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Concept
Chin people
Summary
The Chin people (, tɕɪ́ɰ̃ lù mjó) are an ethnic group native to the Chin State of Myanmar, and India's northeast states. Strictly speaking, the term "Chin" only refers to the 53 sub-tribes of the Chin ethnic group, divided and recognized by the Burmese government. They speak the Kuki-Chin-Mizo languages, which are often mutually unintelligible but are closely related.
The Chin are one of the founding groups of the Union of Burma, along with the Shan, Kachin, and Burmese. The Chin speak a variety of related languages, and share elements of culture and traditions. According to the British state media BBC News, "The Chin people... are one of the most persecuted minority groups in Burma." These people predominantly live in the Chin State, Bago Division, Ayeyarwady Division, Magwe Division, Rakhine State and Sagaing Region of Myanmar, but are also spread throughout Burma, Bangladesh and India. In the 2014 Burmese ethnic census, the Chin ethnicity was again dismissed by the people of the Chin State.
During the era of British rule, the colonial government used the compound term 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo' to group the Kukish language speaking people, and the Indian government inherited this nomenclature. Some Chin nationalists now consider that Chin would mean subtle Paite domination of Chin, Kuki and Chin identity, which other groups like Hmars, Chins (Chinmi), and Koms may not use.
The term 'Chin' initially as used by the Burmese in Myanmar referred to all the hill tribes in the western frontier of Myanmar. However, in India the hill tribes are divided into two groups i.e. Chin-Kuki and Naga. The Kukis generally live to the south of the Nagas.
The term now generally refer only to the majority Chin-Kuki-Mizo speaking communities of Myanmar since many of the similar tribes have rejected the name as foreign.
Alternatively, the Chin-Kuki-Mizo use the original name of the people ‘Chinlung/Khul/Sinlung’. It goes by different pronunciations through the respective languages’ evolution to Yaw, Jou, Zou, Cho, Qin, Zy etc.
Official source
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