People are the soul and spirit of a village, town, city and country, without them these would be like blocks of legos standing but without purpose.?They bring life to concrete blocks, they illuminate it with their activities and decorate them with their conduct towards fellow creatures they come in contact with.?
In Mizoram, residents in different neighbourhoods understand that they run the show. Together they make it one of the few states in the country where most people actively participate in social development and progress of their home.?
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One of the most active and also the longest running social organisations in the state is The Young Mizo Association, which includes at least one person from every household taking part in the social group¡¯s activities.
Every locality in Mizoram has a YMA branch and in this manner, it covers the entire state. A misely amount of Rs 5 is required to become a member of the association and then you can play as active a role as you wish.
Although it is most active in Mizoram, YMA is registered as an all India organisation with branches in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
YMA
Social worker and member of YMA, Angela Ralte, told Indiatimes that members do ¡°everything from organize funerals to keeping the state clean to even organising ceremonial wedding functions¡±.?
YMA has made an unspoken promise to the community, Angela said, to help Mizoram progress as a community by responding to its needs, a promise it has kept since its inception many moons ago. Some of the tasks the association undertakes of its own accord include:
1. Building houses for widows and the homeless
2. Recovering drowned bodies
3. Not only does it prevent wildfires but also spreads awareness on the matter
4. Taking care of mentally and physically challenged
5. Carries out government projects at the grassroots level
6. Organises funerals
7. Carries out rescue efforts during natural disasters
8. Spreading awareness on the importance of education ¨C in fact one of the greatest achievements of the association is bringing the state¡¯s literary level to second highest in the country at 92%.
9. Promoting altruism and respect in society
While these are a few activities YMA shoulders responsibility of, their reliance is so widespread that ¡°people can call on them for whatever issues they might be facing¡± Angela said.?
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When the association was first established, it was done so on the premise of developing society. In fact, one of its three self-proclaimed mottos is to ¡°strive for the holistic development of Mizo society¡±. To continue doing so, it goes beyond maintain civil order and also actively engages in constantly reforming society through yearly themes. This year¡¯s (2016) theme was ¡°combating drug trafficking¡±.
Mizos have a very rich culture and traditions, which they have strongly held onto and also passed on from generations to generations, but in recent years it has been invaded by drugs. According to official figures, since 1984, 1,300 people have died of drug abuse and today an estimated number of 25,000 Mizos are drug addicts.
It¡¯s a pretty large number considering it is the smallest state in the Northeast with just over a million inhabitants. The voluntary organisation has been working towards reducing supply and demand of drugs by teaming up with the narcotics department to identify traffickers and trafficking routes. They also identify drug users and counsel them to seek rehabilitation. Some of the themes from previous years were ¡®Cleanliness¡¯ in 1984 and 1992, ¡®Emphasis on Education¡¯ in 1998, and ¡®Fight against Intoxicants¡¯ in 2008, among others.?
Chief Organiser of another social group focused on cleanliness, the Clean Lunglei Volunteers, Muana told Indiatimes, ¡°Mizoram¡¯s history with social development dates back to their forefathers who laid emphasis on community cohesion ¨C ¡°they propagated to love each other¡±.
Also, Mizo¡¯s, he said, ¡°are a very obedient bunch¡± which helps when you want to take the entire state forward.
Community cohesion has clearly helped the state and YMA because it has met with many successes over the years - other than the most obvious one of a united and integrated community, where everyone seems to shoulder each other - and was awarded with the Indira Priyardarshini Vrikshamitra Award by the government in 1986, as well as the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puriskar award in 1993.?
A lesson lies for the entire country in the ¡°land of the hill people¡±, where development, progress, unity and peace are not just abstract, philosophical ideologies used by the government for propaganda to win votes. These ideologies are, in fact, a part of the Mizo culture, their very being, which is apparent from the existence of this vast and widespread social group called The Young Mizo Association.?
Cover image: One reverie