worlds-journal

[worlds-journal]

A new strain of Covid-19 believed to infiltrate in Mizoram; no proof though

Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) state nodal officer Dr Pachuau Lalmalsawma said that a new strain of Covid-19 might already infiltrate Mizoram, though there is no proof of it. Response to the correspondent of Vanglaini, he said ''It could not be confirmed as there only ten laboratories that could prove if there is a new strain, sample are being despatched to the nearest laboratory-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, West Bengal,'' said Dr Pachuau Lalmalsawma, 326 swap sample were despatched, he added.

[worlds-journal]

Hong Kong Woman Breaks Record for Fastest Ascent

Tsang, 44, scaled the 8,848.86-metre (29,031 feet) mountain in a record time of 25 hours and 50 minutes on Sunday, Everest base camp’s government liaison officer Gyanendra Shrestha said. Shrestha told AFP that she left the base camp at 1:20 pm on Saturday and reached (the top at) 3:10 pm the next day. But, Tsang still needs to present her claim to officials from Guinness World Records to receive a certification of her feat, he added.

[worlds-journal]

COVID PATIENTS IN MIZORAM

Rumours spread as some patients from BSUP Covid Care Centre skipped meals for they know they would not be able to pay the bill after discharge from Covid-19 centres. It is said that these people now have to pay for their meals. It is a burden for these people as it is not affordable for all the people out there. In some places, villagers donate vegetables and other things so the patients won’t have to pay the bill. This is a good example of ‘United we stand, divided we fall’. Unity lands us in places where we thought is not possible.

We all know that the Covid fund was given to the government from every corner and it is still given. Maybe if the government use these funds exactly as it has to be used, some people won’t have to face problems in having meal daily or even the bills. Who knows? How the government used the Covid funds. It seems that many of us are not satisfied with how the government treat Covid patients. The government can do better, work better for the people. We are looking forward to the time these patients won’t face these kinds of obstacles anymore.

[worlds-journal]

BRIEF STUDY OF YMA

The Young Mizo Association (YMA) is the largest and most comprehensive non-profit, secular and non-governmental organization of the Mizo people. It was established on 15th June 1935, originally as the Young Lushai Association (YLA), which was later replaced with the “Young Mizo Association” in 1947. It was initiated by the Welsh Christian missionaries who understood the need of cultural conservation of the Mizo tribe, who were under pressure of political and social modernizations. It was registered as SR No. 4 of 1977 under Indian Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860) on 14 May 1977 to the Government of Mizoram.

The association is administered by a central committee (Central YMA), headquartered at Aizawl, and under which there are 5 sub-headquarters, 47 groups and 772 branches, which covers all of Mizoram and some parts of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.

List of the Office Bearers back in 1935:-

President—Rev Lewis Evans (Pu Niara)

Vice President—Miss Katie Hughs (Pi Zaii)

Secretaries—Pu Pasena & Pu Vankhuma

Treasurer—Rev Davis Edwards (Zorama Pa)

History: By 1935 Christianity had taken over most of the traditional Mizo lifestyle, formal education system had been introduced, British rule was about to be revoked and local administration was to be subjected to Indian politics. The basic tribal administrative system Zawlbuk was dissolving. The traditional social security, custom and training ground for young men was coming to an end, thereby necessitating a substitute of the tribal institution urgently. As serendipity would have it, a thunderstorm on the Monday evening of 3 June 1935, right after worship service, drove the Welsh missionaries and the Mizo church leaders to the nearby residence of Miss Kattie Hughes (known to Mizos as Pi Zaii), at Aijal (now Aizawl), wherein they made an impromptu proposal over a cup of tea for establishing an association that would unite all the Mizo people. As a Christian gathering, the initial proposed name was Young Mizo Christian Association, to rhyme with Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), which on scrutiny they noticed had a restrictive and religious fundamentalist connotation. Then Rev David Edward (Zorema Pa) came up with "Young Lushai Association" akin to their familiar Young Wales Association in Wales. The name was unanimously accepted. It was also agreed that the association would be formally inaugurated on the coming 15th June. Though how many people and who were present on that night could not be ascertained, the following people were present: Rev David Edward, Upa D. Ṭhianga, Rev L. Evans, Upa Chawngzika, Miss Kattie Hughes, Pu Muka, Rev Chhuahkhama, Pu Vankhuma, Pu L. Kailuia, Pu L.H. Liana, Upa Ch. Pasena. YLA was unveiled on 5th June 1935 at the grand public meeting at Nepali School, Sikulpuikawn, with a candle lighting ceremony and election of the officials. Branches were soon created in every village, and all Mizo of age were soon registered members. The advent of Indian Independence incited new political and ethnic identity revivals in Mizoram (Lushai Hills, as it was called). For democratic administrative system, a political party was needed. As the only and most endorsed organization, YLA itself was suggested in 1945 to be the first political party. But the central committee objected to it, and this prompted the creation of an entirely political party, the Mizo Union. Then the terminology "Mizo" began to have new revolutionary meaning, it had much more inclusive and panoramic implications than "Lushai", which in any case was the Welshs' misnomer for "Lusei", a major clan of the Mizo tribe. Consequently, the central YLA committee resolved to change YLA to "Young Mizo Association" (YMA) on 7th October 1947.

Aims and Objectives

1. Good use of leisure (Hun âwl hman ṭhat);

2. Development of the Mizo society (Zofate hmasawnna ngaihtuah);

3. Revere Christian ethics (Kristian nun dan ṭha ngaihsân).

The Ten Commitments

Young Mizo Association imposes its members of:-

1. Self-discipline and righteousness

2. Good management of family

3. Just and truthfulness

4. Tolerance

5. Politeness

6. Chivalry and usefulness

7. Social commitment

8. Respect for religion

9. Preservation of culture

10. Abstinence from liquor and drugs.

Emblem and Colour: The emblem, as described in the constitution of Young Mizo Association, is a flamed torch with which the abbreviation YMA is written, which is in turn held by a hand inside a circle. The three stems of the torch signify the three objectives of the association. The ten sparks of the torch signifies the ten commitments. In the ribbon where the name is written, there will be "ESTD"' written on the left side and 1935 on the right.The official colour is a tricoloured horizontal stripe of equal sizes. The three colours represent the earliest man-made colours of the Mizo ancestors. First, red on top, denotes the brightness of the association. Second, white in the middle, shows sanctity. And the black bottom symbolizes a concern for the poor, the despair and the hapless.

Present Set-Up: Enrolment of YMA members numbered over 2.5 lakh, as on 1.1.1999. YMA has 702 Branches spread all over Mizoram and in the states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura. There are 50 Group YMA, which are formed by a number of Branches clubbed together. These Group YMA are formed keeping in view convenience of communication, administration and falling under a compact area, and sharing a common cultural and social features. Sub-Headquarters YMA is established at Lunglei. To co-ordinate the Sub-Headquarters, Group and Branch YMA, there is an apex body called ‘Central YMA’ with Headquarter at Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram. There are sixteen employees and four Research Scholars under the Central YMA.

Activities and Achievements: Brief description of the activities and achievement of YMA are as follows :- 1. Opening and running of the Adult Education Centres all over the state of Mizoram. YMA has been the chief architect in bringing the literacy rate of Mizoram over 96%, highest in the country.

2. Afforestation of the state ‘Green Mizoram’ Project has been taken up by YMA since 1974. Tree plantation programme is taken up by the YMA Branches during the month of June every year since then. Construction of houses for the rural poor. In this, there are two types of construction – the first is that if somebody in a village cannot construct his/her own house, members of YMA and the community would help them constructing their house. The other is the houses constructed by YMA on its own or community land. These houses are being maintain by the YMA members and used for accommodating the poor and needy families on a free-rent basis.

3. Conservation of Mizo Culture and heritage.

4. Cleanliness drive and campaign on Health and Sanitation.

5. Opening and running of more than 250 Public Libraries all over Mizoram.

6. Campaign against the evils of drugs and alcohol.

7. Construction of more than 2500 Public Latrines and Urinals in almost all the towns and villages of Mizoram.

8. Organising mass participation programmes of Sports, Social and Cultural activities.

9. Setting up of Youth Development and Training Centre Zawlbuk Ram) at Thingsulthliah for the youth of the country.

10. A highly notable achievement of YMA has been in co-ordinating all the political parties of Mizoram for a free and fair election, peaceful atmosphere and lowering of the election expenditures in the State Assembly and MP Elections.

Special Programmes: Amongst the programmes and activities of YMA, the special one has always been, since its inception, helping the poor and the needy. Most important among them is during the occurrence of death in the community. YMA members would make all arrangement in the house so as to accommodate the relatives and friends. They would normally spent a minimum of three days and nights consoling the relatives of the dead. Digging of the graves and burying of the body are done by members of YMA on a voluntary basis – in consonant with the custom and tradition of the Mizos. Most of the YMA Branches have utensils, P.A Set, benches, parachute and other necessary tools and equipment to be used in times of death, wedding, festivals etc.

The current special programme taken up by YMA is regarding AIDS/HIV. Awareness campaign, seminars, publication and distribution of brochure and leaflets about the dreaded disease is taken up throughout the length and breath of the state and among all the youth.

Awards and Rewards: For various activities and achievement, YMA has been conferred the following Awards : • Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award’ 1986 by the Government of India’

• ‘Excellence Service Award ‘ by the Government of Mizoram for the three consecutive year of 1988-90.

• ‘Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puruskar’ 1993 by the Government of India.

Under the YMA, we are one. Any Mizo over the age of 14 is eligible to be part of the Young Mizo Association. “There is no upper age limit,” the document reiterates. “A person can remain a member of the YMA as long as he wishes, regardless of his age.” The YMA is the backbone of Mizo social life.” In times of organizing death rites, society is usually dependent on the YMA as specialized services are not available. Their service at the time of crisis, gave the Young Mizo Association “a moral influence in society.”

[worlds-journal]

Shifting/Jhum Cultivation

Shifting cultivation is a simple but primitive method of farming. In all the prehistoric sites occupied by the early farmers, one gets a large number of stone implements consist of axe, adze or hoe blades. The hoe blade is generally hafted to a crooked bamboo half by mounting the blade perpendicularly to thr long axis of the haft. The survivals of wooden hoe and bamboo scraper are very rare in prehistoric sites, but the prevalence of these agricultural tools is known among the primitive farmers of the present day. Chang (1970) had conclusively proved, through archaeological methods, that the neolithic farmers of Formosa were Shifting Cultivators.

It is, therefore, clear that we can trace back the history of Shifting Cultivation to about 9000 years from the present. It is certainly a matter of great interest to us that age old prehistoric methods and techniques of food production still remain valid as the principal mode of subsistence (Sharma 1990).

Shifting Cultivation is widely practised by the North Easter states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Orrisa. In the North East region of India, comprising the states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram also practised Shifting Cultivation. The mode of cultivation is more or less same but nomenclature of this practice is different in different region.

One farmer I recently interviewed said that the food production and crops produced largely depends on the weather, which means adequate rain on time and so forth. The problem he mentioned is that the market of these crops and vegetables harvested rarely meets their expectations in selling to the government, and the middleman also caused them troubles as they mostly resell in much higher prices. So in this case, he said that farmers are highly expecting the government to solve this as soon as possible.

Steps involves in Shifting Cultivation

The steps or activities involved in Shifting Cultivation varies accordingly to terrain, climate, edaphic condition, distance, manpower and nature of crops.

The Shifting Cultivation is done in all directions of the village but is limited to a few patches in a certain year (and sometimes for a repeat year) by the village community as a whole only to return to these patches at a lapse of five or seven years depending on the population of the village and availability of cultivable land. Tue patches may be at a distance of even 15-20 kilometres from the village, so in the clearing chopping season, some families would set up hut there to rest at night and prepare some meals there.

Steps followed in Mizoram

Step I: Selection and demarcation of site: • Demarcation of land (new land/land lying fallow for more than five years) into yearly operational blocks.

• Decision of chief and his council regarding opening of particular block for jhum farming.

• If, sufficient cultivable land is not available, migration of village to a new site having ample of cultivable land.

• Survey by “Ram hûal” (Agricultural expert to demarcate plots for each family).

• Classify the land on the basis of fertility status and accessibility of the plot.

• Allotment of land as per size of work force and selection of land per hierarchical system or social stratification.

• Occupant of a plot does not have the right to sell the allotted plot but he is/may be permitted to transfer his land right to the person belonging to his community and to the same village. Right of alienation belongs to the community, not to the individual.

Step II: Site preparation December to January: Felling of the small trees/shrub polarading of the medium-sized trees and pruning or girdling of the larger trees. February to March: Creation of fire lines. Farmers cut and clear a strip of forest tree to four metres wide, all round the jhum plot as fire line before they set fire to the area.

Dried pieces of wood, shrubs/pollarded pruned branches etc., are burned. Collection of left over pieces of wood from the jhum field to the convenient place and are burned.

Step III: Sowing of seeds/planting of seedlings of vegetables etc. April to May: Sowing of paddy seeds just before pre-monsoon rain (spring rain— T(r)o ruah). May to June: Sowing of seeds or planting of seedlings of crops or vegetables in the paddy field or separately.

Step IV: Weeding June: 1st weeding (Hnuhpui lâk)— It is carried when rice and maize plants are few inches in height and suppressed by the weeds. July: 2nd weeding (Hnuhhrâm)—bristly weed. August: 3rd weeding (Hnuhthial)—residual weed.

Step V: Harvesting September: Rice grown higher altitudes. November: Rice grown at lower altitudes (most common species).

In Mizoram, Shifting Cultivation is still the major occupation and the main source of income till date. As per Economic Classification of workers 2001 census, about 60% per cent of the total workers are engaged in Agricultural and Allied sector.