Day 18 of the cycle · Northeast

Mizoram

Mizoram is a mountainous region which became the 23rd state of the Indian Union in February 1987. It was one of the districts of Assam till 1972 when it became a Union Territory. After being annexed by the British in 1891, for the first few years, Lushai Hills in the north remained under Assam while the southern half remained under Bengal. Both these parts were amalgamated in 1898 into one district called Lushai Hills District under the Chief Commissioner of Assam. With the implementation of the North-Eastern Reorganisation Act in 1972, Mizoram became a Union Territory and as a sequel to the signing of the historic memorandum of settlement between the Government of India and the Mizo National Front in 1986, it was granted statehood on 20 February 1987. Sandwiched between Myanmar in the east and the south and Bangladesh in the west, Mizoram occupies an area of great strategic importance in the north-eastern corner of India. Mizoram has great natural beauty and an endless variety of landscape. It is rich in fauna and flora.

The Mizos came under the influence of the British Missionaries in the 19th Century. Now, most of the Mizos are Christians. Mizo language has no script of its own. The missionaries introduced the Roman script for the Mizo language and formal education. Literacy in the state has grown rapidly, and Mizoram literacy at 91.58 per cent is the third most literate in the country. Serchip district (98.76%) and Aizawl district (98.50%) recorded the highest literacy rates among districts in the country. The State also holds the highest child sex ratio of 971 females for 1000 males according to the 2011 Census.

About 60 per cent of the people of Mizoram is engaged in agricultural and its allied activities. The main pattern of agriculture followed is Jhum or Shifting cultivation