"Our population in Mizoram during 1960s was around five thousand; 50 years later it is roughly the same," says a Gorkhali shoe salesman in Aizawl, the state capital of Mizoram. "Back then the state government used to offer us scholarships to study in schools and colleges. Now our sons and daughters receive no such assistance." After a few minutes pause, he murmurs, "How are my children going to have decent lives here? It's very disturbing to think about such things, and this keeps me and my wife awake all night. The only way out of this is either we leave this place or assimilate into the Mizo society. Earlier, Mizos and Gorkhalis were like brothers and sisters, but now they see each other as 'us' and 'them'"
When the Indian Air Force bombed Mizoram in March 1966, it became – and remains – the only Indian state to come under such attacks. For two decades afterwards, armed revolutionary movements shook the Mizo hills. It was only in 1986, when a peace-accord between militant groups and the Indian government was signed, that positive changes began to be seen within Mizo society. Today, Sikkim is the only other state in the Indian Northeast without violent insurgent groups. However, the fruits of peaceful development have not reached the Gorkhalis living within Mizoram. While the rest of Mizo society is on an uphill trajectory, the Gorkhalis are heading downhill.
The Gorkhalis first arrived in Mizoram in 1891 – back then called the Lushai Hills – accompanying Captain John Shakespear, who wrote in his diary that the Hills were not a desirable place to be stationed in for long. But the Gorkhalis felt at home right from the beginning. The terrain, streams, and the flora and fauna in the Hills were akin to what they had left behind in their own country, Nepal. At that time, however, Gorkhalis were not allowed to settle outside the surcharge areas, meaning forest lands adjacent to the villages that were under the jurisdiction of Mizo village chiefs. But the Lushai chiefs were keen on having them within their villages because they did not want the Gorkhalis clearing the forest lands for agriculture and settlements. In a standing order issued in 1922, William Lawrence Scott, then-Superintendent of the Lushai Hills, wrote, "I have been asked by several chiefs to allow settlements of Gorkhalis in their villages. [But] the present orders permit settlements only at and near Aijal, Champhai and Vanlaiphai."
Nonetheless, with permission from the village chiefs, the Gorkhalis settled in the Lushai Hills, bypassing the Chin Hills Regulation Act, 1896, which prohibited the residence of non-native peoples in the Hills. Socioeconomic relationships between different communities meant that Gorkhalis – and even traders from Bengal and Assam – were able to get around the regulation. Gorkhalis who had served long-term in the British army and were known for good conduct remained behind in the Hills after retirement. The majority of Gorkhalis today remain clustered around Aizawl, Sairang, Vanlaiphai, Lunglei, Demagiri and Thingdawl. While some Gorkhalis with exemplary services were awarded considerably large pieces of land, very few were bestowed with chieftainships, with powers and privileges on par with Mizo chiefs, including hereditary rights of succession. One Rifleman Dhohbir Rai was awarded the whole area of Dinthar in Aizawl, while another Rifleman Sriman Rai was awarded the whole area of Zotlang in Aizawl.