Paper short abstract:

The aim is to understand the growth of Mizo newspapers. I argue that these newspapers were the base for articulation of identity and a significant means to connect to Mizo thought-which was viewed as “modern and connected" (Pachuau&Schendel,2015) as opposed to parochial.

Paper long abstract:

Newspapers have been in circulation in the now northeast Indian state of Mizoram since the late 19th century. From the start, they were in Lushai language, now classified as Mizo, a pan-ethnic language of the Zo descents. These newspapers were the base for the articulation of identity and important means to connect to Mizos thought, as they play a significant role in uniting the readers. In this paper, I want to counter assumptions on Indian newspapers vernacularisation in two ways. First, studies on vernacularisation of Indian newspapers usually focus on their regional circulation. Here, I want to look at Mizo newspapers' connection to the city, specifically the role of the colonial-set-up and the state that were considerable factors in urbanisation of Mizo newspapers. Aizawl, the capital city of Mizoram accounts for about 40 percent of the 1 million populations, exclusive of the Zo diaspora across borders. By this I will stress that newspapers relate to the formation of "an unexpected vanguard of easy-going transnational 'modernity' within India" (McDuie-Ra 2012). Secondly, I argue that in the case of Mizo newspapers, vernacularisation has been a long standing phenomena and it does not lead to rapid content localisation as assumed. News content was broad and cosmopolitan, suggesting newspapers that were 'modern and well-connected to the wider world' in outlook. (Pachuau&Schendel 2015).

This paper is based on three months fieldwork in Aizawl. My analysis is based on oral history, ethnographic fieldwork particularly interviews with veteran journalists and archival works.