Folklore has an interesting tale to offer. The Mizos, so goes the legend, emerged from under a large rock known as Chhinlung. Two of the Ralte clan, known for their loquaciousness, made a great noise while coming out of the region, which made God, called ‘Pathian’ by the Mizos, to throw up his hands in disgust and say ‘enough is enough’. He felt, too many had already been allowed to step out  and so closed the door with a large rock.

History often varies from legends. But the story of the Mizos getting out into open from the neither world through a rock opening is now part of the Mizo fable. Chhinlung however, is taken by some, as the Chinese city of Sinlung or Chinlingsang situated close to the Sino-Burmese border. The Mizos have songs and stories about the glory of the ancient Chhinlung civilization handed down from one generation to another.

It is hard to tell how far the story is true. It is nevertheless possible that the Mizos came from Sinlung or Chinlungsan located on the banks of the river Yalung in China.

The origin of the Mizos, like those of many other tribes in North-Eastern India, is shrouded in mystery. The generally accepted idea is that they came to Burma (now Myanmar) as a part of the great Mongoloid wave of migration from China. Whatever the case may have been, it seems probable that the Mizos moved from China to Burma and then to India under the force of circumstances.

Their sojourn in western Myanmar, into which they eventually drifted around the seventh century, is estimated to last about ten centuries. By degrees, the Mizos pushed westwards in their continuous search for new pastures, which often led to clashes among themselves and wars with the neighboring tribes. This, in turn, resulted in the development of a form of a social order and eventually the system of Chieftainship in the late fifteenth century. The first Mizo chief was that of the Lusei clan named Zahmuaka, whose descendants went to rule over vast tracts of the hills.

The exodus of the Mizos from Myanmar in the eighteenth century is an epic replete with fierce struggles and heroic deeds. By the time they crossed the Tiau river bordering Myanmar, the descendants of Zahmuaka, who came to be known as the ruling Sailo clan, had provenS their mettle as able and assertive chiefs. The traditional system of village administration, too, had been perfected. As the head of the village, the Chief or Lal allocated lands for cultivation, settled all disputes in the villages, fed and cared for the poor and offered shelter to anyone seeking refuge.

He was assisted by a council of elders known as Upa. The other village functionaries were the crier (tlangau), the blacksmith (thirdeng) and the priest (puithiam) all appointed by the chief and paid remuneration in terms of rice, harvest, meat etc. The Chieftainship was hereditary, passed on to the elder son.

As for their religion, the Mizos of the olden days recognized one Supreme being called ‘Pathian’, though most of their religious rites and offerings were directed towards evil spirits or Ramhuai who were believed to dwell in streams, hills, trees or anything out of the ordinary. They also believed that the souls went to either ‘Pialral’, their version of Paradise, or ‘Mitthi Khua’, the abode of the dead, the former being open only to those who had killed a specified number of wild animals or hosted some ceremonial public feasts.

Festivals were observed regularly, accompanied by rituals and dances, during which Zu or rice-beer flowed freely.

The newly-found land, west of the Tiau river was a wide stretch of mountainous terrain covered with virgin jungles, offering plenty of game, sparsely populated by lesser tribes whom they quickly ousted or absorbed. In no time the Sailo chiefs tamed the wild country and established a great empire. For some years, they were content to settle down quietly and reign supreme in the hills, hardly known to the outside world except their immediate neighbors, who fought shy of the fierce highlanders with ghastly reputation for cutting off the head of slain enemy for trophy.

Around the middle of the nineteenth century, the Sailo Chiefs began to wreck havoc in the adjacent British territories of Cachar, Syhlet and the Chitttagong hill tracts. The tea gardens in the Cachar plains, in particular, were an eyesore to them, for they encroached upon their hunting grounds and thus became the target of daring raids. It was when these bold escapades culminated in the murder of a white tea- gardener and the capture of little daughter that the British Government was provoked into sending expeditionary forces to punish the aggressive Sailo Chiefs.

The British annexed the Lushai hills in 1891 and it continued to be one of the districts of Assam even after Independence. In 1954, the Lushai Hills District was renamed Mizo District.

Around this time political consciousness and an awareness of their economic backwardness began to manifest itself among the Mizos. This gained momentum following a devastating famine known as ‘Mautam’ which ravaged the entire district in 1959.

As development activities proceeded apace in order to regain the lost grounds, a strong yearning for peace grew among the Mizos - peace that had eluded them for years. By the mid-eighties, intensive peace overtures were made by mediators between the Government of India and the Mizo National Front, as a result of which the two parties were finally brought together at the negotiation table.

At long last, the two-decade old disturbance came to a welcome end on June 10, 1986 with the signing of the epoch-making ‘Memorandum of Settlement’ by the Government of India and the MNF. The agreement, among the other things, provided for the conferment of Statehood of Mizoram.

Apart from closing the bitter chapter of insurgency, the accord safe-guarded the time-bound religious and social practices of the Mizos. These included the customary laws of procedures involving the administration of civil and criminal justices and ownership and transfer of land. No act of Parliament in respect of these matters would apply to Mizoram without the consent of the State Assembly. It was also provided that Mizoram, if so desires, would be entitled to have a High Court of its own.

Border trade was allowed under the agreement in locally produced or grown agricultural commodities under a scheme to be formulated by the Center subject to international arrangements with neighboring countries. The Inner Line Permit, already in force in Mizoram, would not be amended or repeated without consulting the State Government. The accord was specific that the rights and privileges of the minorities in Mizoram, as envisaged in the Constitution, would continue to be preserved and protected and their social and economic advancement would be ensured.

Consequent upon the passage of the Constitution (53rd) Amendment Bill and the State of Mizoram Bill (1986) by the Parliament on August 7, 1986, Mizoram became a State of Indian Federation on February 20, 1987. The later also provided for a 40 member Legislative Assembly, the first election to which was held with great enthusiasm on February 16, 1987 leading to the formation of the Mizo National Front Ministry.