Zomi

Zomi is the name of a major tribe found in various parts of South and South East Asia. They are a tribe of the larger Chin peoples (Kukish language) ethnic group which others call Tedim. The term Zomi, meaning 'Zo People', is derived from the generic name 'Zo', the progenitor of the Zomi. Or from zo mi, "hill people."

They are found in northwestern Myanmar, northeastern India and Bangladesh. Anthropologists classify them as Tibeto-Burman speaking member of the Mongoloid race. In the past they were little known by this racial nomenclature. They were known by the non-tribal plain peoples of Myanmar, Bangladesh and India as Chin, Kuki, or Lushai. Subsequently the British employed these terms to christen those 'wild hill tribes' living in the "un-admiial. They are Zomi not because they live in the highlands or hills, but are Zomi and call themselves Zomi because they are the descendants of their great great ancestor, 'Zo'".

The Zo people have common primordial name (i.e. Zo) common history, cultural affinities, belief system, economic life and cherished the dream of restoring their glorious past. They remain independent, self-sufficient and were never subjugated until the advent of the British imperialist. They governed themselves according to their traditional polity and legal system ensuring justice for all. The consequences of British imperialism proved disastrous and painful for the Zomi as they were subjected to subjugation, segmentation, division and confusion. As a result their primordial identity was almost completely forgotten and neglected.

The Zo people and their land was dismembered, bifurcated and appended to three sovereign countries – India, Burma and Bangladesh – by British imperialists to fit their own administrative conveniences without Zo people's knowledge and consent. The state boundaries within the nation-state further scattered Zo people and they became ethnic minorities wherever they are. They are deprived of their socio-economic, political and cultural rights and were subjugated as aliens in their ancestral homeland.