Is it Bamboos? It's Flora and faunas or its economy? None of them
Actually.
Mizoram's greatest asset is its Soft power. The people of Mizoram and their sphere of influence are the power of Mizoram.
Strangely, despite its isolation, Mizoram enjoys a good amount of soft power, especially in the northeast. The biggest contributors to this soft power are its Music industry, sport and language.
It has managed to influence its neighbouring states without using any of its political or economic power which are relatively weak. A quick tour around Silchar( A town in southern Assam) reveals the immense influence people of Mizoram have on the town. The sheer amounts of shops displaying boards with misspelt Mizo instructions written on them like for example, the many "Mizo Dwars" are both amusing and perplexing at the same time.
Towns in Northeast India that borders Assam are usually influenced by Assam both in culture and language. But we see the situation happening in reverse when it comes to Mizoram. That is the amount of influence the Mizo language has managed to generate.
Music has been Mizoram's biggest export to Northeast India and even beyond. Many people in Mizoram may not realise the impact that the Mizo music industry has on neighbouring states but it is quite immense. Mizo music has defined Mizoram and has remained a window to Mizoram for outsiders since the early 2000s. Many Mizo celebrities enjoy large followings outside the state, we are yet to realise just how important our music industry is for our state and our people. It is our biggest sphere of influence.
Sports in Mizoram is also a big thing. When AFC won the I-league a couple of years ago, it put Mizoram in the limelight and generated a lot of interest in it. There have been lots of achievers in the field of sports from Mizoram and they are bringing in attention and have made the state shine.
Why is Soft power so important?
Think about Japan, it is most likely that you have a good perception about the country, that is their soft power doing its magic. Soft power is the ability to influence people without threat or force. Most people are familiar with hard power, the idea that those people with more swords can force people to do something against their will. We have many examples of hard powers in history, the Romans ancient China etc down to USA Russia etc.
But hard power has considerably fallen out of favour especially after the cold war. Countries now have realised the importance of soft power. Even countries like China are investing a lot of money in their soft power.
India also had up its games in soft power and have popularised yoga. Yoga 20 years ago wasn't as popular as it is today. When it comes to soft powers East Asian and Southeast Asian countries are the biggest players.
We see just how powerful south Korea's soft power is and just how large its sphere of influence has become, despite being a minor hard power. Even Northeast India had become overwhelmingly influenced by Korea's pop culture. Soft power makes the influencer more likeable to the influenced thereby allowing them to have better foreign relations, it makes the influence want to dress like them, talk like them and think like them.
Mizoram has always enjoyed a soft corner in the hearts of many people in the Northeast. It is important that we recognise this soft power and nurture this great asset that many other states does not enjoy so that it benefits the people of the state as well as those influenced by it.
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