Aizawl, March 13 Mizoram celebrated the grand finale of the spring festival, Chapchar Kut, with traditional fervor and cultural displays at the Lammual ground here on Friday. Chief Minister Lalduhoma urged people to embrace self-accountability and reconciliation as core values of Mizo society.
The week-long festival concluded 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.
Addressing the gathering as the “Kut Pa” (Father of the festival), Lalduhoma said that reconciliation has always been central to Mizo identity and stressed the importance of taking responsibility for one’s actions.
“True reconciliation is rooted in the courage to take responsibility. 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,” he said.
The chief minister urged people to let the festival inspire them to be accountable in their actions.
He also drew a contrast between traditional Mizo values and the growing friction in modern political discourse. Lalduhoma cautioned citizens, particularly the youth, about toxic behavior on digital platforms and criticised practices such as burning effigies during protests, saying these were alien to Mizo culture.
“Even when our ancestors disagreed in councils of elders, they maintained a spirit of reconciliation through traditional mechanisms. We may debate fiercely in governance, but we must never lose the ability to sit together as kin once discussions end,” he said.
The celebrations marked the culmination of festivities that began on March 9 across the state.
A range of cultural and heritage-focused events were organised during the week, including handloom, textile and handicraft exhibitions, food processing displays, food courts, a flower show, a living museum showcasing traditional Mizo life, and photo and painting exhibitions. A special film screening on the history of Chapchar Kut was also held.
Chapchar Kut is traditionally celebrated in March after the completion of the most arduous stage of the jhum cultivation cycle, when forests are cleared, and the remains of burning are left to dry.
Historians trace the origin of the festival to between 1450 and 1700 AD in the village of Suaipui near present-day Myanmar.
The festival declined after the arrival of Christian missionaries in the late 19th century, who discouraged it on religious grounds, but it was revived on a large scale in 1973 without animistic practices or alcohol.
Tourists from different parts of India and abroad, along with ethnic Mizo people from neighbouring states, attended the celebrations in Aizawl on Friday.