Mizoram

« Go Back

Map of Mizoram (Source: India-WRIS)

Mizoram is a mountainous state of India. The Mizos are a Mongloid race originally came from the Chin hills of neighbouring Myanmar. Mizo means a man from the hills. Like the rest of India, the British captured this region in 1898 and established their rule. After independence Mizo area became a district of Assam. In 1952, a Mizo district council was created under the Indian Constitution. There was a big famine in this region in 1959 and it was the main reason behind the birth of Mizo National Front under the leadership of Laldenga. With the implementation of the North-Eastern Reorganisation Act in 1972, Mizoram became a Union Territory. Mizoram was created as a separate state of the Indian Union on 20th February 1986.

Mizoram is bounded by Tripura and Bangladesh to its west, the Chin hills of Myanmar to its east and south and by Manipur and Assam to its north. Hills in Mizoram run from north to south with a tendency to be higher in east to the territory and tapering in north and south. The average height of the hills is about 900 meters and the Blue Mountain is the highest peak of the state. Mizoram has an abundance of trees, bushes, plants, shrubs and grasses. There are many rivers in the state and some of them are Tlawng, Tuirail, Tuiwal, and Koladyne. The climate of the state exhibits a strong seasonal rhythm. Normally this state has four seasons - winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon and retreating monsoon. The winter temperature varies between 11° to 24°C and in the summer the range is 18° to 29°C.

Mizoram is located in the north-eastern part of the country. It is bounded on the north by states of Assam and Manipur, on the east and south by Myanmar and on the west by Bangladesh and the state of Tripura.

The state receives good rainfall. During rains the climate in the lower hills is humid. Rainfall is generally evenly distributed. Temperature in the state varies from about 12°C in winter to about 30°C in summer. Winter is from November to February.

• Agriculture
• Industry

Agriculture is the main source of occupation of the state. About 60 percent of the people of the Mizoram engaged in agricultural activities. The Jhum is the main pattern of cultivation. Maize, rice are the main food crops. Cash crops are sugarcane, tapioca, ginger and cotton. Pigs and fowls are reared by many farmers. Exotic varieties and breeds of pigs and fowls have been introduced and have become popular among the villagers. The state has a considerable cultivation of fruit. Orange, Lemon, Kagzi Lime, Passion fruits, Hatkora, Jamir, Pineapple and Papaya are the main horticulture crops.

Mizoram is a industrially backward state. Major industries of the state are agro and forest based industries together with handloom, handicrafts, electronics, consumer goods industries and sericulture. Mizoram government framed the industrial policy of Mizoram in 1989. Various steps have been taken to boost up the food processing industry in the state. Dehydration Plant and Ginger Oil and Oleoresins Plant at Sairang are completed. Mizo Milling Plant at Khawzawl and Fruit Juice Concentrate Plant at Chhingchhip were transferred to MIFCO (Mizo Food and Allied Industries Corporation) for commercial production.

Aizawl the capital city is located at nearly 4,000 feet above the sea level, is the main tourist attraction. It is a religious and cultural centre of Mizoram. Besides this the other tourist spots are beautiful resort at Champhai on the Myanmar border, a natural lake with virgin forest at Tamdil, Saitul tourist resort, Vantawng falls (Mizoram's highest water falls).