Conceptualizing ‘Other’ in the Context of Mizo Identity

ABSTRACT The concepts of ‘Us’ and ‘Others’ has been a persistent factor in the history of Mizo identity formation. The perception of the ‘other’ in the Mizo psyche has shaped and molded the growth and evolution of Mizo identity throughout the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. This article aims to trace and examine the origin of the Mizo perception of ‘others’ and to evaluate how it has affected the realization and conception of Mizo identity among the Mizo themselves, vis-à-vis a pan-Indian identity. In so doing, the article outlines the theoretical perception of the term ‘identity’, the roots of the conception of Mizo identity in the pre-colonial period and how that identity was shaped by the conception of the ‘other’ in the early Mizo psyche. The article then traces the evolution of that ‘other’ during the colonial period and its subsequent impact on the Mizo identity itself as well as how it differed from the pre-colonial conception of the ‘other’. The article concludes by analyzing the further growth and evolution of Mizo identity in the post-colonial period and how that evolution again affects the Mizo conception of the ‘other’ and vice versa, and highlights the future sociopolitical and cultural implications of that conception in the context of Mizo identity perception. Keywords: Britain, Christianity, Identity, Lushai, Mizo, Other