F. From Films Division, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 40 Years Apart
New Rhythms in Nagaland
- INDIA (Nagaland) / 1974 / English / B&W / DCP / 46 min
Director, Script: Prem Vaidya
Photography: A. P. Sharief, Prem Vaidya
Producer: G. P. Asthana
Production, Source: Films Division of India
Nagaland became a full-fledged state in 1963. This film promotes Nagaland’s soaring progress in building up its economy and infrastructure over the following ten years, thanks to the central government’s explicit support. It opens with an introduction emphasizing traditional song, dance, festivals, and the communal lifestyle and culture, and follows an official delegation of Naga youth on their tour around mainland India. The journey includes them making formal visits to politicians, attending military parades, visiting a steel factory, a major dam, and renowned cultural attractions—all of which boast of the wealth and power of “great India.” The intentional patriotism inherent in the film is overridden by their excited faces as they visit a beach and splash in the waves for the first time, presenting a defi nitive chronicle of youth.
MNF: The Mizo Uprising
- INDIA (Mizoram) / 2014 / English, Mizo / Color / DCP / 28 min
Director: Napoleon RZ Thanga
Script, Subject Advisor: Jeannie RZ Siami
Photography: Malsawmkima Chhangte
Production, Source: Films Division of India
An ancient omen foretold that famine would strike Mizoram after the bamboo flowered, and sure enough the portent proved to be true. A few years later, in 1966, Laldenga led the Mizo National Front (MNF) in an armed struggle for independence, attacking Indian military stations. The Indian Air Force immediately bombed the state in retaliation and for the next twenty years, the region suffered as rebels went underground, villagers were displaced, and army forces were dispatched in excessive numbers. The film covers the history up to the peace accord in 1986, the return of the rebels, and the transfer to peace, recording valuable testimony from the leaders of the MNF rebels (current politicians in power), former insurgents, former Assam Rifles (paramilitary forces), and Christian peace negotiators who lived through the turbulence of the times.