The tranquillity of the North Eastern state of Mizoram seems to be at stake once again with predictions about gregarious flowering of the Bamboo, the fastest growing grass, since its last bloom gave birth to the bloody insurgency in the state.
Besides the unprecedented number of deaths, the 1959’s great Mizo famine, dubbed as the “MAUTAM”, is historic for giving birth to the insurgency in the state that lasted for nearly two decades.
The Mizo National Front (MNF), currently in power in the state, came into being as the Mizo National Famine Front, conceived to fight the famine and apathy of the then’s most organised rebel armies, the Front graduated to become a political group when its leader Laldenga dropped the word ‘famine’ from its name. He later signed an accord with Delhi city in 1986, and returned to normal life.
In 1990, Laldenga died and Zoramthanga is presently the chief minister of Mizoram for the second term when he won the last election of the state legislative assembly in December 2003. Now, bamboo scientists fear that 2009-10 may again see a repeat of 1959’s Mautam. However, they are cautious that the phenomenon now cannot lead to dreaded famines, as there has been a tremendous development in the field of science and technology, contrary to consternation in the villages. It occurs due to unseasonal flowering of the bamboo, whose high protein content attracts field rats on a large scale and allows them to multiply by millions. The rats totally devastate the crop, leading to an acute scarcity of food.
More than 20 percent of maize harvest loss is reported from Aizawl district alone. Apart from maize, rats also attacked other crops like pumpkin, cucumber, chilli and watermelon, the Mizoram State Agriculture Department officials confirmed.
The paddy harvest in the state came down to about 85,000 quintals in 2007 as compared to 736,253 quintals in 2005 due to rats devouring the crops, Mizoram Agriculture Minister H. Rammawi said. Bamboo is a part of everyday life in the North East. It is considered so sacred by some that on certain auspicious occasions and days, it is considered sacrilegious to cut the plant.
However, its flowering gives birth to panic and widespread apprehension. Traditionally, the Mizo’s regard bamboo flowering as an ominous sign, and the last devastating famine that the hills suffered substantiate the belief. The earliest record of the phenomenon in Mizoram dates back to 1862. In his book- ‘The Mizos: A study in racial personality’, the author, a leading historian Lalbiakthanga talks about Mautam. The Mizos for ages dreaded the flowering of bamboos which they noted was invariably followed by an unprecedented increase in the rat population, which, ultimately leads to famine.
“The Lushai Hills” (History of the Frontier Bordering on Assam from 1883-1941) by Sir Rober Reid, Governor of Assam, 1937-1942, mentions “the partial failure of crops in 1910-11 as an indirect result of the flowering of the bamboos was followed by serious scarcity all over the district. The effect of this flowering was to cause a tremendous increase in number of the rats who destroyed all crops.” After in-depth study, Dr. R.S Tripathi and Dr. S.Trivedi of the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Shillong reported that bamboo flowering is a cyclical phenomenon where there are two cycles independent of each other. Locally one is known as ‘Mautam’ and the other ‘Thingtam’. Thingtam is water down version of the large scale famine.
Both are associated with the flowering of two bamboo species viz. Melocanna baccifera and Bambusa tulda. While Mau and Thing are two species, Tam in Mizo terminology means ‘to wither’ or ‘to die’. Both have been found to occur at regular intervals. Mautam occurs roughly every 48 years, while the Thingtam occurs with a gap of 30 years.
TIMELINE -ACCORDING TO MIZO ORAL TRADITION
MAUTAM 1862
THINGTAM 1881
MAUTAM 1911
THINGTAM 1929
MAUTAM 1959
THINGTAM 1977
MAUTAM 2009 (due)
They also concluded from their 1991-92 study that the increase in the rat population due to the bamboo flowering is hypothetical and does not have any scientific basis but to the absence of predators feeding on them. For them, it was the ‘systematic extermination of wildlife that may be responsible for the disturbance of natural checks and balances in nature to a great extent’.
The phenomenon has become a scientific mystery, with no definite explanation. However the past records highlight that rat population does infact increases manifold when the bamboos flower. Similar to 1959-60, when the bamboo flowered in a big way in 1977-78, a total of 26 lakh rats were killed by the volunteers of the Mizoram state Agriculture Department.
Padmashree awardee and renowned Mizo naturalist, C.Rokhuma, has been examining closely the behavioural changes of the rodents during the Mautam and Thingtam famines for the last five decades in his experimental centre in Aizawl. He believes that three million rats must die by 2007, if human beings are to survive in Mizoram.
Paul Khuma, a student informed that, Rokhuma, heading the Mautam committee is fighting an anti-rodent militia and urging people to kill rats as much as possible. Inspired by his campaign, copious rat trapping instruments such as ‘vaithang’, ‘kawlper’,’ Kharkhup’ and ‘thangchep’ have been developed by the villagers.
The Jorhat based Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI), one of the institutes under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun, has made many recommendations focusing on extraction and utilization of the bamboos before they get to flower. An interesting fact came out from their study that since North East has the greatest concentration of bamboos in the country, if a mere 25% of the resource is properly utilized, it would generate Rs.2500 crore every year.
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is working with experts including some from the Beijing based International Bamboo and Rattan Network (INBAR) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) on how to handle this natural growth cycle of the bamboo having extraordinary socio-economic and long-term ecological impact. The government is also working out on a project for exporting Mizoram’s bamboo to other states abroad.
The Central Government this time round is implementing a project called Bamboo flowering, to manage the situation arising out of the gregarious flowering of the bamboo, in association with the North East state Governments.
Meanwhile, Mizos are praying fervently to ward off what they believe is the sure-fire sign of a famine. “We’re offering special prayers in churches almost daily so God does not shower curses on the people of Mizoram by unleashing a famine” Lalmalswama, a Delhi School of Economics student from Mizoram said. Considering the past records of the natural calamity, the Mizo administration too is keeping a watch and getting ready for the expected battle. Mizoram Chief Minister, Zoramthanga, has already announced a rupee for every rat-tail, and by the statistics available, the rat annihilation programme is turning out to be a successful one.
“It is not a myth or any superstitious belief to think that bamboo flowering signals famine. It is stark reality and we have experienced and witnessed an outbreak of famine in the past under similar circumstances,” Zoramthanga said.
For the state that harvests about 40 percent of India’s 81 million tonnes of bamboo, the Chief Minster asserts that they will attempt to bring in a green gold revolution through bamboo.
“We want to reverse the flowering phenomenon into an economic opportunity by harvesting all the bamboo in the state before it flowers completely,” the Chief Minister said.
“We want to set up an incense factory with machines imported from Thailand, besides making paper and other handicrafts items from bamboos. It would serve the twin objective of checking rats from increasing and also help in making the economy grow,” he said.
Mizoram along with the rest of the North East is inaudibly preparing to fight this ecological oddity. However serious research has still not been done.
A major threat is that except in the hill districts, there is no natural bamboo forest in Mizoram. Flowering of bamboo, particularly Muli is a necessary development for its regeneration. Ignorance of the people leads to their failure to collect the bamboo fruits. This makes enough food available to the rodents helping them multiply their population excessively. Linking famine with bamboo flowering has become a wrong proposition in this era of science and technology, scientists claimed.
Seminars and awareness programmes should reach the remotest jungles as fast as possible. The rodent control that had been applied in the late 1990s has to be taken up seriously by the government. Above all, people should be made alert of the possibility and also because of the fact requisite steps can be undertaken early to alleviate the devastating consequences of the event.
Besides the unprecedented number of deaths, the 1959’s great Mizo famine, dubbed as the “MAUTAM”, is historic for giving birth to the insurgency in the state that lasted for nearly two decades.
The Mizo National Front (MNF), currently in power in the state, came into being as the Mizo National Famine Front, conceived to fight the famine and apathy of the then’s most organised rebel armies, the Front graduated to become a political group when its leader Laldenga dropped the word ‘famine’ from its name. He later signed an accord with Delhi city in 1986, and returned to normal life.
In 1990, Laldenga died and Zoramthanga is presently the chief minister of Mizoram for the second term when he won the last election of the state legislative assembly in December 2003. Now, bamboo scientists fear that 2009-10 may again see a repeat of 1959’s Mautam. However, they are cautious that the phenomenon now cannot lead to dreaded famines, as there has been a tremendous development in the field of science and technology, contrary to consternation in the villages. It occurs due to unseasonal flowering of the bamboo, whose high protein content attracts field rats on a large scale and allows them to multiply by millions. The rats totally devastate the crop, leading to an acute scarcity of food.
More than 20 percent of maize harvest loss is reported from Aizawl district alone. Apart from maize, rats also attacked other crops like pumpkin, cucumber, chilli and watermelon, the Mizoram State Agriculture Department officials confirmed.
The paddy harvest in the state came down to about 85,000 quintals in 2007 as compared to 736,253 quintals in 2005 due to rats devouring the crops, Mizoram Agriculture Minister H. Rammawi said. Bamboo is a part of everyday life in the North East. It is considered so sacred by some that on certain auspicious occasions and days, it is considered sacrilegious to cut the plant.
However, its flowering gives birth to panic and widespread apprehension. Traditionally, the Mizo’s regard bamboo flowering as an ominous sign, and the last devastating famine that the hills suffered substantiate the belief. The earliest record of the phenomenon in Mizoram dates back to 1862. In his book- ‘The Mizos: A study in racial personality’, the author, a leading historian Lalbiakthanga talks about Mautam. The Mizos for ages dreaded the flowering of bamboos which they noted was invariably followed by an unprecedented increase in the rat population, which, ultimately leads to famine.
“The Lushai Hills” (History of the Frontier Bordering on Assam from 1883-1941) by Sir Rober Reid, Governor of Assam, 1937-1942, mentions “the partial failure of crops in 1910-11 as an indirect result of the flowering of the bamboos was followed by serious scarcity all over the district. The effect of this flowering was to cause a tremendous increase in number of the rats who destroyed all crops.” After in-depth study, Dr. R.S Tripathi and Dr. S.Trivedi of the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Shillong reported that bamboo flowering is a cyclical phenomenon where there are two cycles independent of each other. Locally one is known as ‘Mautam’ and the other ‘Thingtam’. Thingtam is water down version of the large scale famine.
Both are associated with the flowering of two bamboo species viz. Melocanna baccifera and Bambusa tulda. While Mau and Thing are two species, Tam in Mizo terminology means ‘to wither’ or ‘to die’. Both have been found to occur at regular intervals. Mautam occurs roughly every 48 years, while the Thingtam occurs with a gap of 30 years.
TIMELINE -ACCORDING TO MIZO ORAL TRADITION
MAUTAM 1862
THINGTAM 1881
MAUTAM 1911
THINGTAM 1929
MAUTAM 1959
THINGTAM 1977
MAUTAM 2009 (due)
They also concluded from their 1991-92 study that the increase in the rat population due to the bamboo flowering is hypothetical and does not have any scientific basis but to the absence of predators feeding on them. For them, it was the ‘systematic extermination of wildlife that may be responsible for the disturbance of natural checks and balances in nature to a great extent’.
The phenomenon has become a scientific mystery, with no definite explanation. However the past records highlight that rat population does infact increases manifold when the bamboos flower. Similar to 1959-60, when the bamboo flowered in a big way in 1977-78, a total of 26 lakh rats were killed by the volunteers of the Mizoram state Agriculture Department.
Padmashree awardee and renowned Mizo naturalist, C.Rokhuma, has been examining closely the behavioural changes of the rodents during the Mautam and Thingtam famines for the last five decades in his experimental centre in Aizawl. He believes that three million rats must die by 2007, if human beings are to survive in Mizoram.
Paul Khuma, a student informed that, Rokhuma, heading the Mautam committee is fighting an anti-rodent militia and urging people to kill rats as much as possible. Inspired by his campaign, copious rat trapping instruments such as ‘vaithang’, ‘kawlper’,’ Kharkhup’ and ‘thangchep’ have been developed by the villagers.
The Jorhat based Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI), one of the institutes under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun, has made many recommendations focusing on extraction and utilization of the bamboos before they get to flower. An interesting fact came out from their study that since North East has the greatest concentration of bamboos in the country, if a mere 25% of the resource is properly utilized, it would generate Rs.2500 crore every year.
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is working with experts including some from the Beijing based International Bamboo and Rattan Network (INBAR) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) on how to handle this natural growth cycle of the bamboo having extraordinary socio-economic and long-term ecological impact. The government is also working out on a project for exporting Mizoram’s bamboo to other states abroad.
The Central Government this time round is implementing a project called Bamboo flowering, to manage the situation arising out of the gregarious flowering of the bamboo, in association with the North East state Governments.
Meanwhile, Mizos are praying fervently to ward off what they believe is the sure-fire sign of a famine. “We’re offering special prayers in churches almost daily so God does not shower curses on the people of Mizoram by unleashing a famine” Lalmalswama, a Delhi School of Economics student from Mizoram said. Considering the past records of the natural calamity, the Mizo administration too is keeping a watch and getting ready for the expected battle. Mizoram Chief Minister, Zoramthanga, has already announced a rupee for every rat-tail, and by the statistics available, the rat annihilation programme is turning out to be a successful one.
“It is not a myth or any superstitious belief to think that bamboo flowering signals famine. It is stark reality and we have experienced and witnessed an outbreak of famine in the past under similar circumstances,” Zoramthanga said.
For the state that harvests about 40 percent of India’s 81 million tonnes of bamboo, the Chief Minster asserts that they will attempt to bring in a green gold revolution through bamboo.
“We want to reverse the flowering phenomenon into an economic opportunity by harvesting all the bamboo in the state before it flowers completely,” the Chief Minister said.
“We want to set up an incense factory with machines imported from Thailand, besides making paper and other handicrafts items from bamboos. It would serve the twin objective of checking rats from increasing and also help in making the economy grow,” he said.
Mizoram along with the rest of the North East is inaudibly preparing to fight this ecological oddity. However serious research has still not been done.
A major threat is that except in the hill districts, there is no natural bamboo forest in Mizoram. Flowering of bamboo, particularly Muli is a necessary development for its regeneration. Ignorance of the people leads to their failure to collect the bamboo fruits. This makes enough food available to the rodents helping them multiply their population excessively. Linking famine with bamboo flowering has become a wrong proposition in this era of science and technology, scientists claimed.
Seminars and awareness programmes should reach the remotest jungles as fast as possible. The rodent control that had been applied in the late 1990s has to be taken up seriously by the government. Above all, people should be made alert of the possibility and also because of the fact requisite steps can be undertaken early to alleviate the devastating consequences of the event.
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