About The Chin People

The Chin are actually several people groups from the western side of Burma (Myanmar), near India. They are called the “Hill People.” The name Chin is the Burmese name for the residents of Chin State.

Internally, they call themselves regional names — the northern Chins called themselves Zomi; the southern Chin called themselves Khumi or Khami and the Chin from the central part of Chin State call themselves Laimi and they speak different dialects.

The Chin are a predominately Christian tribe. The first Protestant missionaries to Burma were Ann and Adoniram Judson in 1813, and they worked among the Karen people, who received Christ. They then began to spread the Word to their close relatives, the Chin. Arthur Carson was the first American missionary to the Chin people and came to Haka on Mar. 15, 1899. The missionaries recorded their first convert five years later. Several of our Chin lived close to Haka, and their grandparents and parents were some of the first Chin converts in their villages.

The missionaries spent a great deal of time giving the Chin their first written alphabet and in trying to get the Bible translated into the various dialects. All American missionaries were expelled from Burma in 1966 by the then socialist government. The Chin continued evangelizing and still do, although they are forbidden to share their faith with any Burmese.

index

Chin State
Capital: Hakha
Falam District	Falam Township Hakha Township Htantlang Township Tiddim Township Tonzang Township
Mindat District	Mindat Township Matupi Township Kanpetlet Township Paletwa Township

Paletwa Township

Paletwa Township is a township of Mindat District in the Chin State of Myanmar.
The population of it was 85,893 according to an answer in Myanmar parliament on 8 Sep 2011.

References

1. http://www.mrtv3.net.mm/newpaper/99newsn.pdf Page 10 Column 1

Kanpetlet Township

Kanpetlet Township is a township of Mindat District in the Chin State of Myanmar. Its principal town is Kanpetlet.
There are 26 village-tracts and 117 villages in the township, only about 13 villages have access to motor roads and the remaining over 100 villages have to rely on foot to travel from one place to another in 2011.

References

1. http://www.mrtv3.net.mm/newpaper/149newsn.pdf Page 8 Column 4

Matupi Township

Matupi Township also Madupi Township) is a township of Mindat District in the Chin State of Burma (Myanmar). Matupi is the administrative center for the township.

Ethnic groups

The Matu Chin are the predominant tribe in the area.

Mindat Township

Mindat Township is a township located in Mindat District in the Chin State of Myanmar. The township is located between latitude 21.19 and 21.47, longitude 93.23 and 94.29. The third highest peak in Myanmar, Nat Ma Taung (Mt. Victoria) at 3053 meters, is located here.
The "Kcho" or "Cho" people are the main ethnic group in the township. The Kcho people speak the Kcho language, distinct from surrounding Chin dialects. Other ethnic groups in the township are the Mun, the M'Kang and the Dai.
Christianity is the main religion. Animism and Theravada Buddhism are also present.

Communities

Mindat is the major and only town; it is located in the southeastern part of the township. The township has 46 village tracts and 497 villages.

Notes

1. "Mindat_Township_Profile" Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), January 2010, population figures from State General Administration Department, October 2008
2. "Chin State". Myanmar Explore. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
3. "Mindat Township - Chin State" map ID:MIMU 154v01 created: 17 May 2010, Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)

External links

• "Mindat Google Satellite Map" Maplandia World Gazetteer

Tedim Township

Tedim or Tiddim Township is a township in Tedim District of the Chin State of Burma (Myanmar).
There are 55 village-tracts and 132 villages in 2011.

Tedim is a town in Chin State in the northwestern part of Myanmar. The name "Tedim" was derived from a pool on the top of the hills that used to be twinkling under sun's light, therefore, called "te (bright, shine)" and "dim (twinkling, sparkling)" in local Zo dialect.

As a result of lack of a formal writing system in the past, the story of Tedim mostly depends on oral traditions. The first establishment of Tedim is ascribed to Gui Mang II, a powerful prince from the then ruling Guite family in the region (c. 1600). However, due to the untimely death of Gui Lun (the fifth generation from Gui Mang II), Tedim was deserted for two generations. By the time of Pum Go, Tedim was reestablished as the political base of the Guite family. At the time of Mang Suum II, son of Pum Go, the allied force of the Pawihangs began their advance in the region and attacked Tedim. Tedim was again deserted by many, though some local residents survived under the leadership of Mang Gin from the Hatlang family. In 1840, in order to secure peace, the remaining citizens invited the leadership of Kam Hau of Mualbem, of the emerging Sukte family, since they had good military and political ties with the Zahau family of the Pawis. 

Early history

When British rule began in 1824, Tedim was chosen as the local residence for the district officer.

Geography

The geography is unique in its shape and slopes, and the climate is pleasant, since is lies on the Tropic of Cancer. There are three seasons: summer, winter, and autumn.

The ranges of Hills of Thangmual include Kennedy's Peak, Lunglenkawl, the Rih Bual, the Hausapi, the Gullu Mual, the Zangmualli, the Tuikangpi, the Suangsuang, and the Lentangmual. There are dams, caves, peaks, and other attractions, including Lennupa Mual, the Twin Fairy Hill, and historic sites.

Demography, etymology and language

The native settlers were warriors and mighty fighters from ancient times. Sing Kho Khai, a native writer, writes that the people living in the Tedim region were referred to as 'Paite' by the Lushai, Falam Pawi, and other neighboring tribes. He states that it is possible that the term Paite could have been used by the people themselves even before Ciimnuai was founded by their chiefs. Ciimnuai was a place founded by the Zo people long before the present Tedim township was established by Gui Mang II.

The name Tedim is the official name used for the town; but the written Tiddim,Thiddim, or Chindits (used during World War I and II) have also been used in the past. The local people prefer to call the town "Tedim" rather than "Tiddim" of the Burmese based pronunciation.

The Tedim language is the most common version spoken and understood by the nearby ethnicities including the Kuki (Thados), the Manipur (Meitei and Paite), the Lusei (Mizo), the Laimi (Khalkha or Hakha and Thangtlang), and the Falam (Pawite).

Tedimkam or Tedimpau is the major language of the whole Chin or Zomi, Kuki, Mizo, Manipur, Paite, and Pawite tribes of people. It is not a mere dialect such as the Siyin or Sihzang or Saizangpau, but it covers the following 12 dialects: (1) Sizang, (2) Khuano (2) Saizang, (4) Zo, (5) Teizang, (6) Phaileng, (7) Paihte, (8) Thahdo (In Myanmar), (9) Losau, (10) Vaiphei, (11) Dim and (12) the Simte. Therefore it is unique among other spoken languages in the Chin State.

It is estimated that around 550,000 people speak this dialect and arguably is next only to Lusei (Mizo) in terms of number of speakers among the Zo people, who use 50 different dialects. Lusei is now spoken by close to 600,000 people.

Tedim is the only language of the Zo languages that has the word literature in its vocabulary. It is the word "lai" which also means, apart from literature and paper, middle or center.

The Zomi includes these subgroups: Tedim, Pawite (Falam namte), Laizo (Laimite), NuaiZo, Zo Phei, Lusuang (Luseite), Paihte (Simte), Thahdo (Kuki), and Meitei (Manipurte).

The people who live in the Tedim area or Tedim Township call themselves Tedimmi. The residents of the town of Tedim are called Tedimte. The language spoken in the area is called Tedimpauor Tedimkam, the land and space area it covers is called Tedimgam or Tedim Uksung. The governor and or rulers are called Tedim Uk, or Ukpi, the styles and fashion they use and the way they live called Tedimdan,Tedimzia and Tedim zia leh tong.

Tedim, Tiddim, Ciimnuai

Languages spoken by the Tedim people are as follows:

Saizang aw-kaih

Tedim aw-kaih

Dim aw-kaih

Khuano aw-kaih

Losau aw-kaih

Paihte aw-kaih

Phaileng aw-kaih

Teizang aw-kaih

Vaiphei aw-kaih

Vangteh aw-kaih

Sihzang aw-kaih

Zo aw-kaih

The used of the common language is Tedim aw-kaih = Zopau

History and legend

Here is a commemorative song said to be composed by Pum Go concerning the growing prosperity in Tedim:

Dimtui vang khua, khua munnuam aw, sial leh sawm taang a tunna,

Sial leh sawm taang a tunna, siing tan’ lam bang eng nah e;

Taang silsial e, taang silsial e, Dimtui vangkhua taang silsial e,

Dimtui vang khua taang silsial e, kawi tawh laukha ka hualna (Pumgo: c. early 18th century).

(Translation)

Very comfortable place is my native Dimtui (a poetic attribution to Tedim), where all my dreams fulfilled,

Where all my dreams fulfilled, that everyone envies of my native;

It's shining, yes, shining, my native Dimtui is shining modestly,

My native Dimtui is shining modestly, where I made lasting vow to my beloved (dear wife).

The Tedimmi have been well known for their skills in black magic, ritual healing, white magic, witchcraft, occult, alchemy, and hunting, since ancient times. There is a legend and eye-witnesses that say a Wicca Pu-Ngul Tuan (the Father of Pu-Khampi) from Anlangh once stopped an avalanche on Mount Hiangtaam near his home village with his wiccan power.

Current leadership

Under the capable leadership of Kam Hau, Tedim became a safe place, assuming the position of commercial and political center of the region.

Notable people from Tedim Township

• Pu Thuam Hang, the first Christian convert among people from Chin State, Burma
• Dr. Vum Khaw Hau, the first person from Zomi to serve as Ambassador
• Colonel Khen Za Mung
• Major General Tuang Za Khai
• Pu Lun Pum, Minister of Land Nationalization; the first among Zomi
• Rev.Dr Kam Khaw Thang; translated the Tedim Bible from English version
• Rev.Dr Simon Pau Khan En; the first person from the Zomi to hold the position of the General Secretary of Myanmar Baptist Convention & Principal of Myanmar Institute of Theology
• Prof Thang Za Tuan; Deputy Director General, Ministry of Education, Union of Myanmar

Endnotes

1. C. 1820, by C. Tuan.
2. Sing K. Khai, Zo People and Their Culture (Lamka, Churachanpur, India: Kampu Hatzaw, 1995), 25-27 (Khai comments on the emergence of the Sukte family as a matter of fear of the Pawis of present Falam, that Khan Thuam and his son, Kam Hau, ruled as their vassal).
3. Sukte Beh leh Tedim Gam Taangthu (Tedim, Myanmar: Laibu Bawl Committee, 1993). This is also a local publication of a collection of the oral accounts of the Sukte dynastic rule.

References

• C. Thang Za Tuan, Prof., "Zomi Tanchin Tomkim," in Zolus Journal 4 (1999): 3-6. Dr. Tuan is a retired Deputy Director General of Basic Education Dept., the Ministry of Education, Myanmar. He dated 1570 to be the first founding of Tedim by Gui Mang.

• Tedim Behs No 1 Golden Jubilee Magazine (Tedim, Chin State, Myanmar: Magazine Committee, 1998). This is a commemorative magazine of the Golden Jubilee of the school.

• Gin K. Thang, com., Guite Khang Tangthu, (Kalemyo, Myanmar: 1986). This local publication was once reverted by the compiler in 1994, for the mis-inclusion of an illegitimate name called Gui Luah (Guiluah). However, apart from this single weakness, this local publication is still the best collection of existing oral accounts on the Guite dynastic rule.

Tonzang Township

Ton Zang Township (Burmese: တွံဇံမြို့နယ်) is a township of Falam District in the Chin State of Burma (Myanmar).^[1]

Notes

1. ^ Township 63 "Myanmar States/Divisions & Townships Overview Map" map ID: MIMU001, created: December 2007, Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)

External links

• "Tonzang Township, Chin State" map ID: MIMU249v1, created 06 August 2009, Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
• "Tonzang Google Satellite Map" Maplandia World Gazetteer

Htantlang Township

Thantlang Township also Htantlang Township) is one of nine townships in Chin State. Thantlang is the administrative town of inclusive eight circles (also called mountain ranges) attributed to the geographical and dialectical arrangements of the area. They are Vanzang Tlang (Vanzang circle), Zahnak Tlang (Zahnak circle), Bual Tlang (Bual circle), Lautu Tlang (Lautu circle), Mara Tlang (Mara circle), Vailam Tlang (Vailam circle), Zophei Tlang (Zophei circle)and Bawipa Tlang (Bawipa circle). The name Bawipa is attributed to famous mount Bawipa although villages in the circle majorly speak Zophei dialect .
A variety of languages are spoken in Thantlang township, including Lautu, Zophei, Senthang, Lai and Mara. The western border of the township that separates it from India is formed by the Tyao River from the north, and the Kaladan River (known locally as the Boinu River) from the south which flow together at 22°47′10″N 93°05′45″E.

History

"Thlantlang" means cemetery mountain. Prior to 1995, there were many old cemeteries on the south side of the mountain above the main town, where subsequently the Burmese military build a camp and a pagoda. Briefly, in the early 2000s, a small piece of northeastern Thantlang Township, namely the village tracts of: Lungding, Tikhuangtum, Tlangkhua, Tlangpi, Tlangte, northern Vanzang (Farrawn), and Zangtlang, was transferred to Falam Township. However, in 2008, in the reorganization of Chin State townships, these village tracts were restored.

Borders

Thantlang Township borders on:

• Mizoram State of India to the west and north;
• Falam Township to the northeast;
• Matupi Township to the south; and
• Hakha Township to the east.

Communities

Thantlang is the major town in the township, with three smaller towns (larger villages) Leitak, Lungler (Lonle in Burmese transliteration), and Ngaphaipi. Lungler and Leitak have 16 bed hospitals (clinics). There are 37 village tracts and 76 villages in Htantlang Township.

Notes

1. "Htantlang Township Profile" Myanmar Information Management Unit, September 2009, population figures State General Administration Department, October 2008
2. "Myanmar States/Divisions & Townships Overview Map" Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
3. Note that the Maplandia map shows the older borders, the 2007 township map shows the transfer, and the 2009 Htantlang Township map shows the restoration.
4. "Leitak, Chin State, Myanmar" Geonames.org
5. Laitek is in the Hmawngtlang (Hmawngtlang) village tract, "Htantlang Township, Chin State" map, Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), 6 August 2009
6. "Health Facilities Map", Myanmar Information Management Unit, May 2009

External links

• "Htantlang Township, Chin State" map, Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), 6 August 2009
• Township 57 on "Myanmar States/Divisions & Townships Overview Map" Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), December 2007
• "Thlangtlang Google Satellite Map" Maplandia.com

Hakha Township

Hakha Township is a township of Falam District in the Chin State of Burma. It surrounds the city of Hakha, the state capital.

Falam Township

Falam Township is a township of Falam District in the Chin State of Burma (Myanmar). Its administrative seat is the town of Falam.
Falam Township is mountainous, running east-west from the foothills above the Neyinzaya and Myittha rivers to the high peaks of the Chin Hills in the Arakan Mountain Range and down to the border with Mizoram State, India. The highest peak in the township, Mount Zingmu is also the second highest mountain peak in Chin State. The Manipur (Manipuya) River runs south through the center of the township. People who travel to the city take the Kalay-Falam-Hakha Road. The township is famous for its heart-shaped lake called Hri (Rih or Yi). The township is also the location of Laiva Dam, the largest dam in Chin State. The dam produces hydroelectric power for Falam and neighboring cities such as Hakha and Thantlang (Thlangtlang).
There were a Manipura river-crossing suspension bridge, 320 feet long with 5 feet wide, linking Bazan Village and Kawdah Village and Lonnlwe creek-crossing suspension bridge, 130 feet long with four feet wide, linking Kawdah Village and Kwabwe Village in the township.

History

In 2008, in the reorganization of Chin State townships, Falam Township lost its northernmost village tracts in the east to Tiddim Township, a few of its recently gained southwesternmost village tracts were returned to Htlantlang Township, but it gained a much longer border with India by the transfer of Tiddim Township's southwestern village tracts to Fallam Township.

Communities

The town of Rihkhawdar (Reehkawdar) is the northernmost town in the township. The township has 87 village tracts and 178 villages.

Notes

1. "Falam_Township_Profile" Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), September 2009, population figures State General Administration Department, October 2008
2.  "1:250,000 topographic map, Series U542, Mawlaik, Burma; India, NF 46-3" U.S. Army Map Service, March 1960; and "1:250,000 topographic map, Series U542, Gangaw, Burma, NF 46-7" U.S. Army Map Service, April 1958
3.  also known as Zing Hmuh Tlang, "Zinghmu Klang (Approved)" Falam Township at GEOnet Names Server, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
4.  "Hri Lake (Approved)" Falam Township at GEOnet Names Server, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
5.  http://www.mrtv3.net.mm/newpaper/2110newsn.pdf Page 10 Col 2
6. New borders and village tracts are displayed on the "Falam Township, Chin State" map, Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), 6 August 2009, last accessed 28 November 2010

Chin State

Chin State  is a state located in western Burma (Myanmar). The 36,019-square-kilometre (13,907 sq mi) Chin State is bordered by Rakhine State in the south, Bangladesh in south-west, Sagaing Division and Magway Division in the east, Indian state of Manipur in the north and Indian state of Mizoram in the west. The Chin ethnic group make up the majority of the state's 500,000 people.

The capital of the state is Hakha. The state is covered with mountainous region with few transportation links, Chin State is sparsely populated and remains one of the least developed areas of the country.

History

Early history

The Tibeto-Burman Zomi peoples entered the Zogam Hills some time in the first millennium AD, as part of the wider migration of Tibeto-Burman peoples into the area. Some historians speculate that the Thet people mentioned in the Burmese Chronicles might be the Chins. For much of history, sparsely populated Chin Hills were ruled by local chiefs. Political organization in the region prior to the Toungoo dynasty's conquest in mid-16th century remains largely conjectural. The first recorded instance of a western kingdom believed to be near the Chin Hills is the Kingdom of Pateikkaya, a tributary to the Pagan Kingdom in the 11th and 12th centuries. Some historians (Arthur Phayre, Tun Nyein) put Pateikkaya in eastern Bengal, thus placing the entire Chin Hills under Pagan suzerainty but others like Harvey, citing stone inscriptions, put it near eastern Chin Hills. (Burmese Chronicles report the kings of Pateikkaya as Indian though the ethnicity of the subjects is not explicitly cited.)

Feudal era

Bayinnaung's Empire

The first confirmed political entity in the region was the Shan State of Kale (Kalay), founded by the Shan people who came to dominate the entire northwestern to eastern arc of Burma after the fall of Pagan Kingdom in 1287. Kale was a minor Shan state, and its authority did not extend more than its immediate surrounding area, no more than a small portion of northern Chin Hills. The minor state occasionally paid tribute to the larger Shan States of Mohnyin and Mogaung, and ultimately became a vassal state of Burmese Ava Kingdom in the 1370s. Starting in the 1480s, Ava began to disintegrate, and Kale was swallowed up by the Shan State of Mohnyin by the 1520s.

The entire Chin Hills came under the authority of Burmese kingdoms between 1555 and 1559 when King Bayinnaung of Toungoo Dynasty conquered all of Upper Burma and its surrounding regions—stretching from the eastern and northern Shan states to the western Chin Hills and Manipur. Toungoo began to weaken in the late 17th century. By the 1730s, a resurgent Manipuri Kingdom had conquered the Kabaw Valley from the Burmese. Kabaw valley's adjacent northern Chin Hills likely came under Manipuri suzerainty.

Colonial era

The British acquired the Chin Hills a decade after the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885. The ensuing Chin resistance to the British was suppressed only by 1896. The British administered the Chin Hills as part of Arakan Division. American missionaries began arriving in the 1890s and by the middle of 20th century, most of the Chin people had converted to Christianity.

The region was the westernmost advance of the Imperial Japanese Army, which occupied the region in November 1943, in World War II. After the war, Chin leaders, along with Burman, Shan and Kachin leaders, participated in the Panglong Conference which discussed the future of an independent Union of Burma. Because of the region's heavy economic dependence on Burma Proper, Chin leaders, unlike Shan and Kachin leaders, asked only for a "special administrative division", not a full fledged state. As a result, when the 1947 Constitution of Burma granted the right of secession to states after a period of ten years after the independence, the Chin did not get a state (no right to secede). (Ironically, the Karen who did not even participate in the conference received a state, along with the right to secede.)

Post independence

Upon independence from the United Kingdom in 1948, Chin Hills Special Division was created out of Arakan Division, with the capital at Falam. On January 4, 1974, it was granted the state status and became Chin State. Today, the state has little infrastructure and remains extremely poor and undeveloped.

Administrative divisions

Chin State consisted of two districts North (now Falam) and South (now Mindat) and was further subdivided into nine townships. Falam had been the state capital since the British Colonization, but after the military coup in 1962, the junta in the 1974 reorganization shifted the state capital to Hakha. The township borders have been adjusted a couple of times, most recently in a reorganization of Falam District in 2008 where Falam Township lost area in its northeast to Tedim Township, but gained territory from Tedim in the northwest, extending northward as far as the developing town of Rihkhawdar (Reehkawdar) on the Indian border. In that reorganization Falam also lost a small area in its southwest back to Htlantlang Township from which it had recently been shifted.

Districts and townships

• Falam District of Northern Chin State
  • Falam Township
  • Hakha Township
  • Thantlang Township
  • Tedim (Tiddim) Township
  • Tonzang Township
• Mindat District of Southern Chin State
  • Kanpetlet Township
  • Matupi (Madupi) Township
  • Mindat Township
  • Paletwa Township

Cities

• Hakha, The second Capital of Zogam
• Falam, capital of the Northern Zogam (Falam District)
• Mindat, capital of the Southern Zogam (Mindat District)

Geography

Hiangzing Village, Tedim Township - View

Nat Ma Taung (Burmese), Thuamvum (Tedim), (Mount Victoria, English), 10,500 feet (3,200 m) high, is the highest peak in Chin State and the second highest peak in Burma. Many natural watercourses flow among mountain ranges running from north to south forming a number of valleys and gorges. The state has a lot of rivers and the Manipur River flows through its northern half. The Tayawbar River (Tiau River) forms much of the border with India for the northern half of the state. The Boynu River, as the Kaladan River is known upstream from its confluence with the Tayawbar, forms the border with India for the central portion of the state. In the southwestern part of the state, the Kaladan River enters from India and flows down past Paletwa and exits into Rakhine State. The longest water fall in Chin state is the Bungtla Waterfall near Matupi.

Demographics

Chin State has a population of about 518,144 and a population density of 37 persons per square mile on December 12, 2006.

The Chins are made up of many clans, which although historically related now speak divergent languages and have different cultural and historical identities. Some consider the name Chin seems an exonym, given by the Burmese and of unclear origin. These names are justified respectively by the fact that Chin are world known for Loyalty to the Masters and were well-known for their weaving skills and have been in trade relations with the lowlands for many years. The term "Zomi" represents one dialect group who once upon a time live together in a Ciimnuai Area represents Tedim, Tonzang,Haimual, Cikha, Tamu and Lamka people while the term "Laimi" is the most common name for Falam, Haka(Hakha) and Thantlang.

Even though there is no common language in Chinland, Lai language is used as main communication languages in most parts of Haka,Thantlang and Falam habitat area of the Chin State. As Hakha and Falam dialects are from Tibeto-Burman dialect and 85% of the phonetic and accent are exactly the same, people from Falam can easily communicate with Hakha language and vice versa.

Chin peoples are called by different names such as Laimi,Zomi, Lusei, Kuki,and others based on their own different dialects.The Chin peoples escaped to Burma and then moved around until they reached the high-lands of the then Lairam, now the 'Chin States', Manipur, Nagaland, Assam (all three in India), Mizoram, Bangladesh, even until the Nepal land (the Gurkha ram). Therefore, though 'Chin' is not included in their word, each tribe of Chin peoples has its own name, e.g. Laimi,Zomi, Cho, These terms could well be cognates, but each has its own pronunciation and sometimes its own meaning. According to the record of Zam Sian Sang, Gualnam who'd surveyed the Seasons and Population of the called Chin Nationalities during the years 2004-2007 with the 'Chin Survey' Researched team, the Different combination of all Chin peoples and their populations are as follows:

1. In Sagaing Division

• Zomi (427800 + )
• Laimi (Haka, Thantlang, Falam), Zomi (Tedim, Tonzong)
• Lushai (5000 -/+ )
• Paite (2100 -/+)
• Kuki (5000 -/+ )
• Matupi (3000-/+)
• Asho (40000 -/+ ), they live mostly in the lowlands and mixed with Burmans.

2. In Chinland

• numbered 500,000 in population.
• Plain Chin (340000 + ) all along the Chin States and in India.

3. In India (Census of India 2011)

• Chin(Laimi) (280000 + )
• Lushai (1000000 -/+ )
• Kuki/Laimi (250000 -/+ )

No one can say the exact population of Chin whilst they are dispersing in rush since the past 50 years even. Besides, the number of Chins in Chin State has been decreasing at a rapid rate due to migration since early 2000s for economic and political reasons. Economically, making a living is getting much harder due to rapid population increase and unsustainable agricultural practice of Slash and Burn agriculture. Politically, since early 1990s, a large number of Burmese soldiers began moving into Chin State because there have been movements of rebellion. It is estimated that from Falam region alone, approximately 100,000 have moved to other parts of Burma and a significantly large number has gone to neighboring countries of India, Malaysia and Thailand since year 2000. From Hakha and Thantlang regions, no less than 100,000 people have migrated to Malaysia, India and other parts of Burma. This phenomenon of emigration of a large number of people is true for other townships in Chin State, with the exception of Mindat, Kanpetlet and Paletwa, three of the most isolated towns in Chin State. Since early 2000, a large number of chins living and working both legally and illegally have been resettled as refugees in third countries including Australia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Netherland, Canada, United States and New Zealand with the United States taking in the largest numbers of them.

The Chins use the word 'Salai' indicates 'Mr.' (Mister) and 'Mai' as 'Miss' since early 1970s under the leadership of Salai Tin Maung Oo. Though the Hakha of ethnic Chin use 'Leng' as Miss and 'Val' as Mr. The Tedim ethnic group use 'Tang' as 'Mr' and 'Lia' as 'Miss'. Matu use 'Mang' and 'Tuem' for (Matu woman)and 'Pu' and 'Pi', and 'Pa' and 'Nu', are used commonly for elderly Chin and Chin leaders such as Pu Hrang Thio (famous for is courageous in the nation wide). The title of 'Pu' is a term of respect, failure to use it where it might be expected may be interpreted as a sign of disrespect. The word 'Pi' is used to address elderly Chin women. Different tribes also practice different ways in naming people.

Owing to missionaries' work over the last hundred years, a great deal of the population now identifies itself as Christian. A sizable minority, however, adheres to Theravada Buddhism and also Animism.

Transport

The Government has been building many new miles of roads in the mountainous region. Earth roads have been upgraded into metaled ones, and the metaled roads to bituminous facilities. The 115-mile (185 km) Kalay-Falam-Haka road is already completed. Bituminous roads include

• 70 miles and four furlong Gangaw-Haka Road
• 102 miles Mindat-Matupi Road
• 172 miles and seven furlong Haka-Matupi Road
• 115 miles and one furlong Kalay-Falam-Haka Road
• 53 miles long Haka-Hmandaw Road is under construction and almost completed by the donation of Chin (Laimi peoples) communities around the world.
• Kyaukhtu-Mindat road linking Chin State and Magway Division

have been built.

ASEAN Highway crosses through the center of Chinland settling areas of Madalay-Kalay-Tamu-Lamka/Behiang The sector wise upgrading of the gateways to Chin State

• Mandalay-Sagaing-Monywa-Gangaw-Haka road
• Pakokku-Pauk-Tabyin-Kyaukhtu-Mindat road

is in progress at present.

The Kyaukhtu Airport, built by Directorate of Military Engineers of the Ministry of Defence in Kyaukhtu, Saw Township, Gangaw District, Magway Division, was commissioned into service on July 10, 2004. The airport has helped develop the transport sector of southern Chin State linking Yaw and Pakokku regions in Magway Division. Cars can reach Kanpetlet from Magway (capital of Magway division) via Saw and from Kyautthu and Mindat and Matupi in southern Chin State from Pakukku via Kyaukhtu.

In 1988, the state has two over 180-foot (55 m) bridges:

• 270 foot Natzan Bridge in Tonzang Township
• 240 foot Lemro Bridge in Matupi Township.

The Military Government has built the 340-foot (100 m) Var Bridge across Manipura River on Kalay-Haka Road in Falam Township in 1998 and 480-foot (150 m) 'Mansuang Hlei' Bridge across River Manipura on Tiddim-Kaptel-Rih Lake road in Tiddim District in 2002. The 460-foot (140 m) Mansaung Bridge is being built across Manipura River on Tiddim-Rih Lake section.

List of bridges in Chin State

• 270-foot (82 m) Naakzang Bridge Narkzang Lei in Tonzang Township
• 240-foot (73 m) Lemro Bridge Lemro Lei in Matupi Township
• 340-foot (100 m) Var Bridge Var Lei in Falam Township
• 480-foot (150 m) Kaptel Bridge Kaptel Lei in Tiddim Township
• 460-foot (140 m) Manhsuang Bridge Mansuang Lei, or Mansuangpi Lei, or Laitui Lei crossing the Manipur River near Laitui
• Vuephu Bridge Vuephu Hlei, Vuephu Due in Zotung(Rezua) Township
• 250-foot (76 m) Boinuva Bridge Biinuv hlei conect to Khuahrang village from Hakha-Matupi Road(Hakha-Matupi lam in Khuahrang khua lei.

Airports

1. Paletwa Airport VYPE

Communication

Development in the communication sector of Chin State

"Comparison between period preceding 1988 and after (up to 31-12-2006)

Subject	Count	1988	31-12-2006	Progress
Post Office	office	29	45	16
Telegraph Office	office	11	24	13
computer offices/trainings 1.Vontawi Compute in Sakollam_PaNangSuanGin 2.Will Computer in Lawibual
Facsimile			22	22
Computer telegraph			3	3
Telephone
-telephone office	office	8	29	21
-telephone line	line	3390	4519	1129
-exchange	exchange	8	18	10
-direct line	line	2431	3402	3159
-auto/manual phone	phone	2431	3402	3159
Microwave station	station		5	5
Rural telephone exchange	exchange		11	11
e-Mail/Internet			12	12
Satellite station
-VSAT	station		1	1
-MPT satellite Terminal	station		15	15

Electricity

The effective utilization of land and water resources in the state has helped develop the power generation capacity of the state.

In 1988, the state has four small scale hydro-power stations

• the Zalui in Tedim Township
• the Daungvar in Haka Towhship
• the Ngasitvar in Falam Township
• the Paletwa in Paletwa Township.

The Military Government has built another 12 diesel power stations and six new hydel power plants, helping increase the power consumption of the state.

The four new hydraulic power plants are

• the 0.2 megawatt Namhlaung Creek plant in Matupi Township
• the 0.6 megawatt Laiva plant in Falam Township
• the 0.2 megawatt Htweehsaung plant in Tonzang Township
• the 0.2 megawatt Chichaung plant in Mindat Township.

The Manipura Multipurpose Dam Project will be implemented in chin State. The Table informs the reader about the development of the state's electricity sector.
Development in the electric power sector of Chin State

"Comparison between period preceding 1988 and after (up to 31-12-2006)"

Subject	Count	1988	31-12-2006	Progress
Electricity consumption	unit (in million)	1.552	5.736	4.184
Maximum power	megawatt	2.000	2.217	0.217
Installed power	megawatt	2.709	5.787	3.078
Extend generating of electricity
-Hydel power plant completed	Plant	4	10	6
-Small (up to 1 megawatt)	Plant	4	10	6
-Diesel used plant	Plant	19	31	12
-Private Plant	Plant	0	99	99

List of Hydel power plants

• Zalui 0.40 megawatt
• Dongva 0.40 megawatt
• Ngasipva 1.00 megawatt
• Paletwa 0.05 megawatt
• Nanlaungchaung 0.20megawatt
• Laiva 0.60 megawatt
• Htwihsaung 0.20 megawatt
• Chichaung 0.20 megawatt
• Thinthe 0.05 megawatt
• Linebon 0.05 megawatt

Industrial sector

Due to the facilitation of the transport and communication sectors and increase in the power generation in the state, many new private industries have emerged in the region. The state now has 522 private industires, 179 more than 343 in 1988. The number of State owned industries has now reached nine from five in the past. The Government has been striving to develop the industrial sector of the state which will become a major tea-growing region in the future.

"Comparison between period preceding 1988 and after (up to 31-12-2006)"

Subject	Count	1988	31-12-2006	Progress
Upgrading of industrial power Industry
-Private industry	industry	343	522	179
-Cottage industry	industry	0	2	2
-State owned industry	industry	5	9	4

Education

See also: List of universities in Chin State

According to official statistics, Chin State had only 25 high schools in 2003. The state does not have any secular colleges or universities. Students have to go outside the state to pursue higher education. The majority attend university in Tahan-Kalay, Sagaing Division. However, there are few private theological colleges in Chin state and they are:

• Chin Christian College (CCC, Hakha)
• Union Theological College (UTC, Matupi)
• Zomi Theological College (ZTC, Falam)
• Government Technology of Institute (GTI,Hakha)
• Bethel Bible College (BBC, Tedim)
• Kalay University
• Technological University (Kalay)
• Computer University, Kalay

AY 2002-2003	Primary	Middle	High
Schools	1058	83	25
Teachers	2708	818	333
Students	66,000	30,600	9900

Health care

The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The health care infrastructure outside of Yangon and Mandalay is extremely poor. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities and equipment. The following is a summary of the public health system in the state.

2002–2003	# Hospitals	# Beds
Specialist hospitals	0	0
General hospitals with specialist services	1	150
General hospitals	9	314
Health clinics	12	192
Total	22	656

References

1. ^ "Division and State Administrations". Alternative Asean Network on Burma. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
2. ^ "Union of Myanmar". City Population. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
3. ^ GE Harvey (1925). "Notes on Pateikkaya and Macchagiri". History of Burma. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.. p. 3.
4. ^ GE Harvey (1925). "Notes on Pateikkaya and Macchagiri". History of Burma. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.. p. 326.
5. ^ Maung Htin Aung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press. p. 117.
6. ^ "Myanmar Divisions". Statoids. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
7. ^ "Education statistics by level and by State and Division". Myanmar Central Statistical Organization. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
8. ^ "Hospitals and Dispensaries by State and Division". Myanmar Central Statistical Organization. Retrieved 2009-04-19.

• WorldStatesman- Myanmar- States of Burma 1948-1974
• For more cultural information about the Chin see: F.K. Lehman. 1963. 'The Structure of Chin Society;: A Tribal People of Burma Adapted to a Non-Western Civilization.' University of Illinois Press.