MIZORAM AT A GLANCE

Mizoram is sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh, Mizoram is the former Lushai Hills District of Assam. The hills in this beautiful land run north to south, unlike most of our mountainb ranges which run East to West. Mizoram have an average height of about 900 metres. The Mizos (comprising the Lushai/Mizo, Hmar, Pawi, etc.) came to India rather recently. When they started raiding tea plantations in the 1870s, the British retaliated and annexed the land by 1891. In 1898, the Lushai Hill District was formed. The Inner Line System introduced by the British allowed only the christian missionaries through, resulting in a predominantly christian and highly literate population. Mizoram was a district of Assam until 1972, when it became a Union Territory. The Union Government signed a Memorandum of Settlement with the Mizo National Front (MNF) chief Laldeng (RIP) in 1986. Mizoram was granted statehood on 20 Feb. 1987. A feeling that the territory was being neglected led to a separatist agitation in 1966. Mizoram was declared a disturbed area. The Peace Accord on 30 June 1986 between the Government of India and the MNF put an end to two decades of insurgency. Legislature of Mizoram is unicameral, 40-members Legislative Assembly. Mizoram sends two representatives to Parliament, one each to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.