Chin people

Chin people
Burmese:ချင်းလူမျိုး
Mizo:Chin hnam
Tedim Chin:Chin nam
Hakha Chin:Chin miphun
Falam Chin:Chin phunpi
Chin women and children
Total population
1,500,000+ (2011)
Regions with significant populations
 Myanmar1,500,000[1]
 India100,000+
          Mizoram70,000-100,000 (2012)[2]
          Manipur12,000[3]
 United States70,000[4]
 Malaysia12,000[5]
Languages
Lingua franca:
Burmese or Mizo
Native:
other Kuki-Chin languages
Religion
Majority:
Christianity 80%[6]
Minority: 20%[6]
Buddhism, Folk religions
Related ethnic groups
Mizo people, Kachin people, Bawm people, Naga people

The Chin people (Burmese: ချင်းလူမျိုး; MLCTS: hkyang: lu. myui:, pronounced [tɕɪ́ɰ̃ lù mjó]) are an ethnic group native to the Chin State of Myanmar.[7] Strictly speaking, the term "Chin" only refers to the 53 sub-tribes of the Chin ethnic group, divided and recognized by the Burmese government. They speak the Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages, which are often mutually unintelligible but are closely related.

The Chin are one of the founding groups of the Union of Burma, along with the Shan, Kachin, and Burmese.[8] The Chin speak a variety of related languages, and share elements of culture and traditions.[8] According to the British state media BBC News, "The Chin people are one of the most persecuted minority groups in Burma."[8] These people predominantly live in the Chin State, Bago Division, Magwe Division, and Sagaing Region of Myanmar, but are also spread throughout Burma, and Bangladesh and India as refugees.

During the era of British rule, the colonial government used the compound term 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo' to group the Kukish language speaking people, and the Indian government inherited this nomenclature.[9][10][11] Some Chin nationalists now consider that Chin would mean subtle Paite domination of Chin, Kuki and Chin identity, which other groups like Hmars, Chins (Chinmi), and Koms may not use.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

  1. ^ "Chin State Among Priority Regions Needing and Receiving Minimal Humanitarian Aid".
  2. ^ "Census planned for Chins in Mizoram State - Myanmar | ReliefWeb". 18 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Manipur, Mizoram differ on Myanmar 'refugees'". The Hindu. 28 September 2023.
  4. ^ "How Refugees from Myanmar Have Embraced Midland—and Its Conservative Politics". 29 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Malaysia: Burmese Chin refugees on the run - Myanmar | ReliefWeb". 29 March 2005.
  6. ^ a b "Chin". Minority Rights Group. June 19, 2015.
  7. ^ Head, Jonathan, Burma's 'abused Chin need help', BBC News, Jan 28, 2009, accessed Jan 28, 2009
  8. ^ a b c "Burma's 'forgotten' Chin people". April 19, 2010 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  9. ^ Violence and identity in North-east India: Naga-Kuki conflict - Page 201 S. R. Tohring - 2010 "... for these tribes including • the Kuki/ speaking tribe such as: 'Chin', 'Mizo', 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo', 'CHIKIM', 'Zomi', 'Zou', 'Zo'. ... During the British era, the British rulers used the term 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo' and the Government of India seemed to follow ..."
  10. ^ Amy Alexander Burma: "we are Like Forgotten People" : the Chin People of Burma Page 16 2009 "... within Chin State, Chin nationalist leaders popularized the term "Chin" following Burma's independence from Britain."
  11. ^ Gougin, T. (1984). History of Zomi. Churachandpur, Manipur: T. Gougin. OCLC 556461464. In Burma the people like to renounce the term Chin in favour of Zomi. Chin is becoming more and ...
  12. ^ B. Datta-Ray Tribal identity and tension in north-east India Page 34 1989 "Now to accept the term Chin would mean subtle Paite domination in the matter, which the other groups like the Hmars, Zous, and Koms may not coopt. A Chin leader categorically stated that 'Chin’ is a Burmese word which literally ..."
  13. ^ Keat Gin Ooi - Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East ... - Volume 1 - Page 353 2004 "Until recently, there appeared to be a consensus that the term Chin was not an identity that any of these peoples would ... Some promote the terms Chin and Chinmi, stating that they are derived from the name of the mythic common ancestor of all ..."
  14. ^ Ramamoorthy Gopalakrishnan - Socio-political framework in North-East India - Page 149 1996 "Later, the term 'Mizo' created a lot of confusion particularly when the Chin National Congress emerged. ... But the problem arose with the use of the term 'Chin' (it is not given due recognition in the List of Scheduled Tribes in Manipur)."
  15. ^ Politico-economic development of the tribals of Manipur: a study ... - Page 8 Chinkholian Guite - 1999 "Conceptual Meaning and Various Interpretations of the Terms— Chin Kuki and Mizo (a) Chin The term Zomi is the name given to this Zomi (formerly known as Chin-Kuki-Mizo) group of people in Myanmar (Burma). They are mostly found in the ..."
  16. ^ Encyclopaedic profile of Indian tribes - Page 530 Sachchidananda, R. R. Prasad - 1996
  17. ^ Traditional Customs and Rituals of Northeast India: Arunachal ... - Page 288 Pradip Chandra Sarma, Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture "chose to employ the term Chin to christen those on the Burmese side and the term Kuki on the Indian side of the border respectively... The Mizo of today's Mizoram are the descendants of Luseia, and the Chin of Manipur are from the Songthu line, and thus all ..."