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8.4 WATER WAYS
Mizoram is in the process of developing water ways with the port of Sittwe(Akyab) in Rakhine State,
Myanmar, along the Chhimtuipui River. India is investing $103 million to develop the Sittwe port on
Myanmar's northern coast, about 160 km from Mizoram. Myanmar committed $10 million for the venture,
which is part of the Kaladan Multipurpose Project. Kaladan River is navigable from Sittwe up to Paletwa, a
town in southen Chin State. There are steamship services along the Chindwin River, and Kalaywa is a port
through which Chin State has access to the rest of the country. Kalaywa itself is located in Sagaing
Division.
9.0 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AT THE TIME OF BRITISH ARRIVAL
9.1 INTRODUCTION
As there are several misconceptions about the “legal status“ of the Chins at the time of British annexation of
their country I shall reproduce the following passages from the original book* almost word-for-word in this
and the following chapters so that the truths may be brought to light. One among them is that all the
political-minded Burmans from all walks of life still think and believe even up to this day that the Zo country
was once a part of the Burmese empire with the simple argument that if they could have even conquered
the kingdoms of Assam and Manipur, then the Chins who were living in the neighbouring regions around
these two kingdoms must have automatically been conquered as well. They therefore resented and still
resent very much that the British made it a condition when Burmese nationalists demanded independence
that the non-Burman nationalities must decide for themselves whether they wanted or not to be a part of an
independent Burma. The following quoted passages shall clearly show that the Chins had never been
subjugated by the various kingdoms around them - namely, Arakan, Assam, Bengal, Burma and Manipur -
before the British arrived at the scenes. However, one of the main reasons why they had never been
subjugated by the said kingdoms was most likely due simply to the fact that they were still too wild and
their country made up only of high mountains and thick forests that it was not worthwhile for them to
attempt to conquer such savage tribes. But even if in case any of these kingdoms had ever wanted to
conquer them it may most certainly not have succeeded. The Burmans had attempted for a couple of times
to invade their land, but they were ignominiously defeated on all occasions(see 9.6.6 Encounter with Siyin,
and also the Footnotes; 9.8.7 The Haka-Burman War; 9.10.2 The Battle of Tartan and APPENDIX E).
So, if one looks back today at their history then, their savagery seems to be, ironically, a blessing in
disguise. As the reader will find out from the following pages, even the worldpower Great Britain had
needed 34 years to pacify them after the fall of the Kingdom of Burma in 1885 until the Haka and Kuki
rebellions were completely suppressed in 1919. See 9.9 The Haka and Thado-Kuki Rebellions(1917-19).
9.2 THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE
(Carey & Tuck, pp. 1-4)
9.2.1 Physical Characteristics
“The Himalayas from the north of Assam shoot out a chain of spurs, which, running due south, eventually dive into the
Bay of Bengal. Captain Yule, who went as Secretary to the Envoy to the Court of Ava in 1855, thus described this chain
and its inhabitants:-
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* Carey & Tuck, Vol. 1.