On 25th October 2015’s ‘Mann-ki-Baat’ radio programme through All India Radio, when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the name of the hitherto little known Mizoram’s Khawalailung village from the remote Champai district, most Mizos were impressed.

Almost the entire state echoed in one tone ‘kalaw mein’ (Thank You in Mizo language) to the Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi for his radio talk.

So, What’s special about Khawalailung villages?

Most Mizo villages are community maintained, disciplined and clean. Visitors are often stunned to witness the kind of self-governing mechanism, even symbolism and perfectionist methods are maintained on the movement of dogs, cattle and chickens in these villages.

Community and voluntary works are held to clean the village frequently, butchering of animals and selling meat on roadsides are banned and animals are slaughtered only in an appointed slaughterhouse and meat, staple food of the natives are sold only in a designated meat market. There are also segregated areas for selling fish.

How is this change inclusive of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan? 

Cleanliness of villages across Mizoram, across northeastern India and the rest of India is also part of an ambitious national programme being undertaken under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Now the village Khawalailung will be perhaps in a position to be showcased as a model village under both National Clean Mission and also Sansad Adarsh Gram Yozana.

The new Adarsh Gram Yojana is a Rural Development programme, broadly focusing upon the development in the villages which includes social development, cultural development and spread motivation among the people on social mobilization of the village community. This programme was also launched by the on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan on 11 October, 2014.

Some statistics about this special village

To start with, one vital statistics about the village Khawlailung is that the hamlet has higher literacy rate compared to the state’s (Mizoram) own records. In 2011, literacy rate of Khawlailung village was 95.05 per cent compared to 91.33 per cent of Mizoram. In Khawlailung Male literacy stood at 97.01 per cent while female literacy rate was 93.10 per cent.

How do Mizo villages transform into Model Villages?

Under the ‘model village’ or Adarsh Gram programme, Khawlailung village with a population of 520 villagers has already taken important initiatives, like a Joint Action Committee (JAC) was constituted in the village to check the menace of drugs and alcohol-related problems.

Seminars on importance of cleanliness were held many times in the village and many sanitation groups were formed to undertake practical work.

For projects under the aegis of Agriculture sector, the village was also benefitted with the grant of machines for juicing sugarcane for 22 families engaged in manufacture of molasses/raw sugar (gur) at a highly subsidised rate.

Similarly, beneficiaries were identified and assistance provided under the Integrated Wasteland Development Project (IWDP) for construction of farm pond and terrace.

Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) families were also identified and provided with one piglet each. In fact, the list of good works in the tiny village can go on.

But what needs to be appreciated and in fact emulated is the pragmatic and inherently hard working nature of the Mizo people.

If the villagers in other northeastern states and more so in rural areas in states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh can emulate the Mizo people, things can change a lot.

Originally a primordial economy, Mizoram today represents a modern society with higher rate of literacy, good knowledge bank of English education and quality works in cane works, handloom and agriculture.

Truly, going by the spirit of the statement, it is high time for the people of the region to mobilise wider public opinion against all sorts of violence and bring about lasting peace in the north east region.

Source - PIB features | Pic - Mizo