Mizoram CM urges reconciliation, accountability at vibrant Chapchar Kut finale

Mizoram marked the grand finale of the spring festival Chapchar Kut at Lammual Ground on March 13, with Chief Minister Lalduhoma urging citizens to uphold reconciliation and personal responsibility as core values of Mizo society.

The week-long celebrations ended under the theme “Zo Nun Ze Mawi: Inremna” (Mizo Ethics: Reconciliation), drawing a large gathering that included Governor V K Singh and Art and Culture Minister C Lalsawivunga. Lalduhoma, addressing the event as the “Kut Pa” (Father of the festival), said reconciliation has long been central to Mizo identity.

“True reconciliation is rooted in the courage to take responsibility,” he said. “In our failings, rather than pointing fingers at others, the strength to say ‘it is my fault, it is my responsibility’ is what brings genuine healing and peace to a society.”

Calling on citizens to reflect on the message of the festival, the chief minister said accountability must guide public and personal conduct. He also pointed to growing hostility in contemporary political discourse and urged people to preserve traditional Mizo values of dialogue and unity.

Lalduhoma cautioned young people about toxic behaviour on social media and criticised protest practices such as burning effigies, describing them as alien to Mizo culture.

“Even when our ancestors disagreed in councils of elders, they maintained a spirit of reconciliation through traditional mechanisms,” he said. “We may debate fiercely in governance, but we must never lose the ability to sit together as kin once discussions end.”

Festivities began across the state on March 9 and featured a series of cultural and heritage-focused programmes. These included exhibitions on handloom, textiles and handicrafts, food processing displays, food courts, a flower show, and a living museum portraying traditional Mizo life. Photo and painting exhibitions were also organised, along with a special film screening on the history of Chapchar Kut.

Chapchar Kut is traditionally observed in March after the most labour-intensive stage of the jhum cultivation cycle, when forests have been cleared and the remains left to dry before burning. Historical accounts trace the origins of the festival to between 1450 and 1700 AD in the village of Suaipui near present-day Myanmar.

The festival declined following the arrival of Christian missionaries in the late nineteenth century, who discouraged its observance on religious grounds. It was revived on a larger scale in 1973, though without animistic rituals or alcohol.

Tourists from different parts of India and abroad, as well as ethnic Mizo communities from neighbouring states, attended the concluding celebrations in Aizawl.