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This paper examines the endeavors of Christian missions seeking converts from an indigenous society. It places the concept of "cultural change", often promoted by Christian missions, against the concept of "cultural adaptability". Taking the case of the Zo people of the India-Burma borderlands, this paper argues that the ascendance of the Christian God within a traditional Zo cosmology was not simply an outcome of missionary endeavors. Rather, the stringent efforts of the missionaries, who sought to missionize by opening the "hearts and minds" of the native people through the tools of education and health services, faced serious challenges and opposition from the indigenous Pau Cin Hau movement. However, it was the attack on the lesser spirits by the indigenous movement which paved the way for the Christian God to be easily fitted into the upper tier of the traditional cosmology, and consequently led to the spread of Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the absence of pre-colonial written records, reconstruction of the history and identity of indigenous tribes has to depend on oral stories and the documentation of the 'other', while the former is subject to distortion, the latter is often glossed with vested interest. Taking the case of the indigenous tribes of the India-Burma-Bangladesh borderlands, this paper probes the representation of the Zo (Kuki-Chin) people in colonial ethnography, on one hand, and to what extent colonial knowledge was informed by 'investigative' or 'survey modality', which, in fact, was solely for administrative purpose, on the other. It argues that indigenous tribes of the India-Burma-Bangladesh borderlands were represented as completely fragmented in colonial ethnography, however, behind the colonial policy of classification one can still unearth the ethnic commonality of the various tribes when they are seen through the lens of cultural similarity or as a 'culture area.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper probes the trajectories of colonial policy towards the Indo-Burma frontier and to what extent they affected the local population. It focuses on the Zo people, or Chin, Kuki and Lushai people, with whom the British had a long history of relations in the Indo-Burma frontier. The paper basically focuses on three British proposals for "amalgamation" of Zo inhabited areas in the Indo-Burma frontier. It argues that colonial policy towards the Chin-Lushai hills largely hinges on its larger policy in Burma, Bengal and Assam respectively. Because colonial policy was driven by an underlying objective to fulfill "administrative convenience" and local interest found no place for consideration; thus, the net result achieved was fragmentation rather than amalgamation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indo-Burma frontier witnessed one of the fiercest battles of the Second World War. Geographically considered as ‘impenetrable’, the jungle-clad mountainous frontier was part of what was constitutionally known as the ‘Excluded Areas’ or ‘Scheduled Areas’ and directly administered by the governor of Burma. It was an important field for Christian missions, where combined colonial-missionary efforts, albeit not at all time, established Christianity and western education from the late nineteenth century. This article argues that, amid enticing propaganda from the Japanese, it was from these indigenous peoples of the Indo-Burma frontier that the British generated their ‘staunch allies’ who, as ‘irregulars’ or ‘levies’, gathered intelligence, worked behind the enemy lines, performed prodigies of valour and paid heavy prices for the cause of their colonial masters. However, at the end of the day, the British did not keep their promised to protect the interest of their staunch allies by undermining their constitutional status as ‘Scheduled Areas’ and rather compromised with the Burman nationalists. This article is a case study of the Zo (Chin) of Chin Hills in western Burma. It is an attempt to situate local events in the geo-political struggles between the British and Japanese empires and wider political implications in the context of building post-war Burma which has often been overlooked in existing historiography of the Second World War. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]