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81-575: The original name of the district, ' Lushai Hills district, descends from a colonial misnomer. The British, upon encountering the Lusei tribes, applied the name to the Mizo people living in the region. Early administrators assumed Lushai to mean head for Lu and cut from sha or shat referring to the clan name to mean decapitation in reference to the headhunting practices of the traditional Mizo society. The Lushai Hills District (Change of Name) Act, 1954 changed

162-550: A Mizo village leader named Buangtheuva (known to the British as "Bungteya") and his troops, who then invaded the Sylhet forest's timber. In addition to taking some slaves home, they slaughtered an unknown number of people. Thus, the British came to perceive the Lushais (then known as Looshais ) as a vicious and barbaric tribe as a result of this event. After the annexation of Cachar in 1832,

243-615: A convenient meeting place for all chief circles. It would last seven to ten days and, in an advisory capacity, make decisions offered to the superintendent. In April 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army had occupied much of Colony of Burma and pushed the British back into the Northeastern Regions of India. Superintendent of the Lushai Hills, Major Anthony Gilchrist McCall, brought 300 tribal chiefs and asked them to join in

324-451: A guarantee of full market price if a second replacement rug of high quality could be submitted. The Imperial Tobacco Company assisted with the enterprise of cotton industries under the resident manager in India, R.G Baker who offered to accept first grade rugs as gifts in the coupon system of the company. This eased the trouble of marketability and exportation in the hilly and rugged terrain of

405-424: A joint organizer and managing director of the venture to cultivate craftsmanship and broader market opportunities to export loom products. The British policy of diminishing chieftain power by granting chieftain rights to collaborators and other individuals increased the number of chiefs from 60 to 400 in the 1890s to the 1930s. The large number of chiefs required a system of coordination and consultation. This led to

486-720: A more autonomous state. In addition, in 1960, the Assam Government officialised Assamese as the official language of Assam without consideration of the Mizo language . These reasons led to the Mizo National Front uprising . The Mizo district was superseded by the Union Territory of Mizoram with the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971 . The Mizo district consisted of two sub-divisions of Aijal and Lungleh . It

567-476: A railway to transport rice aid, and the lack of markets in the Lushai Hills meant access to rice would take a journey of a few days, provided one could afford to do so. The British government in the Lushai Hills employed two policies to combat the onset of the Mautam famine. The first policy aimed at reducing the invasive rat population by announcing incentives for killing rats. Up to 179,015 rat tails were produced for

648-631: A reduction of resistance among the tribes. This achievement was partly attributed to the efforts of missionaries. The mautam famine struck the Lushai Hills in 1911, which was approximately 30 years after the previous mautam famine in 1882. The harvests of 1909-1910 were exceptional due to well-distributed rainfall and benefitted Aizawl the most. However, in 1911, the Bamboo flowered, and rats began to proliferate in population as early as March. By June 1912, crops such as maize and millet were destroyed by rats shortly before ripening. The lack of infrastructure, such as

729-498: A reputation as a pioneer instead of an ordinary infantry unit. Within the span of a few years, Loch had removed the improvised structures and abandoned village remnants into a station of well-constructed stone houses with corrugated iron roofs, proper doors and windows. The North Lushai Hills and the South Lushai Hills were merged in 1898. The Northern administration absorbed the South Lushai Hills, and its South Lushai Battalion

810-423: A safeguard against the failure of rice crops. A cottage industries Organisation was financed privately by the district officer and his wife, who was personally versed in textiles. The decision to privately finance the cotton industry in the Lushai Hills stemmed from the central government's reluctance to invest in a venture and a need to curb Christian revivalism growing in communities. In the months of leisure in

891-418: A series of Mizo invasions to the plains . The Lushai chiefs relentlessly and viciously invaded Chittagong , Cachar , Tripura , Sylhet , and Manipur between the end of 1870 and the beginning of 1871. Up to 20 invasions were said to have occurred during this time. The raid of Katlichhera and Alexandrapur by Sailam chief Bengkhuaia appeared to be the most important of all Lushai chief invasions, having

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972-572: A tremendous influence on the lives and future of the Lushai people. James Winchester, the tea owner of Alexandrapur, was killed, and the Mizos kidnapped his daughter Mary Winchester ( Mizo : Zolûti ). The British retaliated by organising an expedition to rescue the hostages. The expedition turned out a success and the hill tribes agreed to negotiate peace terms. The peace lasted until 1888, when tribes resumed raiding British enterprises and settlements, which saw

1053-683: A voluntary bond with the British Crown and to sign a promise to join in a "Total Defence Scheme" (TDS) of the area. McCall was recalled under protest by the Governor of Assam Andrew Clow in May 1943, his position being transferred to Shillong instead. However, in his absence, the Total Defence Scheme was held throughout the war. McCall argued that without loyalty to the British, the TDS would collapse and that

1134-675: A younger prince, Dakhin, had a conflict. Dakhin and his followers were driven out and built a new capital at the Barak Valley , declaring themselves as Dibrasa or the Children of the Barak River ( Di means "River", and Brasa means "Barak" ). The Dibrasa were later known as Twiprasa and formed the Twipra Kingdom in the Barak Valley . In 1562, the Koch dynasty King Chilarai invaded and captured

1215-408: Is more than 3,000 millimetres (120 in). Its climate is tropical wet; the district has hot and wet summers and cool winters. According to the 2011 census , Cachar district has a population of 1,736,617. It ranks 278th out of a total of 640 districts in India. The district has a population density of 459 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,190/sq mi). Its population growth rate over

1296-631: Is one of the most important business centers of Assam. Because of its wet climate, the main crops of the district are rice and tea. The Indian government identified Cachar as one of the country's 250 most backward districts in 2006; there are 640 districts in India. It currently receives funding through the Backward Regions Grant Fund program (BRGF). There are several temples and historic sites in Silchar and Cachar. The village of Khaspur, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Silchar, features

1377-480: Is the center of government. There are seven Assam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: Barkhola , Dholai , Katigorah , Lakhipur , Silchar , Sonai , and Udharbond . These seven constituencies make up the Silchar Lok Sabha constituency . Dholai is designated for scheduled castes , among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. Silchar is the district headquarters and

1458-642: The Chief Commissionership of Assam on 6 February 1874. In the later 19th century, southern Cachar was raided numerous times by the Lushais . After India's partition from Great Britain in 1947, the Karimganj sub-division of undivided Sylhet District became part of the Cachar district. North Cachar was separated from Cachar as Dima Hasao district in 1963, followed by Karimganj district . Hailakandi district

1539-552: The Chin-Lushai Expedition establish the territories under British sovereignty. The outcome of the Chin-Lushai Expedition saw the region subdivided into two sections. The North Lushai hills were administered by a political officer stationed at Fort Aijal under the Assam Government . The South Lushai Hills were under the administration of a political officer stationed at Fort Treager. This political officer reported to

1620-525: The province of Assam with both districts being merged as the Lushai Hills until India gained independence in 1947. After the Chin-Lushai Expedition of 1889-90 , South Lushai Hills was occupied in 1889, and the following year, it was formally annexed, becoming part of Bengal Presidency . North Lushai Hills was also occupied in 1889, and became part of British Assam . On 1889, the two districts merged and continued to be part of British Assam. On 1912, it

1701-499: The stump-tailed macaque , the masked finfoot , and the white-winged wood duck . The sanctuary is also home to tiger , the hoolock gibbon , and the gaur . The Asian elephant is already extinct. The southern part of the district was also recommended as a Dhaleswari wildlife sanctuary but has yet to receive that status. Silchar has an airport, which is located at Kumbhirgram . It is served by regular flights from IndiGo , Air India , and SpiceJet . Broad-gauge railways connect

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1782-514: The 1901 census recorded 45 Christians amid a population of 82,000, and only five were baptized church members. The traditional Mizo tribes possessed talent in Mizo handicraft in cotton weaving. While the Bengal Home Industries Association of Calcutta attempted to leverage this talent, no agreement was reached. The District Officer took the initiative in commercializing and educating Mizo labourers in cotton production skills as

1863-625: The Barak Valley from the Twipra Kingdom. King Chilarai gave his brother, Kamal Narayan, authority over the region. The descendants of Kamal Narayan ruled the region until the 18th century. After the fall of the Koch kingdom due to no heir, the Dimasa Kingdom took over and ruled most of the undivided Cachar district . Raja Shri Krishna Chandra Dwaja Narayan Hasnu Kacharihe was the most powerful king of

1944-406: The British became close in proximity to several Kuki tribes and clans. Reports of the time show a friendly relationship between Lushai and Cacharis, who pursued trade and other exchanges. However, the individual choices of select chiefs, such as Lalsuthlaha, to raid villages deteriorated relations. It was thought that the British invaded the Lushai Hills not because of any commercial desire but due to

2025-436: The British to guarantee boundaries of their dominion and assure security of their subjects and possessions. As the border was too informal with the chiefdoms, the British declared a unilateral declaration with the inner line. One of the objectives of this regulation is to prevent the holding of land and assimilation of their culture and tradition beyond this inner line by 'strangers'. The Inner Line has, for this reason, protected

2106-715: The Digboi Centenary Museum, the Railway Heritage Park and Museum, and the Sonitpur District Museum. Barail Wildlife Sanctuary is the only wildlife sanctuary in the district and was established in 2004. The naturalist Dr. Anwaruddin Choudhury worked to create the sanctuary in the early 1980s. Rare species in the sanctuary included the Hoolock gibbon , the phayre's leaf monkey , the pig-tailed macaque ,

2187-682: The Dimasa Kingdom at Khaspur. During Krishna Chandra's rule, the Manipuri king sought help against the Burmese army. Krishna Chandra defeated the Burmese in battle and was offered the Manipuri Princess Induprabha in thanks. Because Krishna Chandra was already married to Rani Chandraprabha, he asked Princess Induprabha to marry his younger brother, Govinda Chandra Hasnu. During this period, Khaspur

2268-557: The Japanese. The Lushai tribesmen were trained by Australian military personnel, such as Colonel Percival Augustus Parsons, in guerilla warfare. The scheme was successful as the Japanese retreated from the borderlands of India in late 1944. On 11 January 1894, the first missionaries entered the Lushai Hills, known as James H. Lorrain and Frederick W. Savidge. It took both missionaries five years to baptise their first two converts. The meagre gain from their efforts convinced Robert Arthington ,

2349-695: The Labour Corps personnel were made under one-year contracts, which timed out before the end of the war. Attempts to extend the term of contractual obligations were unsuccessful and led to many returning home. In the end, 2029 men of the original 2,100 returned. Deaths were attributed to the novelty of a sea journey to mainland Europe, disease, casualties from bombings and grenades in the course of labour work and ammunition handling. Lushai Labour Corps personnel were also active in Arras for demolition work, even deployed to regions such as Mesopotamia , Greece , Lucknow and

2430-546: The Lushai Hills district. It was derived initially after the Lushai Expedition under section 2 of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873. It was an attempt to exercise political control over the Lushai Hills and chiefdoms. The rationale was to prevent traders, merchants, farmers and subjects from crossing into Lushai territory and deteriorating relations with the chiefdoms. This would also allow for

2511-643: The Lushai Hills from commercial exploitation of land and forest resources from merchants, traders and other tribes. Superintendent McCall was the administrator of the Lushai Hills district from 1933 to 1943. His administration saw four major innovations in the Lushai Hills. These were the Ten Point Code, the Welfare System under the aegis of the Red Cross, the Lushai Hills Cottage Industries and

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2592-498: The Lushai Hills had proposals of amalgamating the Zo-Kuki tribes into a single administrative unit rather than maintaining a division between Chin Hills and (North and South) Lushai Hills. The conference was held at Fort Williams, Calcutta on the 25–29 January 1892. It was under the presidency of Charles Alfred Elliott who was the governor of Bengal. Five resolutions were adopted as a result of

2673-505: The Lushai Hills would not resist Japanese occupation if the British military were to retreat as they did in British Malaya , Singapore and Colony of Brunei . The Total Defence Scheme involved guerilla warfare , strategic abandonment of villages, scorched earth tactics with denial of food and water, booby traps , destruction of bridges and exclusive information supplied to British authorities. McCall explicitly states to Chiefs to arm

2754-412: The Lushai Hills. Dokhuma Sailo moved his village to Tripura, and Hrangvunga Sailo also moved 200 families under him out of the territory to Tripura. Famine relief also saw missionaries and the early church volunteering to distribute aid and food relief from stockade depots. Missionaries would also help sign loan papers as guarantors so individuals could receive the rice aid. The fallout of the famine saw

2835-490: The Lushai Hills. The saleability of rugs increased from 20% and began to compete with substandard rugs in the broader market. The product was now considered higher quality under hand spun cotton, tightly stuffed and bound by the woof. Lushai craftsmen in cotton industries were being sent to Calcutta to Dr. Boege, a general manager of a trading company, for training in synthetic saying. The growing industry prompted Governor of Assam Robert Reid and his spouse to become patrons with

2916-634: The Lushai tribes.By 1900, there were three government schools and one mission school. These schools operated with the Lushai language and taught arithmetic, Hindi and English. 45 villages out of 93 in Aizawl had the light of literacy with British support. Initial intentions for education was to instruct in Bengali but this proposal was deflected by Welsh missionaries who saw the parallels of Bengali imposition in Lushai Hills to English imposition in Wales. Medical infrastructure

2997-549: The Ottoman vilayet of Basra . Returning from the war encouraged veterans to join the Assam Rifles , Assam Regiment and Indian Army Hospital Corps. In Aizawl, a memorial was constructed shortly after the war to commemorate the deaths of 71 Labour Corps volunteers. Exposure to foreign cultures in the course of the war redeployments also began to bring home new ideas of westernization and modernization. Some of these developments were

3078-795: The Sun Gate, Lion Gate, the king's palace, a temple, and other remains of the 17th century Kachari Kingdom . The ruins of Kachari Fort in Dimapur , Nagaland , date to the 13th century. The Baro Dwari, Bishnu Mandir, Kali Mandir, Singh Duwar, and Snan Ghar are other ancient monuments in the Cachar district. Other sites include Badarpur Fort in Badarpur , Bhubaneswar Shiva temple at Chandragiri in Sonai , Nrimata temple at Barkhola , and Siddeshwar temple in Badarpur. Silchar has several museums, including Assam State Museum ,

3159-680: The Viceroy Landsdowne . While Landsdowne favoured the recommendation, the council was evenly split. The opposition of the former Chief Commissioner of Burma Charles Crosthwaite with knowledge of the Chin-Lushai tracts worded a strong argument against the district's creation. A decision was made on 2 August 1892 in a telegraph to the Chief Commissioner of Rangoon, stating that the Chin Hills would remain under Burma. The legacy of this decision

3240-526: The Village Welfare System was twofold. The first reason was that it was an egalitarian way of bringing people together socially on the subject of health. The second reason was to encourage the Chiefs to cooperate on an uncontroversial matter. The stipulation held legitimacy by allowing the villages to join the welfare system voluntarily but being obligated to follow the rules upon joining. Village welfare

3321-441: The army and police's ability to curb insurgency and raiding. Roads between Sairang - Silchar were constructed and another connecting Aijal to Serchhip . Bridges across rivers were also constructed to improve mobility during monsoons and rainy reasons. The total expenditure for public works amounted to Rs 80,000. The British administration set up schools imparting literacy to both sepoys and young individuals of both genders from

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3402-433: The bravest with guns and rifles and not directly confront enemies but to rely on knowledge of the terrain for effective ambush tactics . The Total Defence Scheme functioned on an asymmetrical warfare doctrine as a result. McCall's scheme was made in mind that tribal people did not possess up-to-date arms, were not professionally trained in military affairs and lacked vital air support and reconnaissance in comparison with

3483-523: The church take on the role of medical relief for the cholera outbreaks, taking in orphans and the destitute. The operations were funded by the Lushai Famine Funds mission directors and other donors. The efforts of the missionaries also saw the growth of Chrisitanity. In 1912, up to 80 villages had churches and 1,800 converts in total. The outbreak of World War One saw few Mizo men take the initiative to enlist, with numbers of enlistment increasing with

3564-527: The commissioner of Chittagong who was under the Bengal Government . Paramilitary units were established to pacify the recently conquered tribes effectively in unfamiliar terrain. The North Lushai battalion was founded for this reason, and by 1898, the strength of civil and military police in North and South Lushai came to about 1106 personnel. The British also began to invest into local infrastructure to improve

3645-451: The conference. The first resolution stated a majority opinion supported the idea of a single administrative unit of the Chin Hills and Lushai Hills preferably under the Chief Commissioner of Assam. The second resolution delayed the urgency of the creation of a single Chin-Lushai District on the opposition of the Chief Commissioner of Burma Alexander Mackenzie , stating it should not be taken immediately. The recommendation ultimately reached

3726-503: The construction of the Reid House to provide offices, workspace, stock rooms, packing and dyes. This supplied dyes for free with a specially trained dyer. The interests and influence of the Reid house promoted second cash bows to villages, improved employability and social status of women, employed the disabled and crippled, revival of Lushai hand-looming culture, and encouragement of research into

3807-489: The creation of the District Chief's Durbar. Each Chief will ascend to the durbar by signing a document affirming loyalty to the British Crown and the Lushai people. The durbar was designed for chiefs to become responsible for studying the conditions and lives of people under their jurisdiction and to unify the Chiefs in looking after the wellbeing of the Lushai people in general. The Durbar was assigned to meet twice yearly at

3888-442: The decade of 2001 to 2011 was 20.17%. Cachar has a sex ratio of 958 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 80.36%. 18.17% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 15.25% and 1.01% of the population, respectively. Hinduism is the main religion in Cachar, including 59.83% of the population. Christians are mainly found in tribal communities, and represent just 2.17% of

3969-413: The despisement of those who wouldn't volunteer by courtships and belles of the villages. In April 1917, 2100 Lushai Men marched out in the 27th Indian Labour Corps under four companies. Other entitlements such as a lifetime exemption from an annual housing tax, coolie labour quotas and an ability to tour abroad also proved popular for Lushai manpower. Missionary and government publications also propagandized

4050-552: The district to Guwahati in Assam and other parts of India including New Delhi , Kolkata and Chennai ; from here, regular train service is provided to all cities in North-East India. Roads connect the district to the rest of the country. In addition, there is regular bus service to cities in North-East India. Cachar district has several well-known educational institutions. Silchar is a major learning hub of Assam. The district has

4131-503: The first Superintendent of the District. The British annexed Cachar plains on 14 August 1832. The district's headquarters moved to Dudpatil in 1833, and later to its current location of Silchar . Northern Cachar remained a separate principality but came under British occupation in 1854 after the death of Tularam; the British justified this takeover of northern Cachar because of the "misconduct of its rulers." Cachar district became part of

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4212-417: The government as a result. The second policy was to distribute food relief. This was decided as the Lushai Hills lacked any local markets to purchase rice from. The government allocated 585,000 rupees and ordered rice from independent merchants and shopkeepers to transport them from Sairang to Aizawl and Demagiri to Lunglei. Food grains were issued to the needy on the condition of repayment with interest. This

4293-765: The head appear elongated. Theories have also proposed that the name is Burmese derived and means people ten . The name Lushai continued as the name of the district past Indian independence before becoming changed into the Mizo District with the political efforts of the Mizo Union in the Lushai Hills District (Change of Name) Act, 1954. The Lushai people and the British colonial area started to engage in war in September 1826. About ten miles south of Tlawng river , traveled

4374-479: The impact on the Mizo population was profound. Over a hundred people starved to death. Estimations say that around two million rats were killed and collected by the locals. The Mizo population were extremely upset with the Assam Government as they predicted about the famine two years earlier, but no response was given. As a result, the Mizo National Famine Front was formed for the Mizo people to gain

4455-461: The inauguration of the Chief's Durbar. These innovations were introduced to unify the Lushai identity and to support Governor of Assam Robert Reid's vision of transforming the excluded tribal zones into a separate Crown Colony. Reid's plan received considerable political interest but was dropped at the onset of World War Two. The Ten Point Code was established and taught in schools to children. The purpose

4536-466: The introduction of short hair and European dress. Articles such as those by Lalsailova in Mizo leh Vai suggested that rural readers consider moving to Aijal for the purpose of progress ( hmasawnna ). Mizo labourers also brought back crop seeds such as mustard, which changed traditional Mizo cuisine to French fusion in the post-war era. In 1925, the Inner Line Regulation was amended to protect

4617-422: The jhumming cycle, labourers would spend time producing a rug made of unspun, white, tufted, local cotton. The Lushai Hills Cotton Industries began to train and upskill Mizo labourers into looming craftmanship which as a domino effect led to craftsmen spreading these teachings to other villagers. Quality control of rug productions would see only 20% of rugs marketable and profitable. As a measure, rejections carried

4698-499: The name to Mizo district. Mizo connotates highlander . Mi refers to a person while zo refers to hills. A Lushai Hills district was formed in 1898 under British India , merging the former North Lushai Hills and South Lushai Hills regions into a single district of the Assam province . It was regarded as an Excluded Area , beyond the Inner Line , which meant that the laws and regulations of

4779-425: The north, and the Sonai River and Daleswari River from the south. The district consists primarily of plains but also includes several ranges of hills throughout the district. At times, the wetlands of the plains flood, forming lakes. The district is mostly a tropical evergreen forest , with large tracts of rainforests in the north and south of the district. The average annual rainfall of Cachar district

4860-641: The official languages of the Cachar district. According to the 2011 census, Bengali is spoken by 75% of the overall population. Although Bengali is the official language, the most common spoken language is Sylheti , generally grouped with Bengali as a dialect. Sylheti Bengalis are the majority ethnic community, but other ethnic groups also live in the district and speak Meitei , Bhojpuri , Bishnupuriya , Dimasa , Rongmei-Naga , Mizo , Khasi , etc. Immigrants from other parts of India are also present and are mainly Hindi speakers. The district has three sub-divisions: Silchar, Lakhipur, and Katigorah. Silchar

4941-441: The opportunity to fight abroad. Further recruitment initiatives were halted due to the Kuki Uprising in the bordering regions against continued recruitment. The Corps was deployed in Marseilles as La Valentine camp. The camp was built up with a canteen and a cinema over time. Labour Corps were also often accompanied by missionaries, for the Lushai Labour Corps, Reverend James Herbert Lorrain accompanied them. The contracts to

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5022-443: The patron of the Arthington Aborigines Mission, to move to the next hill tribe. Before the departure of Lorrain and Savidge, D. E Jones, a missionary under the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist mission, joined them. Jones struggled with obtaining results from his efforts, and many of his converts would be expelled shortly after being received into communion. His later converts would also leave on their own volition in 1904–1905. In seven years,

5103-422: The people of the district rallied behind a "Mizo" identity and formed a political party called Mizo Union . In 1954, the Government of India accepted their demand and changed the name of the district to Mizo District. The first Mizo chief to give up his chiefdom and chieftainship was Khawvelthanga of Maubuang (1885–1971). During the Mautam famine of the 1959, Mizo District experienced severe food shortages, and

5184-419: The pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar Hills), Hailakandi , Karimganj , and the current Cachar district. Silchar is Cachar district's center of government. The word Cacahr is derived from the Dimasa word Kachari and traces its origin to the Kachari Kingdom . Around the year 1536, the elder prince of Dimasa Kachari, Drikpati, and

5265-447: The province did not apply, and the people from the plains could not access it without a permit. After the independence of India, the district continued to exist in the same form, with the typology changed to Scheduled Area and Inner Line in place. In addition, the district was granted an autonomous district council to formulate its own laws and regulations under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India . Prior to independence,

5346-475: The relocation of the Silchar Police Battalion. Local resources such as quarried stone led to installing of bungalows and barracks. Superintendent Captain Granville Henry Loch, with a Khasi contractor, expanded the settlement. Loch was a soldier but possessed experience as an engineer. Loch trained his own men in quarrying and shaping stone. He used sepoys in greater numbers and instructed them in masonry , carpentry and roadmaking. This initiative lent his battalion

5427-463: The total population of the region. Among the Bengalis , Hinduism and Islam religions are equally represented, although Muslims are only 37.71% of the region's total population. Sikhism arrived in Cachar after Guru Nanak 's visit to eastern India in 1508. In the early 20th century, most of the Sikhs lived in the northern part of Cachar where they worked for the Assam Bengal Railway . Languages in Cachar district (2011) Bengali and Meitei are

5508-403: The tribe is named as decapitators, a title supportive of the fact that the tribes had a reputation for headhunting . This view was rebuked by John Shakespeare who argued the name Lushai to be an eponym of a chief or ancestor of the Lushai clans. It is also argued that the name is a purely Lushai language word, that Lu means head and shei means long, as a reference to how the hair knot makes

5589-445: The usage of natural resources of the Lushai hills into fields such as medicine, metalworking etc. Issues in the cotton industries were resolved with well off and influential individuals such as Chhuakhama, Pachhunga and Thanga who negotiated agreements with the Imperial Tobacco Company at their personal expense. Cachar Cachar district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India . After independence,

5670-423: Was also established to maintain the health of soldiers. This service extended to the civilian population with free medical provisions that affected the image of the Raj in the tribes. In 1896, the British constructed a big hospital in Aizawl and medicines were distributed freely to the chiefs. The conduct of the British in the Lushai hills functioned parallel to a welfare state . The beginnings of British rule over

5751-414: Was amalgamated on 13 April 1989 and renamed the Lushai Hills Military Police Battalion. The merger also saw the political headquarters of the South Lushai Hills, Fort Treagor, decommissioned due to water scarcity. Lieutenant Colonial John Shakespear functioned as the first superintendent of the Lushai Hills district. By 1900, several forts were decommissioned, and military police unit numbers were reduced with

5832-402: Was assassinated on 24 April 1840 at Haritikar. Because he died without a natural heir, his territories were annexed by the British under doctrine of lapse , adding it as the Cachar district of Assam. The British sent army officer T. Fisher to oversee the region; he established its headquarters at Cherrapunji on 30 June 1830. Fisher was both the magistrate and the collector, later becoming

5913-526: Was difficult due to the lack of monetization of the economy at the time. To deal with this phenomenon, the British resorted to forced labour. Labourers were pooled from several villages to work on expanding Aizawl as a city by building roads, bungalows, offices and water storage tanks to combat water scarcity. Even if an individual had not taken a loan personally for food relief, they would become obligated to participate in forced labour to pay off another's debt. In retaliation, some villages and chiefs moved out of

5994-552: Was finalized in the 1937 split of Burma and India under the Government of India Act 1935 , which established an international boundary between the two countries, splitting the Zo-Kuki tribes. Fort Aijal was founded in 1890 on an abandoned village site. It functioned as a barracks for two columns of the forces from the Chin Lushai Expeidition with fortifications improvised from locally harvested teak trees. The Fort grew with

6075-609: Was formed from Cachar district in 1989. Cachar district occupies an area of 3,786 square kilometres (1,462 sq mi). The district is surrounded on the south by Mizoram , to the east by Manipur , to the west by Hailakandi district and Karimganj district , and to the north by the Barali and the Jayantia hill ranges. The Barak River is the main river of the district, along with its tributaries—the Jiri River and Jatinga River from

6156-463: Was introduced due to the fact that only 3% of the Lushai population had access to permanent contact to amenities. The civil surgeon was in charge of the village welfare system, who oversaw all matters of public health and living conditions for the benefit of the villagers. The village welfare committees function under the guidance of the Red Cross district committee in Aizawl. All committee decision-making

6237-689: Was put into British India 's Assam Province . The Lushai hills are named after the Lushei clan. The name of the tribes became a colonial misnomer which applied to all of the Mizo tribes. The earliest recorded documentation was in 1862 which described Lhooshai Kukis living on the border of Cachar . The spelling of Lushai became standardized with the Progressive Colloq. Exercises in Lushai Dial. 3 by Thomas Herbert Lewin. Lewin claimed that Lu denotes head and sha or shat denotes cutting, which would imply

6318-473: Was restructured with three districts subsequently. British rule in the Lushai Hills British rule in the Lushai Hills , spanning from the late 1889 to the 1947, commenced with the Chin-Lushai Expedition of 1889-90 leading to the formal establishment of the two administrative districts (North Lushai Hills, South Lushai Hills) in 1889 and continued through the integration of the regions into

6399-555: Was the capital of Cachar. The last king of Cachar was Raja Govindra Chandra Dwaja Narayana Hasnu. The British moved into Assam in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War , which was then under Burmese occupation. At the time, the Cachar kingdom was ruled by two leaders—Raja Govindra Chandra Dwaja Narayana Hasnu in the southern plains, and Raja Tularam Thaosen in the North Cachar Hills ( Dima Hasao ). Raja Govinda Chandra

6480-411: Was to cultivate Lushai identity for potential nationhood and preservation of Mizo culture and customs. The code was also implemented into choirs, poetry and song. The welfare committees in villages also recite two points of the code every monthly meeting. The code was also intended to remedy traits of Lushai culture that were backward and incohesive for a national identity. The rationale for implementing

6561-402: Was unanimous and implemented by the villagers in religious, social, and technical harmony. All welfare committees have the village chief as president, leaders of the church and school, pensioners, and two village women and two village men in membership. The Lushai Hills Cotton Industry initiative was too risky for government funds and was privately financed by McCall and his wife, who formed as

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