On the vast and colourful demographic canvas of the Northeast, one group has always stood out—the “outsiders” as they are often ref­erred to by the natives of the regi­on. It is this group of people—most of them refugees, many migrant workers and a whole lot of traders from across India—who have dominated the region’s political and social discourse, and often seen as encr­oachers and invaders, as a threat to the identity and culture of the land.

In Mizoram, a speck of highlands bordering Myanmar, the fear of the people being overrun by those from outside the state has assumed a different dimension. So much so that the state’s inf­luential and apex student union, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), has decided to launch an awareness campaign among the youth against marrying non-Mizos. The reason, says MZP president L. Ramdinliana Renthlei, is to “help the native Mizos protect their culture, tradition and religion”. He asserts that more measures will be taken to spread awareness among “Mizo girls and boys...