Day 14: Aizawl – Stability, And The Wealth Of Nature

0 Posted by - March 29, 2014 - Administration, Culture, Governance, Rearview Mirror

Aizawl. A great example of "civil society"In the rainbow mountains of Mizoram is its largest city, Aizwal. Although still relatively remote, Aizwal is the religious and cultural center of the different Mizo communities, who coexist under the unique code of conduct of life and goodness – Tlawmngaihna!

It is a breathtakingly beautiful city surrounded by rivers that create deep gorges to separate the ranges of steep hills. This bustling city also houses all the important Government offices, State Assembly House, Civil Secretariat and monuments and memorials connected with legends and folklore. It is famous for a variety of jungle products manufactured here.

What We Did Here:

We spent the whole day in Aizawl today, catching up with our friends here and visiting several places and taking in the place.

The town of Aizawl is perhaps the most spread out mountain town we have seen. There is no litter anywhere. Drivers do not honk in traffic even when things slow down. Vehicles stop for pedestrians to cross who correctly have the right of way. Everyone well dressed. Vehicles parked in perfect order everywhere. All in all Mizoram is the most enlightened and civil state we have seen in India.

We were also told that every Mizo citizen is a member of at least three ‘associations’. You have associations with members right from youth associations to old peoples’ association, civil obedience associations, civil work supervision association, volunteer work for public association… the list goes on!

For example, the Young Mizo Association (YMA) which every Mizo over the age of 14 is part of. The YMA organizes community service and works with the citizens to instill the old values of traditional Mizo ways which are preserved through this system. It was set up when the church came to Mizoram and the people felt the need to preserve their way of life while the accepted and embraced Christianity.

We visited self help groups in Aizawl, the local market, a dog butchery and sales shop, had local wine and local food with shells and dog meat. We got the Scorpio serviced at the local Mahindra Service franchise.

Take a look at some of our pictures taken in Aizawl, by clicking here.


 

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