Aizawl (; Mizo: ) is the capital of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Aizawl was officially established on 25 February 1890. With a population of 293,416, it is the largest city in the state. It is also the centre of administration containing all the important government offices, state assembly house and civil secretariat. The population of Aizawl strongly reflects the different communities of the ethnic

Mizo people The Mizo people ( Mizo: ''Mizo hnam'') are an ethnic group native to the Indian state of Mizoram and neighbouring regions of Northeast India. The term covers several related ethnic groups or clans inside the Mizo group. All Mizo tribes and cla ...

History

In 1871–72, the disorderly conduct of Khalkom, a Mizo chief, compelled the British to establish an outpost that later became the Aizawl village. The post had been established by Suakpuilala, the Chief of Reiek and it was only 14 kilometres from Sairang from where one could travel by flat bottomed boat. In 1890, officer Dally of the Assam Police and his 400 men arrived at Aizawl to support Colonel Skinner's troops during a British military operation against the Mizo tribals. On Dally's recommendation, Aizawl was selected as the site of a fortified post that Colonel Skinner had been ordered to construct. The troops constructed stockades and buildings at the site. In 1892-95 Aizawl became accessible from Silchar by fair weather road under the supervision of Major Loch. The Indian Air Force carried out air strikes on the town during the

March 1966 Mizo National Front uprising The Mizo National Front uprising was a revolt against the government of India aimed at establishing a sovereign nation state for the Mizo people, which started on 28 February 1966. On 1 March 1966, the Mizo National Front (MNF) made a declaratio ...

, following which the MNF withdrew to

Lunglei Lunglei (Pron: /ˈlooŋgˌleɪ/) is a town, situated in the south-central part of Mizoram state, northeastern India. Lunglei, literally meaning 'bridge of rock' got its name from a bridge like rock found in the riverine area around Nghasih - a ...

. Until 1966, Aizawl was a large village but the regrouping of Mizo villages after the uprising made it become a larger town and then a city. Aizawl has become the centre of road network in Mizoram connecting the north and south, east and west. More than 25% of the Mizoram population reside in Aizawl.

Geography

Aizawl is located in north of the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...

in the northern part of Mizoram. It is situated on a ridge 1,132 metres (3715 ft) above sea level, with the

Tlawng The Tlawng is a river of Mizoram, northeastern India. Its tributaries include the Tut, Teirei and the Ngashih. The city of Aizawl lies in the Tlawng valley. In 2012, a dam (Tlawng Dam) was proposed for the river. History In 1890, when the Br ...

river

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

to its west and the

Tuirial The Tuirial is a river of Mizoram and Assam, northeastern India. It is also known as River Sonai, a tributary of Barak River. It flows in a northerly direction towards Cachar district and joins the Barak River at Dungripar Village near Sonai town ...

river valley to its east.

Civic Administration

The Aizawl Municipal Council is the authority of civic administration of Aizawl city. It was formed in 2010 with 19 Members when the Congress-ZNP party coalition was voted to power in the state legislative assembly. The AMC office is being administered by one council Chairman, Vice-Chairman and three executive members. It consists of 19 elected members representing 19 wards of the city and others appointed by the Governor of Mizoram. One-third of the total membership is reserved for women, these six seats shall be rotated after every five years. The tenure of the council is five years. There is a Ward Committee in every ward that consists of a Chairman, who is an elected councillor from that ward, and two members each from all the local council within the ward. There are 78 local councils having a term of five years.

Demographics

As of 1910, there were 777 army personnel in Aizawl from different parts of North India as well as Nepal. The Gurkha's among the soldiers eventually settled in Aizawl. As of the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Aizawl had a population of 293,416. Females constitute 50.61% of the population and males made up the remaining 49.39%. Mizos from various tribes make up the majority of the population.

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

forms majority of the city population about 93.63%. Other minority religions are

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

4.14,

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

1.52,

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

0.45, Others 0.09%,

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

0.03% and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

0.02%. 0.11% peoples did not state their religion.

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

make up the majority of the population. However, there are also significant numbers of the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

United Pentecostal Church The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Weldon Spring, Missouri, United States. The United Pentecostal Church International was formed in 1945 by a merger of the former Pentecostal C ...

and

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the city. There are also some cultural based Christian sects.

and

are also represented in very small numbers in the city population.

Climate

Aizawl has a mild, sub-tropical climate due to its location and elevation. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Aizawl features a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(Cwa). In summer, temperatures are moderately warm, averaging around . In winter, daytime temperatures are cooler in comparison to the rest of the year, averaging around . Rainfall is mostly concentrated between April and October, with the heaviest rainfall occurring in May, July, August and September. The remainder of the year is notably drier.

Cityscape

Economy

The economy of Aizawl is basically sustained by government services as it is capital of Mizoram. The major banks are also located within Aizawl. A 3-star category hotel, Hotel Regency, has recently been inaugurated at Zarkawt, a central location within the city. It provides a much-needed hospitality service for tourists and business visitors to Aizawl. There are several other hotels apart from Hotel Regency. Those include - Hotel Sangchia located in Zarkawt, Hotel Grand located in Zarkawt, Hotel Floria located in Dawrpui, Ritz Hotel located in Canteen Kual, Tourist Lodge located in Chaltlang, Chawlhna Hotel located in Zarkawt, Riakmaw Inn located in Zarkawt, Hotel Ahimsa located in Zarkawt, and other numerous affordable hotels.

Transport

Air

Aizawl is connected by air transport through

Lengpui Airport Lengpui Airport is a domestic airport in Lengpui, serving Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, India. The airport is connected by flights to Kolkata, Guwahati and Imphal, and is located at a distance of 32 km from Aizawl. Lengpui Airport is ...

which it is situated near Aizawl. The airport provides connectivity to

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

Agartala Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located on ...

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

and

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

, operated by

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...

Go First Go First, founded as GoAir, is an Indian ultra-low-cost airline based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is owned by the Indian business conglomerate Wadia Group. In October 2017, it was the fifth largest airline in India with an 8.4% passenger mar ...

and

IndiGo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

. A helicopter service by

Pawan Hans Pawan Hans Limited is a central public sector undertaking based at Noida in Delhi NCR, India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It has cumulatively flown more than 1 million hours and has had 2 ...

was started in 2012 and connects the city with

Lawngtlai Lawngtlai is the district headquarters of Lawngtlai district in the state of Mizoram in India. It is also the headquarters of Lai Autonomous District Council, one of the three autonomous district councils in Mizoram (the other two being Mara Au ...

Saiha Siaha (official name given by the Mara Autonomous District Council, popularly known as Saiha) is a census town in Siaha district in the Indian north-eastern state of Mizoram. It is the Headquarters of the Mara Autonomous District Council, on ...

Chawngte Lawngtlai district is one of the eleven districts of Mizoram state in India. The district is bounded on the north by Lunglei district, on the west by Bangladesh, on the south by Myanmar and on the east by Saiha district. The district occupies a ...

Serchhip Serchhip is the headquarters town of Serchhip district in the Indian state of Mizoram, and also the headquarters of Serchhip Sadar subdivision. It lies in the central part of Mizoram, and 112 km away from the State capital city of Aizawl ...

Champhai Champhai (Pron:/tʃamˈpʰaɪ/) is a border town in Mizoram States and territories of India, state, in far eastern India. It is the headquarters of Champhai district, one of the eleven districts in the state. It is located on the Indo-Myanmar b ...

Kolasib Kolasib is a town and headquarters of Kolasib district in Mizoram, India. Demographics As of the 2011 Census of India, Kolasib district had a population of 83,955. Males constitute 51.12% of the population and females 48.88%. Kolasib has an a ...

Khawzawl Khawzawl is a census town in Khawzawl district in the Indian state of Mizoram. Demographics In the Indian census of 2011, Khawzawl was declared a Notified Town of the Khawzawl district, Mizoram. It is divided into five wards for which elections ...

Ngopa Ngopa is a town in the Saitual District of Mizoram, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of ...

and

Hnahthial Hnahthial is the headquarters of Hnahthial district in the Indian state of Mizoram. The term Hnahthial is a Mizo term which means Phrynium capitatum, a plant which grows in plenty in Hnahthial. Demographics As of the 2011 Census of India, Hnaht ...

Rail

Mizoram is connected by railroad up to

Bairabi Bairabi is a census town in Kolasib district in the state of Mizoram, India. It is also the railhead of Mizoram, 117 km from the Capital, Aizawl. Demographics As of the 2011 Census of India, Bairabi had a population of . Males constit ...

, there are plans to connect Bairabi with Sairang with broad gauge railway track, near Aizawl. The government has also started a broad gauge

Bairabi Sairang Railway Bairabi is a census town in Kolasib district in the state of Mizoram, India. It is also the railhead of Mizoram, 117 km from the Capital, Aizawl. Demographics As of the 2011 Census of India, Bairabi had a population of . Males constit ...

connection for better connectivity in the state. There is also the plan for 5 km long Aizawl Monorail running between Zemabawk to Kulikawn.

Road

Aizawl is connected by road with

Silchar Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is located south east of Guwahati. It was founded by Captain Thomas Fisher in 1832 when he shifted the headquarters of Cachar to Janiganj in Silchar. ...

through National Highway 540, with

through National Highway 40 and with

through National Highway 150. The yellow-and-white taxis are widely available; Maruti cars are most widely used. Privately owned blue-and-white mini buses are on regular service as city buses.. For local conveyance 2 wheeler taxi are also available.

Media

Newspaper: The major media in Aizawl in Mizo and English Language are: * Vanglaini, * The Zozam Times * The Aizawl Post. * Khawpui Aw * Virthli * The Mizoram Post * Zoram Tlangau * Mizo Arsi * Mizo Express * Zawlaidi * Zozam Weekly * Zoram Thlirtu * Sakeibaknei * Entlang Radio:

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

also has a studio that host programmes at scheduled hours. FM Zoawi is a popular radio station in Aizawl.

Education

There are both state and private schools.

Parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

s are run by the

Baptist Church of Mizoram Baptist Church of Mizoram is a Baptist Christian denomination in India. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Lunglei, Mizoram. History The Baptist Church of Mizoram has its origins in an English Baptist mi ...

, the

Presbyterian Church of India The Presbyterian Church of India (PCI) is a mainline Protestant church based in India, with over one million adherents, mostly in Northeast India. It is one of the largest Christian denominations in that region. Origin and history In 1799, Sera ...

(

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

), several

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

(St. Paul's Higher Secondary School, Mary Mount School, St. Lawrence School, St. Mary's School) religious orders and the

Seventh-day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

(

Helen Lowry Elza Akhmerova, also Elsa Akhmerova was an American citizen, born Helen Lowry. She is a niece of Earl Browder, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA). She died of leukemia. From 1936 to 1939, Lowry was an equal pa ...

). Kendriya Vidyalaya, Aizawl, is another school run by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, the school situated close to Zembawk. Other schools include Home Missions School,

Mount Carmel School Mount Carmel School (New Delhi) is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day students located in Delhi NCR, India with branches at Anand niketan, Dwarka and Gurugram. Mount Carmel School was founded by Dr. Vijay Williams and ...

, Oikos Higher Secondary School.

Tertiary

Pachhunga University College Pachhunga University College (PUC) is a public institute in Aizawl, Mizoram, and the only constituent college of Mizoram University, a central university established by an Act of Parliament of India. Founded in 1958 as Aijal College, it is th ...

was among the earliest colleges founded in 1958.

Aizawl College Aizawl College is a college in Aizawl, Mizoram, India. It is accredited with B+ Grade by NAAC and has 445 students currently studying in the college. History Established as ‘Aizawl College’ in 1975 by a team of philanthropic citizens meet ...

, the second oldest college in Aizawl City was established in the year 1975. Hrangbana College was established in 1980, located in Chanmari, Aizawl, it has 57 teaching staffs with 22 non-teaching staffs and more than 2,000 students in commerce and arts departments.

Mizoram University Mizoram University is a central university under the University Grants Commission, Government of India, and was established on 2 July 2001, by the Mizoram University Act (2000) of the Parliament of India. The President of India is the official ...

established in 2001 provides affiliation to all the colleges in Mizoram. Mizoram University also provides post-graduate education as well as B.Tech education and other departments.

ICFAI University, Mizoram ICFAI University, Mizoram (IUM, The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India University, Mizoram) is a university in Aizawl, Mizoram, India. It was established through an ''Act of the State Legislature of Mizoram'' and is recognized ...

located in Durtlang,

Aizawl West College Government Aizawl West College is an educational institution located in Dawrpui Vengthar, Aizawl, Mizoram. It is currently affiliated with Mizoram University. History Government Aizawl West College was founded on 2 May 1990 with 7 teachers an ...

, Government Aizawl North College, J. Thankima College also provides undergraduate courses. Mizoram Law College provides education to people who seek profession in Law.

Indian Institute of Mass Communication Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) is an Indian media centre of learning and civil service training institute for the Indian Information Service Cadre funded and promoted by the Government of India in New Delhi. The IIMC is an auto ...

and

National Institute of Technology Mizoram National Institute of Technology Mizoram (NIT Mizoram, or NITMZ) is one of the 31 National Institutes of Technology in India. Located in Aizawl, NIT Mizoram was one of the ten new NITs established by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (pa ...

has already started operations.

Zoram Medical College Zoram Medical College previously known as Mizoram Institute of Medical Education & Research is the first medical college in Mizoram, India. It was inaugurated on 7 August 2018 by the Chief Minister of Mizoram Lalthanhawla at Falkawn, about from ...

is inaugurated on 7 August 2018 in Falkawn.

Sports

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is the most popular sport in Mizoram with a number of footballers playing in national leagues in different parts of India. Some of the more important playing facilities in Aizawl are: #

Rajiv Gandhi Stadium Mualpui Rajiv Gandhi Stadium is an athletic stadium in Mualpui, Salem Veng, Aizawl, Mizoram, India. It is used mainly for association football, football and athletic games. This stadium is named after Rajiv Gandhi, 6th Prime Minister of India and curre ...

, with a seating capacity of 20,000, is currently being constructed at Mualpui, Aizawl. # Hawla Indoor Stadium is the largest indoor stadium with

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

facilities. #

Lammual Lammual Stadium is a football stadium located in Aizawl, Mizoram, India. It is used mainly for football matches. It was one of the venues for the Northeast Games 2012. The stadium is used for playing Mizoram Premier League matches. Stadium Th ...

stadium is a single tier stadium. The stadium under construction will have a seating capacity of about 5,000 spectators. Aizawl hosted the third edition of Xchange North East Youth NGO summit from October 3 to 5, 2018.

Neighbourhoods

* Aizawl Venglai * Armed Veng * Bawngkawn South/Chhim Veng * Bethlehem * Bethlehem Vengthlang * Bungkawn * Bungkawn Vengthar * Central Jail Veng * Chaltlang * Chaltlang North/Lily Veng * Chawlhhmun * Chanmari * Chanmari West * Chawnpui * Chhinga Veng * Chite Veng * College Veng * Dam Veng * Dawrpui * Dawrpui Vengthar * Dinthar * Durtlang * Durtlang Leitan * Durtlang North * Electric Veng * Edenthar * Hunthar * Hlimen * I.T.I. Veng * Kanan * Khatla * Khatla East * Khatla South * Khatla West (New Secretariat Complex) * Kulikawn * Laipuitlang * Lawipu Veng * Luangmual * Maubawk * Melthum * Mission Veng * Mission Vengthlang * Muanna Veng * Nursery * Phunchawng * Ramhlun Venglai * Ramhlun North * Ramhlun South * Ramhlun Vengthar * Ramhlun Sports Complex * Ramthar * Ramthar North * Rangvamual * Republic Veng * Republic Vengthlang * Saikhamakawn * Sakawrtuichhun * Salem Veng * Saron * Selesih * Tanhril * Thakthing * Tlangnuam * Tlangnuam South * Tuikhuahtlang * Tuikual South * Tuikual North * Tuithiang * Tuivamit * Upper Republic * Vaivakawn * Venghlui * Venghnuai * Zarkawt * Zemabawk * Zemabawk North * Zonuam * Zotlang * Zuangtui

Notable people

References

External links

*
Aizawl Official Website
{{State and Union Territory capitals of India Hill stations in Mizoram Cities and towns in Aizawl district Populated places established in 1890 Tourism in Northeast India 1890 establishments in India