Mizoram (Miz)

‘Land of the Highlanders’. 

From Miz: mi, ‘person/people; zo, ‘hill’, ‘highland’ or zo, ‘cold’ ; and ram, ‘country’.

Mizoram became a Union Territory in 1972 when it was separated from Assam. In 1987 it became the 23rd state of India. Mizoram is India’s most tribal state. 95% of the population are tribal settlers from Southeast Asia who arrived in the 16th-18thC. There are 640 bird species in Mizoram, many found only in the Himalayan foothills and many critically endangered.

Further reading: Mizoram: Land of the Hill People

For more on Indian place names and history, see Toponymy on the Ashoka Express 

For a journey through tribal India and Sri Lanka, see Headhunting with Marguerite

Mizoram and the North East Region (NER)