LUSHAI HILLS DISTRICT (present-day Mizoram)

The Lushai - now known as Mizo - were related to the Chin in present-day Myanmar,who forced them to migrate into what was to be known as the Lushai Hills (present-day Mizoram) in the 16th and 17th centuries.Although most of the area was - formally at least - seen as subject to the Kingdomof Tripura, most Lushai were actually free and divided into independent "village-states".

These were ruled by "lal", hereditary absolute chiefs belonging to one of the sixclans descending from Chief Thangura who lived in the early 18th century : Pallian(or Pytoo), Rivung, Rokum, Syloo (or Sailo), Thangluah and Zadeng (or Jadeng).For part of the 18th century the Zadeng chiefs had been predominant. But after awar that lasted from ca 1790 to ca 1810, Sailo Chief Lallula (17.. - 184.) imposedhis rule and gradually replaced the village chiefs belonging to the Rivung, Rokumand Zadeng clans in the Central and the Northern Lushai Hills by chiefs of his ownSailo clan (leaving only the southern villages of the Lushai hills under their ownPallian and Thangluah chiefs).

After the death of Lallula in 184., the area ruled by the SAILO chiefs was dividedinto four groups of villages, having the sons of Lallula (Lalliangvunga, Mangpawrha andVuta), his grandson Lalsavunga and their respective descendents as chiefs.After the death of Lalsavunga in 1849, his sons Lalphunga, Lal of Chellam and Vanhnuailiana,Lal of Champhai became the most important Lushai leaders and ca 1870 Vanhnuailiana evenseems to have been recognized as principal Lushai chief by the other Sailo chiefsas well as by the British.

In 1826 the Lushai - already raiding their other neighbours (Cachar, Manipur, etc)for some time - launched a first raid into British territory. It was followed by other ones and in 1844 the BEIC finally reacted and dispatcheda first punitive expedition into the Lushai Hills. Other expeditions took place in : 1861 : The Thangluah were forced to accept British rule,1871 - 1872 : The Western Lushai (= the villages ruled by descendents of Mangpawrha and Vuta) were (temporarily) forced to accept British rule,1889 - 1890 : All Lushai communities were forced to submit to the British.

After the British conquest the Lushai Hills were at first divided into two PoliticalAgencies :
- the Northern Lushai Hills, subject to the Province of Assam- the Southern Lushai Hills, subject to the Province of Bengal.

In 1895 the area was formally annexed to British India and in 1898 both parts wereunited to form the Lushai Hills District of Assam.


Source: http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/rotunda/2209/Assam.html#Lushai