A two-day international seminar and photo exhibition on Revisiting Rambuai was held on the 13th & 14th April 2016 at Aijal Club. It was organised by the Dept. of Sociology, Govt. Aizawl College, in collaboration with the Indian Council for Social Science Research and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. It was formally inaugurated on the evening of the 12th April by Pu _, Principal, GAC.
At 10 am on the first day of the seminar, Mrs. Rosie Vanlalruati Ralte, Head of the Sociology Dept, Govt. Aizawl College, gave a brief welcome speech. It was followed by a keynote address on the Mizo Peace Initiative delivered by Professor C. Nunthara. The seminar focused on bringing together scholars with the objective of understanding the impact that the Buai has had on Mizo society. It involved an inter-disciplinary approach wherein all facets of the period were brought under the scanner. Well-known scholars and academicians within the state and abroad attended the seminar.
The Resource Persons and their presentation topics were as follows.
1. Dr. Seilen Haokip, University of Liverpool - The Quest for Peace, the Peace Accord and its Outcomes
2. Prof. Margaret Ch. Zama, Dept. of English, MZU - Developing a Literary Discourse on Rambuai
3. Prof. O. Rosanga, Dept. of History, MZU - The MNF Movement: Household Migration
4. Dr. Lalngurliana Sailo, Dept. of History, MZU - Traumatic Upheaval: Relocation and the Mizo Experience 1967-70
5. Dr. Benjamin L. Saitluanga, Dept. of Geography, MZU - Impact of Rambuai on Urban Social Space
6. Dr. Samuel Vanlalthianga & Jennifer Saizamliani, Govt. Aizawl West College - Voices of the Marginalised
7. Dr. Hmingthanzuali, Dept. of History, MZU - Memories, Trauma and Resistance: Women's Narrative on Mizo Insurgency
8. Prof. Willem Van Schendel, Univ. of Amsterdam - One Buai or Three? The Challenge of Constructing a History of Troubled Times
9. Prof. Joy Pachuau, Dept. of History, JNU - Post-Insurgency Blues: The Mizo Buai (1966-1986) and the Politics of Remembering
10. Mr. Samuel Chuaungo, PhD candidate, Dept. of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics - Against an Essentialised Mizo Identity Resultant of Insurgency
11. Dr. Chawngsailova & Dr. L.G. Singh, Depts of Political Science & Commerce, Govt. Aizawl College - Two Decades of Turmoil and Peace in Mizoram
12. Dr. Lalrinmawii Tochhawng, Dept. of English, Govt. T. Romana College - Fire on the Mountain
13. Dr. Denise Segor, Portland, Oregon - Buai and its Politics
14. Mr. Napoleon R.Z. Thanga, Freelancer - The Mizo Uprising (screening of documentary film)
The photo exhibition which featured several invaluable photographs taken during rambuai was open for public viewing from the 13th to 15th April.
Response and participation to both the seminar and exhibition was overwhelmingly positive. It ended with a vote of thanks from Mrs. Lalsangpuii, Associate Professor, Dept. of Sociology, Govt. Aizawl College.
