Renthlei Lalrawna

Renthlei Lalrawna has spent his life building up Mizo literature, and helped Mizoram become one of India’s most literate states. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of literature and education, from Mizoram ^[1].

Writer and translator

Lalrawna was born on 22 December 1940 in Dawn village, Lunglei district ^[2]. He studied at Pachhunga Memorial College and Gauhati University ^[2]. A novelist, essayist and critic, he has published 14 books of his own and 15 translations from English, including works by Shakespeare, Jules Verne and John Bunyan ^[2]. He also wrote a book on Mother Teresa, whom he met in Kolkata, and compiled Mizo Rohlu, a widely used collection of Mizo songs ^[2].

Mizoram’s literacy drive

Lalrawna joined the state’s education department as a lower-division clerk and rose to joint director of school education ^[2]. He produced adult-education textbooks and led a statewide literacy campaign with churches and community groups such as the YMA and MHIP ^[2]. Mizoram’s literacy rate rose from 59 per cent in the 1981 census to 88.49 per cent in 1991, second among the states ^[2].

The Sahitya Akademi gave him its Bhasha Samman for 2023 ^[2].