The Mizos are a scheduled tribe in northeastern India, primarily in the state of Mizoram, where they are a majority and minority community Chakma who constitute more than 10% percent of the state population.
The present state of Mizoram (mi = human/people, zo = hill, ram = land; the land of hill people) was called the Lushai Hills and was a district of Assam, before it became a Union Territory and afterwards a full-fledged state. The Lushai people were the first clan to have an external exposure and hence the people are initially known as the Lushai people. The demand for a distinct political territory for the people of Lushai Hills resulted in the creation of a separate Union Territory and afterwards the State of Mizoram. In this struggle, one of the powerful factors was the movement to call themselves Mizo, rather than by distinct tribal names such as the Lushai, the Ralte, the Hmar, the Khiangte, the Paite, the Mara people, and the Pawi. Their languages (of which the largest is Dulien/Duhlian) belong to the Tibeto-Burman, and are closely related to those of the Chin in the adjacent Chin State of Myanmar, as well as those of the Nagas, Kukis and others.
The term Mizo is generic and it is a collective designation that includes the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however the term embraces many distinct populations, societies and ethnic groups or tribes who each have their own particular traditions, cultures and historical identity, which are similar in many ways but also differ. Some tribes outside the state of Mizoram that obviously could be included under the term Mizo instead call themself Zomi.
The present state of Mizoram (mi = human/people, zo = hill, ram = land; the land of hill people) was called the Lushai Hills and was a district of Assam, before it became a Union Territory and afterwards a full-fledged state. The Lushai people were the first clan to have an external exposure and hence the people are initially known as the Lushai people. The demand for a distinct political territory for the people of Lushai Hills resulted in the creation of a separate Union Territory and afterwards the State of Mizoram. In this struggle, one of the powerful factors was the movement to call themselves Mizo, rather than by distinct tribal names such as the Lushai, the Ralte, the Hmar, the Khiangte, the Paite, the Mara people, and the Pawi. Their languages (of which the largest is Dulien/Duhlian) belong to the Tibeto-Burman, and are closely related to those of the Chin in the adjacent Chin State of Myanmar, as well as those of the Nagas, Kukis and others.
The term Mizo is generic and it is a collective designation that includes the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however the term embraces many distinct populations, societies and ethnic groups or tribes who each have their own particular traditions, cultures and historical identity, which are similar in many ways but also differ. Some tribes outside the state of Mizoram that obviously could be included under the term Mizo instead call themself Zomi.
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