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The origin of the Mizos like those of many other tribes in North Eastern India is not very clear. They are generally accepted as being part of a great Mongoloid wave of migration from China via Burma.
The earliest Mizos who migrated to India were known as Kukis, the second batch of immigrants were called New Kukis. The Lushais were the last of the Mizo tribes to migrate to India.
Mizo history in the 18th and 19th centuries is marked by many instances of tribal raids and retaliatory expeditions.
The Mizo Hills were formally declared part of British India by a proclamation in 1895. It was during the British regime that a political awakening among the Mizos in Lushai Hills gave rise to the first political party, the Mizo Common Peoples Union founded in 1946. It was later renamed Mizo Union.
In preparation for Independence, the Constituent Assembly of India was set up with an Advisory Committee to deal with matters relating to minorities and the tribals.
Following the Committees suggestion, a certain amount of autonomy was accepted by the Government and enshrined in the constitution. The Lushai Hills Autonomous District Council came into being in 1952 and the institution of chieftanship was abolished in Mizo society.
A famine in 1959 due to a sudden boom in rodent population, led to agitation and insurgency. Mizoram was a district in Assam until it became a Union Territory in 1972. After the insurgents agreed to lay down their arms, Mizoram was conferred statehood in 1987.
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