Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

9
The Reinforcement of Gender Stereotypes
through Modern Education
The Case of Mizoram
B. Lakshmi
INTRODUCTION
Among the geographical regions in India with a concentration of tribal
populations, the states of the northeastern region present a distinct picture.
The tongue-shaped state of Mizoram, tucked between the international
boundaries of Bangladesh and Myanmar, is one of the last frontiers
of India. Formerly the Lushai Hills district of Assam, it later became the
Union Territory of Mizoram directly administered by the central government,
and in 1987 it became a state. It is inhabited by over 15 tribal communities,
including the larger groups of the Mizos and the Hmars, and
numerically smaller groups such as the Paite, Ralte, Lai, Mara, Reang,
et cetera. The Chakmas are a non-Mizo (Arakan) tribe. Each of the groups
had their own dialects/languages (of the Tibeto-Burmese group), but that
of the Lushai/Mizo, originally known as the Duhlian dialect, became the
lingua franca. The state includes Autonomous District Councils of the Mara
(formerly Lakher), Lai and Chakma (see also Nag 1994; Sangkima 1994).
Its population, according to the 2001 Census, is 890,000; the majority of
the people, 87 per cent, profess Christianity (mainly Presbyterian and
Baptist) as their religion; and nearly 89 per cent are literate. At over 86 per
cent, female literacy in Mizoram is only second to Kerala’s 88 per cent.
After India attained independence, an important role was assigned
to education as an agent of social change, along with law, science and