Zogam (or Chinland, the political appellation mainly used to describe the envisioned unified and separate democratic nation-state) is the name for a territory, approximately 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) in size, in Burma, India and Bangladesh. It is the traditional home of the Zomi, who lived in this area before the colonial period under British rulership.
It does not include Asho settlements in Lower Burma and Masho settlements in the Arakan (Burma). The area extends from latitude 25° 30’ North in the Somra tracts facing Mount Saramati, and in Nagaland across the Namtakik River and the North Cachar Hills, to about 20° 30’ North Latitude. The longitudinal extension is between 92° 10’ East and 94° 20’ east. The North-South length of the Zoram is roughly 350 miles (560 km) and East-West is generally about 120 miles (190 km) wide.
One Zomi folksong delineates the area of Zogam as follows:
“Penlehpi leh Kangtui minthang,
A tua tong Zota kual sung chi ua;
Khang Vaimang leh tuan a pupa
Tongchiamna Kangtui minthang aw”
Free translation:
- (The famous Penlehpi and Kangtui
- Between the two is the Zomi country
- The Southern King and our forefathers
- Made an agreement at the famous Kangtui)
This old folk song tells of the area of the Zomi ancestral homeland, for Penlehpi is a Burmese word for the Bay of Bengal and Kangtui is identified with Tuikang (Chindwin River).
Read more about Zogam: Zogam (Zoram)