Mizoram is a state in northeastern India. Its population at the 2001 census stood at approximately 890,000. Mizoram boasts a literacy rate of 89 percent - the second highest among all the states of India, after Kerala.

Contents

1 Ethnic groups 2 Religion 3 Politics 4 Facts and figures 5 External links

Ethnic groups

The great majority of Mizoram's population is comprised of ethic Mizos. The Mizos are divided into numerous tribes, the largest of which is the Lushai, which numbers almost two-thirds of the state's population. Other major Mizo tribes include the Ralte, the Hmar, the Paihte, the Poi, and the Pawi. The Chakma, a non-Mizo tribe, is of Arakanese origin.

Religion

Some 85 percent of the population (including almost all ethnic Mizos) is Christian, mostly Presbyterian and Baptist. This Christian heritage is shared by a majority in the nearby states of Nagaland and Meghalaya, and by a large minority in neighbouring Manipur, and is one factor that helps to set the Seven Sisters States (the seven states in the northeastern corner of India) apart from the rest of the country, which is overwhelmingly Hindu. The Chakma practice Theravada Buddhism, mixed with elements of Hinduism and Animism.

A minority of the Mizos have recently become akin to Judaism following the announcement of a local researcher that the Mizos were one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Roughly 5,000 Mizos and Kukis, a related ethnic group, have become or are the children of those who began to convert to Judaism during the mid-1980s C.E.. But the state's powerful church, which holds great sway over the lives of 750,000 Mizos - who are almost wholly Christian - dismisses this theory.

See also : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3228054.stm

See also : http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3575716.stm

Politics

• Assembly election results of Mizoram
• List of political parties in the state

Facts and figures

• Area: c.21,000 km²
• Population: 890,000 (2001)
  • Ethnic groups:
    • Mizo/Lushai: 63.1%
    • Hmar: ?
    • Poi: 8%
    • Chakma: 7.7%
    • Ralte: 7%
    • Pawi: 5.1%
    • Kuki: 4.6%
    • Other: 5.1%
  • Religion:
    • Christian: 85%
    • Buddhist: 8%
    • Hindu: 7%
• Capital: Aizawl (population 182,000)

External links

• Government of Mizoram Website (http://mizoram.nic.in/)
• Government of Mizoram Portal (http://mizoram.gov.in/)
• Mizoram Portal (http://www.izawl.com/)
• Hmar Tribals Portal (http://www.hmar.org/)
• BBCNews: Mizo 'Jews' seek Israel visas (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3228054.stm/)
• BBCNews: India's 'lost Jews' wait in hope (http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3575716.stm/)

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