the interior is health-care. Until recently, there used to be basic medical facilities- a primary health centre, a dispensary, rural hospital, etc., manned by medicos. For some very strange reasons, such buildings have now become hollow structures and the manpower(including the female staff) are formally or informally stationed in relatively urban centres while people back in the villages suffer. Ironically, newly qualified medical people opt for the larger towns/cities for employment. There are now less number of qualified medical staff to serve the needy in the difficult interiors! The need is there in the villages. Can we think of trained people teaming up for charity work?
3. I have often been tempted to indulge in drawing comparison between our Zo folks living under the more caring Mizoram government and those under the utterly uncaring Manipur government. To any one who has passed through the Guite road from Manipur to its counterpart in Mizoram (or, vice versa), the contrast between the typical village on Manipur side and that of Mizoram is too striking to ignore. Mizoram boasts of better road, better dwelling houses, water supply, electricity connection(with power), schools, dispensaries, post offices, the works, against none of these in Manipur side. While our Mizoram folks can look to the Government (besides their heavenly Father) in critical times like, say, famine conditions, our Manipur Zo folks have only their heavenly Father to look up to. What I mean is that given the kind of government (or is it the government we deserve?), there is the more compelling reason for the well educated to play constructive roles in restoring and developing our rural economy. It is well known that our rural economy depends heavily on agriculture, and that too on paddy crop through shifting cultivation. The present day Zo farmer follows the same agricultural methods that his father did who also followed his father’s practices before him….so on and on. The same kinds of crops have been grown, the same kinds of animals are reared and in pretty much the same methods they were done hundreds, if not thousands, of years earlier. And why not since no one has come forward to show them better and more scientific methods of production? This is where the educated, smart guys from the cities come in.
3.1. Nearly the entire Zo population is ravenous non-vegetarian in eating habits. This habit is not going out of fashion for the next centuries unless we eat up all the animal supplies. This distant possibility should encourage some of us to think seriously on the lines of going commercial in animal rearing-piggery, poultry, cattle farming, fishery, duckery, etc., which will ensure meat, egg and milk supply to the towns. One may now think of a dog farm too seeing that dog meat has gained in popularity in some areas. Our Zo folks have all along been rearing animals for private consumption. Commercialisation will become viable once the technical inputs are available from trained people. The business will also get a boost if support from insurance firms can provide the risk cover-again you need an insurance man who will bring the benefit of city training. There is a lighter side to all this business of meat eating: About 15 years back there actually was a businessman who lived in Kolkata engaged in collecting and shipping out the sexual organ of bulls because these were believed to act as aphrodisiacs.
3.2. In case one does not have the taste for living with animals, one can think of adopting horticulture on commercial line. Thanks to the improvement of transport facilities including regular air transport, there now exists scope for business in what was until recently considered exotic like floriculture. A good number of womenfolk in Mizoram have now taken up floriculture and are now doing profitable business because of patronage by the state government in the beginning. Flowers like anthurium, bird-of-paradise, roses, etc. are now readily available at flower shops in Aizawl. There are reports of such flowers being taken to flower markets in Kolkata and elsewhere. I am told that there is huge business potential in flower. One could think of taking up orchid farming as well. Of course, such things depend a great deal on penetrating the right market through good networking. This is where the city-bred youth with language proficiency and business acumen can step in for launching the business.
3.3. Horticulture provides a profitable alternative to the back-breaking agriculture that has been our mainstay in the Zo highlands for ages. While our people have gingerly started testing the waters, it is again the educated wise-in-the-ways-of-the- world youth who can really create business-like impact. One can think of fruits like apple, pineapple, oranges, passion fruit, banana, papaya, etc. that one can start growing in commercial scale. Besides we may think of rubber plantation, cardamom, chilly or other medicinal plants where tie-up with buyers may need to be made. Given the fact that land is available abundantly, there is immense scope is taking up horticulture. A forward integration in the form of a medium food processing plant will greatly add value to the planters/farmers’ labour.
3.4. Agriculture in the modern practice involves a lot of inputs that only appropriate training can inculcate. There are new practices like cold storage with minimum electric power supply for stocking perishable agri-products, there would be the distribution chains to be thought through, relationship building with government departments or input suppliers that a modern educated person can effectively carry out. There is also heavy mechanization in agricultural practices from tilling to harvest. There are seminars, meetings and trainings where a better educated person from urban background can be adept at. Thus, we see the city youth playing active role in transforming rural practices for the better.
4. It is a well-known fact that the process of urbanization is happening everywhere. The metamorphosis towards town status is evident all around us. What was a village earlier is slowly but surely becoming a town with amenities like electric power, piped water, tele-communication, transport, market places mushrooming. Such growth call for different set of skills previously thought superfluous in village life. Thus, one may see roadside auto-mechanic shops springing up, the hair saloon or beauty parlour making its presence, the plumber and the electrician being in great demand, the computer hardware or software guys or any other type of skill coming together to cater to the growing demands of the new township. All these skills can be had of through training with the respective centres in the metros or larger towns. Thus, one can see that the city youths can have definite advantage to come to the rural areas with their skills. 5. The image of the metro-bred youth coming home with weird looks, habits and inappropriate culture should be a thing of the past. There could have been instances of city-educated youth taking home inappropriate urban lifestyle back home and causing some social problems. It’s time we change that by taking home valuable lessons and use them constructively to restore and build up the economic, social and spiritual life of the rural folk. After all, we are not Cain to say: Am I my brother’s keeper?
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