Chin people

The Chin peoples (, ) are a collection of ethnic groups native to Chin State and parts of Rakhine State in Myanmar. They speak a variety of Kuki-Chin languages, which are closely related but mutually unintelligible. The Chin identity, as a pan-ethnic identity, is a modern construction, shaped by British rule and post-independence ethnic politics, building upon older tribal and regional identities.

Ethnonyms

Chin (ချင်း, MLCTS: khyang:) is a pseudo-exonym, a Burmese language adaptation of the Asho Chin word khlong or khlaung, which means "man" or "person." Burmese speakers approximated the Asho Chin word, and began to apply the exonym to all nearby groups residing in the Arakan Mountains and Chin Hills. The Burmese term first appeared in stone inscriptions dating to the reign of King Kyansittha in the 11th century.

The term "Chin" is not universally accepted by all groups living in Chin State nor by all Kuki-Chin groups. Groups in the north tend to prefer the term Zo, while related ethnolinguistic groups in India prefer the terms Zomi or Mizo.

During the era of British rule, the colonial government used the compound term 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo' to group the Kukish language speaking peoples, and the Indian government inherited this nomenclature. The Burmese government classifies the Chin as a "national race" composed of 53 sub-groups that predominantly live in Chin State.

Subgroups

According to F.K. Lehman, the Chin people can be divided into broad categories under geography and culture, known as the Northern Chin and the Southern Chin. The northern Chin are known as the hill Chin. The division between the Northern and Southern Chin is demarcated at 21°45'N. Lehman describes the Southern Chin as having poorer material culture compared to the North.

In the Northern Chin Hills, they can be divided into three tracts in the Tedim, Falam and Haka. The Tedim tract consists of Sukte, Kamhau and Sizang. These can be further subdivided into subtribes such as the Dim, Khuano, Hualngo, Sizang, Tedim, Saizang, Thado, Teizang, Vangte, Guite, Vaiphei and Zou, many of whom collectively identify as Zomi. The Falam tract is thickly populated by the tribes of Sunthla, Zahau, Hualngo, Khualsim, Tawyan, Zanniat, Ngawn, Laizo and Khuangli, who are sometimes known as . Historically, the British recorded them as Tashon as a corruption of Taisun or Klashun, a village west of Falam. In the Haka tract, the Hakas, Thantlang, Zokhua, Thettas and Kapis. They call themselves '. The Haka tract inhabitants share similarities with the Maras.

The Southern Chin largely consists of the plains or valley Chin. Their cultural practices differ, such as the cremation of the dead and face tattoos. The Southern Chin consist of the Chinme, Welaung, Chinbok, Yindu, Chinbon, Khyang, Sho, Asho, Cho, Khami, Mro and some Burmese tribes such as the Anu, Kun, Pallaing and Sak. These groups live north of Arakan and the Pakkoku tracts.

Geographic distribution

In Myanmar

The Chin peoples predominantly live in the western part of Myanmar, stretching from the Singu Plateau to the Arakan Mountains, encompassing Chin and Rakhine States, Bago, Magwe, and Sagaing Region. While Mizoram initially welcomed the Chin, growing numbers led to backlash and deportations among local Mizos. The Young Mizo Association (YMA), which promotes Mizo identity, previously ordered Chin refugees to leave and assisted police in forced evictions—actions that violated the principle of non-refoulement. Chins in Mizoram live without legal status, making them vulnerable to arrest, detention, and exploitation. They face challenges accessing livelihoods, healthcare, and shelter, and often live on the margins of society.

Diaspora

Due to political instability in Myanmar, many Chins have migrated to Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and the United States as refugees. The American Baptist, British, and Swedish Lutheran church groups have helped relocate thousands of Chin people. 20,000 Chin people refugees are living in Malaysia. Several thousand more are resettled in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Chin people who flee from Burma usually seek refuge in Thailand, Malaysia, and India before eventually resettling in the United States. Leaving Myanmar is often expensive, dangerous, and illegal. Refugees with limited financial means flee by boat, car, or on foot, whereas those with greater resources may travel by air. Human smugglers, or brokers, typically charge around US$1,000 per person to cross borders. Refugees apprehended by either Myanmar or foreign authorities may face imprisonment and mistreatment, including physical abuse.

History

Origins

Ancestors of the Chin are believed to have originated between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in north-central China.

Preceding the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the Chin National Front was established with the Chin National Army in Aizawl, Mizoram (India). It was founded by a Falam Chin, Tial Khal, who was a participant in the Mizo Insurgency. The Champhai Camp of the organisation sought funding from the government of India, taxes of the Chin population in Mizoram and integration of rations from the Burmese Democratic Front. As a result, 70 soldiers a year were trained. A second recruitment base was opened on the Bangladesh border in December 1989. Despite this, half of the soldiers of the CNF suffered from food and medicine deficiency, thus making them go into the Chin State to collect rice and bring it back to Bangladesh to grow. The CNF remained below 300 fighting strength until the mid-1990s.

The CNF was unable to establish territorial autonomy. The CNF, lacking funds, acquired weapons by ambushing insurgent groups. The CNF also fought against the Zomi Revolutionary Army. The CNF was soon expelled from Mizoram in 1995. To continue, they coerced the collection of food and taxes in Chin villages and caused refugees to enter Northeast India. Furthermore, the resentment of the Falam dominated CNF led to opposition communities supplying their rivals. The Tatmadaw procured resources as a result and establishes camps and bases running heroin factories.

From 1996 to 2003, the CNF became an urban guerrilla organisation. The CNF recruited from rural groups in the mid-1990s after further funding issues. After 1995, the CNF became responsive to the Human Rights issues of the Tatmadaw in the cities and launched guerrilla attacks. Many of these operations consisted of bombings planted at officers' and administrative residences. The guerrilla movement sustained itself until 2003, when the smuggling of weapons stopped. In 1995, the CNF also established the Chin Human Rights Organization to lobby for human rights, democracy and rights restoration of the Chin and other minorities. The organisation sent Cung Bik Ling to the United Nations Working Group of Indigenous Populations. This engagement was argued to have been more effective than the military phase of the CNF.

From 2004 to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, the CNF operated as an armed NGO. Donations from overseas Chin communities became a new source of funding, but only became significant following the coup. Following the 2012 ceasefire, the CNF established a base at Camp Victory in Thantlang, Teddim Township. The administration of the CNF as a broker with the new state was difficult. Education was inefficient in the BUrmese medium. There were a few mobile clinics functioning and overseas donations helped deliver healthcare, water, electricity, education and food. A justice system was not established and legal disputes were mediated through village councils.

Post-coup Myanmar

In the 2020 Myanmar general election, Chin State voters overwhelmingly voted for the National League for Democracy. Ongoing conflict has displaced 160,000 people – more than one third of Chin State's population – either internally or across the Indian border.

This sentiment was echoed across the state. The YMA built refugee camps and coordinated donations of food, clothing, and funds from across Mizoram.

Tribes and clans

The Chin peoples are divided into six main tribes, namely the Asho, Cho (Sho), Khumi (M'ro), Laimi, and Zomi, which can be further distinguished by at least 60 different sub-tribal categories. The Chin have adopted clan names based on their ancestral origins; for instance the Sizang have adopted a common clan name, Siyin.

Historically, the Chin wore loincloths and men occasionally wore turbans. Both garments had two types: one for everyday use and one reserved for special occasions.

Holidays

Chin National Day is celebrated annually on 20 February, commemorating the abolition of the traditional slavery system and chieftainship among the Chin people. The first official celebration was held in 1951 in Mindat. People display many traditional dance such as bamboo dance, sarlamkai (conquest dance), khuangcawi (a lady is lifted by a crowd), ruakhatlak and many other dances from each group. Lai paih (traditional wrestling), is one of the major events at the celebration. Beauty pageants, fashion shows, and musical performances are also commonly held. Traditional food, such as sabuti (hominy corn soup) and chang (rice cake) is served.

The Chin also celebrate Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas. Chin United F.C. represents the Chin people in Burmese association football. The club plays in the Myanmar National League.

Languages

The Chin peoples speak a variety of related but mutually unintelligible Kuki-Chin languages, which are conservative in maintaining Proto-Tibeto-Burman phonology, including preservation of many initial and final consonants. Several Chin languages are facing extinction due to competing local and national languages, such as Lamtuk, which is being displaced by Hakha Chin and Burmese. Multilingualism is common among the Chin, who invariably speak a native language, a nearby local language, and the national language, like Burmese.

Ethnologue lists 49 languages in this group, of which 20 contain the word "Chin" in their name. The following are widely spoken Chin languages:

Tedim Chin, with an estimated 411,000 speakers
Thado Chin, with an estimated 346,100 speakers
Hakha Chin, with an estimated 210,410 speakers
Falam Chin, with an estimated 107,900 speakers
Asho Chin, with an estimated 174,000 speakers
Khumi Chin, with an estimated 64,000 speakers
Mara Chin, with an estimated 62,400 speakers
Zotung Chin, with an estimated 40,000 speakers
Matu Chin, with an estimated 40,000 speakers
Dai Chin, with an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 Speakers in only Chin State.( Note: excluded in other State/Region in Myanmar and Foreign countries)

Religion

Historically, the Chin peoples were animists, professing a belief in good and evil spirits that inhabited natural phenomena. Christianity grew from 35% in 1966 to 90% in 2010. Christian Chins have faced religious persecution from the military government in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar.

Several Chin tribes, including the Asho Chin, are majority Buddhist. Other Buddhist Kuki-Chin-speaking ethnic groups, like the Taungtha people in Magway Region, do not self-identify as Chin.

Since the late 20th century, a group of Chin, Kuki, and Mizo peoples have claimed descent from Manasseh, one of the Lost Tribes of Israel and have adopted Judaism.

Human rights violations

Since the 1962 military coup by Ne Win, the Chin—a mostly Christian minority in a predominantly Buddhist Myanmar—have faced systemic ethnic and religious persecution. The Tatmadaw and successive military juntas, including the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) have committed widespread abuses, including forced labor, torture, arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killings. Fear of retaliation and restrictions on movement and the press have made it difficult for Chin to speak out. These conditions have driven many to flee to India, Thailand, and Malaysia, often without legal protection or refugee status.

Myanmar's report to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) claims legal protections for human rights under its constitution and penal code. However, these legal guarantees are frequently violated. Several countries, including the United States, Poland, and New Zealand, have called for Myanmar to end abuses against minorities like the Chin.

Extrajudicial killings

Although Myanmar is not party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it is still bound by other international obligations that protect the right to life. Despite this, the SPDC and Tatmadaw continue to commit extrajudicial killings in Chin State with impunity. Human Rights Watch and the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) have documented killings, including children and women, for suspected opposition ties.

Arbitrary arrests and detention

Myanmar's legal code prohibits arbitrary arrest and guarantees legal representation, but these rights are often ignored.

Forced labor

Despite Myanmar's ratification of the 1930 Forced Labour Convention, forced labor remains widespread. A 2011 study using household interviews found that 91.9% of Chin households surveyed experienced forced labor, and 78.4% were forced to build infrastructure. Thirty-six reported detentions.

Notable Chin people

Gokhothang, Guite prince from Mualpi, also known as Goukhothang, Go Khaw Thang, Go Khua Thang, or Kokutung (the latter being the name used by the historians Carey and Tuck). He is the only Zomi prince whom the neighboring Meitei (Manipur) kingdom ever acknowledged as Raja (or Ningthou in Metei language). His powerful dominion included over seventy cities, towns, and villages. He became known as the leader of all Zo people.
Pau Cin Hau, Zomi prophet who lived and created a script for the Zo people named Zo tuallai. He also founded the Laipan religion, which was popular among the Zo people before the arrival of American missionaries.
Khai Kam Suantak (), Chin leader that ruled over the largest fiefdom in the Chin Hills. Khai Kam College in Kalemyo was named in his honor, although it had since been renamed Kale College.
Khan Thuam (d. 1848), Chin chief of the Sukte Clan who ruled over considerable territory and father of Chief Kam Hau.
Zoramthanga, boxer who won a bronze medal at the 1990 Bombay Boxing World Cup.
Taik Chun, soldier and recipient of Aung San Thuriya medal, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry and bravery.
Henry Van Thio, politician and vice-president of Burma.
Cheery Zahau, human rights and women's right activist, feminist, politician, writer, development and peace leader. She is the founder and leader of "Women's League of Chinland" and winner of UNDP's N-Peace Awards 2017.
Thet Mon Myint, Burmese Myanmar Academy Award-winning actress
Benjamin Sum, singer and runner up of Myanmar Idol season 4
Esther Dawt Chin Sung, singer and winner of Myanmar Idol season 4

Joshua Van, mixed martial artist who is currently ranked as #1 contender in the UFC flyweight division.

References

Sources

External links

Tongdot English – Zomi/Chin Online dictionary
English – Zomi/Chin Online dictionary
Human Rights Watch Report on Persecution of Chins