The Chin Hills are a range of mountains in Chin State

Chin State

Chin State is a state located in western Burma . The Chin State is bordered by Rakhine State in the south, Bangladesh in south-west, Sagaing Division and Magway Division in the east, Indian state of Manipur in the north and Indian state of Mizoram in the west. The Chin ethnic group make up the...

, northwestern Burma (Myanmar), that extends northward into India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

's Manipur

Manipur

Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...

 state. They are part of the Arakan Mountain Range (Arakan Yoma). The highest peak in the Chin Hills is Nat Ma Taung

Nat Ma Taung

Nat Ma Taung , is the highest mountain in the Chin State of western Burma. Located in Kanpalet Township, Mindat District, Mount Victoria is part of the Chin Hills range, and rises to above sea level....

, or Khonumthung (Mount Victoria), in southern Chin State, which reaches 3,053 meters (10,500 feet). The Chin Hills-Arakan Yoma montane forests

Chin Hills-Arakan Yoma montane forests

The Chin Hills-Arakan Yoma montane forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in western Burma . Surrounded at lower elevations by moist tropical forests, this ecoregion is home a diverse range of subtropical and temperate species, including many species characteristic...

 ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

 has diverse forests with pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

, camellia

Camellia sinensis

Camellia sinensis is the species of plant whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce Chinese tea. It is of the genus Camellia , a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. White tea, green tea, oolong, pu-erh tea and black tea are all harvested from this species, but are processed...

 and teak

Teak

Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...

. Falam

Falam (town)

Falam is a town in north-western Burma near Burma's western border with the Indian state of Mizoram. The town was originally founded by the British in 1892, and became an important place for the British government to rule the whole Chin Hills at that time...

 is the largest town in the Chin Hills, lying at their southern edge.

The Chin Hills are east of and adjacent to the Patkai Range

Patkai

The Pat-kai meaning to Cut Chicken in Tai Ahom language are the hills on India's North Eastern border with Burma. They were created by the same tectonic processes that resulted in the formation of the Himalayain the Mesozoic . They are not as rugged as the Himalayas and its peaks are much lower...

, which includes the Lushai Hills

Lushai hills

The Lushai Hills are part of the Patkai range in Mizoram and partially in Tripura, India.-Flora & Fauna:The hills are for the most part covered with dense bamboo jungle and rank undergrowth; but in the eastern portion, owing probably to a smaller rainfall, open grass-covered slopes are found, with...

 and runs through Nagaland

Nagaland

Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...

 in India, as well as part of Burma. The Lushai Hills are frequently discussed with the Chin Hills as the topography, people's culture and history are similar.

History

The area is populated by the Chin people

Chin people

The Chin , known as the Kuki in Assam, are one of the ethnic groups in Burma. The Chins are found mainly in western part of Burma and numbered circa 1.5 million. They also live in nearby Indian states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur and Assam. Owing to Mizo influence and Baptist missionaries'...

 who like their neighbors to the west are a Zomi people

Zomi

Zomi is the name of a major tribe found in various parts of South and South East Asia. The term Zomi meaning, 'Zo People' is derived from the generic name 'Zo', the progenitor of the Zomi. They are found in northwestern Myanmar, northeastern India and Bangladesh. Anthropologists classify them as...

. In addition to subsistence agriculture

Subsistence agriculture

Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...

 the Chin raided the villages of the Burman on the plains of the Myittha

Myittha River

Myittha River is a river of western Burma. It originates in the Chin Hills and flows into the Chindwin River just below the town of Kalewa.-See also:*List of rivers of Burma...

 and Chindwin

Chindwin River

The Chindwin River is a river in Burma , and the largest tributary of the country's chief river the Ayeyarwady . It flows entirely within Burma and is known as Ning-thi to the Manipuris.-Source:...

rivers, as well as each other. In 1888, the British began a military campaign to end these raids which resulted in pacification of the province by 1896, and it was administratively added to Burma as a special division.