Chin State

Chin State (Burmese: ချင်းပြည်နယ်, MLCTS: hkyang: pranynai, pronounced [tɕʰɪ́ɰ̃pjìnɛ̀]) is a state in western Myanmar. Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, the Chattogram Division of Bangladesh to the west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to the west and Manipur to the north. The population of Chin State is 488,801 according to the 2014 census, and its capital city is Hakha.

The state is named after the Chin people, a collective term encompassing numerous tribes native to Chin State and the neighboring Rakhine State. Much of the state is mountainous and sparsely populated, with few transportation links and low levels of economic development. It also has Myanmar's highest poverty rate, at 58%, according to a 2017 report.

History

Early history

Situated in the remote hilly region of the Chin Hills, Chin State was traditionally autonomous and far from its neighboring powers, like the Burman kingdoms in the east and Indian states in the west. Until the British advancement in the region, independent city-states such as Ciimnuai (Chinwe/Chin Nwe) later shifted to Tedim and Vangteh in the north, Tlaisun (also recorded as Tashon) and Rallang in the mid-land, and Hakha, Thantlang and Zokhua (Yokwa) in the south played important political roles in securing peace of the region, and each city-state practised its own independent sovereignty in its own rights.

Traditionally, the people of Chin State followed traditional beliefs, sometimes labeled as animism. Baptist missionaries first arrived in 1899 and converted Chin peoples throughout the following century.

20th century

Upon Burma's independence from the United Kingdom in 1948, the Chin Hills Special Division was created, with its capital at Falam. Hakha later became the capital. However, three townships that are today part of present-day Chin State (Mindat, Kanpetlet and Matupi) were previously part of the Pakokku Hill Tracts of Pakokku District and Paletwa Township of the Arakan Hill Tracts, until 4 January 1974. On this date, the Chin Hills Special Division was granted state status and became Chin State.

"Chin National Day" is designated on 20 February to commemorate the "General Assembly of Chinland" held in 1948. The first celebration of Chin National Day was held in 1951, but it was not recognized by the Myanmar government until the 2010s.

Myanmar civil war

Chin State, like much of Myanmar, has been deeply affected by the Myanmar civil war since it broke out in 2021. Tens of thousands of Chin State residents have fled to neighboring Mizoram, India, and towns such as Thantlang were destroyed in the fighting. Since the war broke out, several armed opposition groups have emerged calling themselves the Chinland Defense Force. Thand e groups are reportedly funded by the Chin diaspora and by the National Unity Government of Myanmar, an opposition government-in-exile.

On 6 December 2023 the Chin National Front adopted a Chinland Constitution, proclaiming the state of Chinland. But resistance groups from 5 townships (Falam, Kanpetlet, Matupi, Mindat, and Tedim) out of 9 townships in Chin State objected to this constitution.

As of November 2025, ethnic Chin resistance forces, such as the Chin National Army and the Chin National Defence Force, maintain de facto control over approximately 80 percent of Chin State, encompassing most of its townships.

Administrative divisions

• Falam District Northern Chin State Falam Township Tedim Township Tonzang Township
• Hakha District of Central Chin State Hakha Township Thantlang Township
• Matupi District of Central and Southwestern Chin State Matupi Township Rezua Sub-township Paletwa Township
• Mindat District of Southeastern Chin State Mindat Township Kanpetlet Township

Hakha District was formed by the first Chin State Hluttaw emergency meeting No. 2 on 1 June. Matupi District was formed by the second Pyidaungsu Hluttaw regular meeting on 28 June 2017.

Government

Executive

Legislature

Economy

Chin State has little infrastructure and remains undeveloped, with over 70% of its population living below the poverty line. According to UNICEF, one in 10 children will not reach the age of five.

Agriculture is a key source of income and part of the daily livelihood for many residents of Chin State. Many practice rotational, slash-and-burn farming and most grow just enough to feed themselves and their families. Rice, maize, and millet are the primary crops grown in Chin State. Chin households are moving towards a cash-oriented economy based on vegetables and perennial crops (i.e., coffee, avocado, grapes, elephant foot yam, tree bean, and sericulture). Chin State is Myanmar's largest producer of konjac (elephant foot yam) with an estimated annual output exceeding 250,000 tonnes.

Some earn a living as traders, selling cattle and other goods across the border in Mizoram, India.

Demographics

Ethnic makeup

The Chin peoples make up the majority of Chin State's population, with small Rakhine and Bamar minorities. The people of Chin State are made up of many tribes, which, though historically related, now speak divergent languages and have different cultural and historical identities. Some consider the name Chin an exonym, given by the Burmese. Other tribes in the state include Zo, Zomi, Zotung, Laimi, K'Cho, Khumi, Daai, and Asho.

After the 2014 Census in Myanmar, the Burmese government indefinitely withheld the release of detailed ethnicity data, citing concerns about political and social concerns surrounding the issue of ethnicity in Myanmar. In 2022, researchers published an analysis of the General Administration Department's nationwide 2018-2019 township reports to tabulate the ethnic makeup of Chin State.

As of February 2024, United Nations estimates 60,000 Chin people have fled to the Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, while another 61,000 remain internally displaced following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. Chin humanitarian organizations estimate that the real figures are much higher.

Religion

1. Christianity (85.4%)
2. Buddhism (13.0%)
3. Tribal (Animism) (0.40%)
4. Hinduism (0.02%)
5. Islam (0.10%)
6. Others (1.10%)

According to the 2014 Myanmar Census, Christians make up the vast majority of Chin State's population, at 85.4%. Minority religious communities include Buddhists (13.0%), Muslims (0.1%), Hindus (0.02%), and Animists and other religions (~1.5%), including adherents of Pau Cin Hau, who collectively comprise the remainder of Chin State's population. 74 people listed no religion or were otherwise not enumerated. A small portion of the population practices Judaism, specifically Bnei Menashe. Chin State is the only state in Myanmar with a majority Christian population.

Education

Education in Chin State faces significant challenges. Many schools lack a sufficient amount of textbooks, whiteboards, markers, pencils, tables, and chairs. Since the 1990s, teaching Chin languages as a separate subject has been banned in primary schools. According to Health&Hope, only ~5.5% of youths in Chin State will make it through school to pass their grade 10 exams. In 2003, official statistics indicated that Chin State had 25 high schools.

• Bethel Bible College in Tedim Township
• Chin Christian College in Hakha Township
• Zomi Theological College in Falam, Falam Township

Sources

• Pau, Pum Khan (2020). Indo-Burma Frontier and the Making of the Chin Hills. London: Routeledge. ISBN 9780429324703.

External links

• For more cultural information about the Chin see F.K. Lehman. 1963. The Structure of Chin Society;: A Tribal People of Burma Adapted to a Non-Western Civilization. University of Illinois Press.
• – arranged by state and division