How we come to have the name Chins
By Pu Lian Uk
By Pu Lian Uk
How we have the name Chins has been very simple. In short British annexed India in 1760 and Burma in 1885. They discovered a vast territory inhabited by a distinct people of non-Indians and non-Burmese/Burmans outside the two territories.
They found out that the inhabitants of that vast independent territory were the people who practiced the culture and language of the people inscribed as Chins in a stone inscription created in 750 AD and discovered it in 1500 AD. So it is a proof that the Chin people had been in their territory long before even the country Burma was in existence as it was founded only by the first Burmese King Annawrahta in 1044 AD. It is also written the Stucture of Chin Society by F.K. Lehman that no trace of Burmese/Burmans settlement was found up the Chindwin river beyond Monywa till 1500 AD.
The British negotiated the native Chin rulers to allow them to construct land route through the Chin territory to connect British India and British Burma. They invaded the Chin country in two military fronts from British India and British Burma in synchronization as they were not allowed to construct that land route. They could not easily defeat the Chin resistance forces and made agreement with the Chin native rulers. The agreement was that all the Chin native rulers should rule their respective domains in their same rank as before and the Chin rulers were to give tribute to the British after what is now Aizawl, Lunglei, Tedim, Haka, Falam and Kanpetlet were occupied.
They discovered that the whole population in the territory practiced the same religion, culture and several dialects based on a branch of Tibeto-Burman language which we can prove today that it has truth in it. They constituted three districts on British India side and two or three districts on British Burma side demarcating the boundary between British Burma and British India according to which it was occupied from India front and Burma front during the invasion.
The Governor General in Council which then ruled both British India and British Burma passed a law known as Chin Hills Regulation 1896 to administer this newly occupied Chin territory. The agreement made between the Chin rulers and the commanders of the British invading forces was also enshrined in the law though the occupation was continued on till 1927 in which period the Chin Hills Regulation 1896 enforcement was extended to the whole territory.
The demarcated boundary of the Chin territory within the five or six districts was also recorded in the Chin Hills Regulation 1896. That demarcated Chin territory was recognized once by the international law as the Chin Hills Regulation 1896 was the Law of the British Empire based on the law of the Government of the British Empire in those days.
Thus the territory will remain to be the historical territory of the Chin people in the history to come like the territory of Israel which was demarcated in the historical book of the Bible remain Israel territory after they left for 2000 years and reclaimed it in 1948. But the Chin territory needs to be reclaimed by all the people who once were included in the definition of Chins in the Chin Hills Regulation 1896.
There was a provision in the chin Hills Regulation 1896 that Chins includes Lushais, Kukis, Nagas, Chins in the Chin Hills and any person who practice the Chin culture and language. The same definition of Chins has been adopted by the Chins Affairs Council during the Constituent Assembly of the Union of Burma (UB) 1947 and after independence. No Chin Members of Parliament of the UB had ever raise any questions about the name Chins in the Chin Affairs Council 1948 to 1962 and later on.
At present we have no legitimate Chin Council to pass any law and we are to follow the old laws passed by the people elected MPs before 1962 according to the principle of democracy, “the rule of law” as we are all fighting for democracy.
The name Chins was thus known as Laimi in Falam/Haka/Matupi dialects and Khamtungmi or later on Zomi in Tedim and Cho in Kanpetlet dialect. We are free to use on these nomenclatures we have in our several dialects as we have mentioned below depending on in which local dialect we call Chins in Tedim or Kanpetlet or in Falam/Haka/Matupi or in our international name.
Germany has two names Deutschland and Germany. But the two names mean the same people. India has Bharat or Hindustan or India in three names, but the three names mean the same people. In the same way, we may have Chin or Laimi or Zomi or Cho in different names meaning the same people too.
It is widely known that the river name Chindwin is given after the name of the Chin people and its source are from the Naga Hills though it is not known as Nagadwin. It thus means that Chin might be the original name of both Naga and other related people like Chins. No scholar has ever given satisfactory proof so far what the term Chins means other than the definition given as it includes Lushais, Kukis, Nagas and Chins in the Chins Hills etc.
The name of a territory is to be voted in referendum in democratic process and we cannot say that it will not change to Laimi or Zomi or to others or the same name in the future.
So to try to divide the same single people as different people on the line of the way we call Chins in different names will not make any good for all the same single people demarcated as one historically since 750 AD.
We are not to give up our historical fact in that stone inscription of 750 AD as it clearly proved the existence of our territory and its people long before the country Burma was in existence. That stone inscription is also to prove that we are a distinct people different from the Burmese from the beginning of our history.
We are a people whose history is expanding ever wider to the world and to create a new name at this age also will be rather not advancement, but it will rather mean going backward to medieval age in reactionary thinking.
If we speak in Tedim dialect any Chin from south or north call ourselves “Ei Zomi”. At the same time if we switch to speak in Falam/Haka/Matupi dialect we, the same people, also switch to call ourselves “Kan mah Laimi”. At the same time, if we switch to speak in other international languages, we use our inter-national name “Chins” as “we the Chin people”.
In the same way, Germany is also Deutschland in German and Germany is their international name. So German themselves do not use Deutschland when they write or speak in English or maybe in any international language as Germany becomes their inter- national name. So is India though it is Bharat in Hindi and so is Japan though it is said their national name in Japanese is not Japanese, but Nippon and so are many other countries for those which have their generic name and international names.
In our neighbor, Arakanese people call themselves in their generic nameYakhaing. But they do not advocate changing their international name Arakan and Arakanese to Yakhaing as Arakan has been their name known internationally for generations like the name Chins has been known widely and internationally for centuries.
Reference: “Emergence of the Chin Hills Regulation 1896: Its scope and importance in history” in the book “Chin History, Culture and Identity Edited by K. Robin” Page 261, published 2008 at the Dominant Publishers,
4378/4-B, Murari Lal St., Ansari Rd., Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002, India. Ph. 011-23281685, Fax:+ 91-11-23270680; E-mail: dominant books@post.com
They found out that the inhabitants of that vast independent territory were the people who practiced the culture and language of the people inscribed as Chins in a stone inscription created in 750 AD and discovered it in 1500 AD. So it is a proof that the Chin people had been in their territory long before even the country Burma was in existence as it was founded only by the first Burmese King Annawrahta in 1044 AD. It is also written the Stucture of Chin Society by F.K. Lehman that no trace of Burmese/Burmans settlement was found up the Chindwin river beyond Monywa till 1500 AD.
The British negotiated the native Chin rulers to allow them to construct land route through the Chin territory to connect British India and British Burma. They invaded the Chin country in two military fronts from British India and British Burma in synchronization as they were not allowed to construct that land route. They could not easily defeat the Chin resistance forces and made agreement with the Chin native rulers. The agreement was that all the Chin native rulers should rule their respective domains in their same rank as before and the Chin rulers were to give tribute to the British after what is now Aizawl, Lunglei, Tedim, Haka, Falam and Kanpetlet were occupied.
They discovered that the whole population in the territory practiced the same religion, culture and several dialects based on a branch of Tibeto-Burman language which we can prove today that it has truth in it. They constituted three districts on British India side and two or three districts on British Burma side demarcating the boundary between British Burma and British India according to which it was occupied from India front and Burma front during the invasion.
The Governor General in Council which then ruled both British India and British Burma passed a law known as Chin Hills Regulation 1896 to administer this newly occupied Chin territory. The agreement made between the Chin rulers and the commanders of the British invading forces was also enshrined in the law though the occupation was continued on till 1927 in which period the Chin Hills Regulation 1896 enforcement was extended to the whole territory.
The demarcated boundary of the Chin territory within the five or six districts was also recorded in the Chin Hills Regulation 1896. That demarcated Chin territory was recognized once by the international law as the Chin Hills Regulation 1896 was the Law of the British Empire based on the law of the Government of the British Empire in those days.
Thus the territory will remain to be the historical territory of the Chin people in the history to come like the territory of Israel which was demarcated in the historical book of the Bible remain Israel territory after they left for 2000 years and reclaimed it in 1948. But the Chin territory needs to be reclaimed by all the people who once were included in the definition of Chins in the Chin Hills Regulation 1896.
There was a provision in the chin Hills Regulation 1896 that Chins includes Lushais, Kukis, Nagas, Chins in the Chin Hills and any person who practice the Chin culture and language. The same definition of Chins has been adopted by the Chins Affairs Council during the Constituent Assembly of the Union of Burma (UB) 1947 and after independence. No Chin Members of Parliament of the UB had ever raise any questions about the name Chins in the Chin Affairs Council 1948 to 1962 and later on.
At present we have no legitimate Chin Council to pass any law and we are to follow the old laws passed by the people elected MPs before 1962 according to the principle of democracy, “the rule of law” as we are all fighting for democracy.
The name Chins was thus known as Laimi in Falam/Haka/Matupi dialects and Khamtungmi or later on Zomi in Tedim and Cho in Kanpetlet dialect. We are free to use on these nomenclatures we have in our several dialects as we have mentioned below depending on in which local dialect we call Chins in Tedim or Kanpetlet or in Falam/Haka/Matupi or in our international name.
Germany has two names Deutschland and Germany. But the two names mean the same people. India has Bharat or Hindustan or India in three names, but the three names mean the same people. In the same way, we may have Chin or Laimi or Zomi or Cho in different names meaning the same people too.
It is widely known that the river name Chindwin is given after the name of the Chin people and its source are from the Naga Hills though it is not known as Nagadwin. It thus means that Chin might be the original name of both Naga and other related people like Chins. No scholar has ever given satisfactory proof so far what the term Chins means other than the definition given as it includes Lushais, Kukis, Nagas and Chins in the Chins Hills etc.
The name of a territory is to be voted in referendum in democratic process and we cannot say that it will not change to Laimi or Zomi or to others or the same name in the future.
So to try to divide the same single people as different people on the line of the way we call Chins in different names will not make any good for all the same single people demarcated as one historically since 750 AD.
We are not to give up our historical fact in that stone inscription of 750 AD as it clearly proved the existence of our territory and its people long before the country Burma was in existence. That stone inscription is also to prove that we are a distinct people different from the Burmese from the beginning of our history.
We are a people whose history is expanding ever wider to the world and to create a new name at this age also will be rather not advancement, but it will rather mean going backward to medieval age in reactionary thinking.
If we speak in Tedim dialect any Chin from south or north call ourselves “Ei Zomi”. At the same time if we switch to speak in Falam/Haka/Matupi dialect we, the same people, also switch to call ourselves “Kan mah Laimi”. At the same time, if we switch to speak in other international languages, we use our inter-national name “Chins” as “we the Chin people”.
In the same way, Germany is also Deutschland in German and Germany is their international name. So German themselves do not use Deutschland when they write or speak in English or maybe in any international language as Germany becomes their inter- national name. So is India though it is Bharat in Hindi and so is Japan though it is said their national name in Japanese is not Japanese, but Nippon and so are many other countries for those which have their generic name and international names.
In our neighbor, Arakanese people call themselves in their generic nameYakhaing. But they do not advocate changing their international name Arakan and Arakanese to Yakhaing as Arakan has been their name known internationally for generations like the name Chins has been known widely and internationally for centuries.
Reference: “Emergence of the Chin Hills Regulation 1896: Its scope and importance in history” in the book “Chin History, Culture and Identity Edited by K. Robin” Page 261, published 2008 at the Dominant Publishers,
4378/4-B, Murari Lal St., Ansari Rd., Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002, India. Ph. 011-23281685, Fax:+ 91-11-23270680; E-mail: dominant books@post.com
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