Lawngtlai

Lawngtlai is a hill town in southern Mizoram and the headquarters of Lawngtlai district, a culturally diverse frontier region that includes areas administered through the Lai and Chakma Autonomous District Councils. Historically, the wider area was ruled by local chieftains until the late nineteenth century. British authority expanded after an 1888 attack on a surveying party and a punitive expedition in 1889; the tract was incorporated into the South Lushai Hills, later merging into the Lushai Hills District (and administered under Assam in the colonial period).

In independent India, the region became part of Mizoram when the Union Territory was formed in 1972 and continued after statehood in 1987. Administratively, Lawngtlai and Saiha were earlier combined as Chhimtuipui District, with Saiha as the headquarters. By a government notification dated 11 November 1998, Lawngtlai District was created, and Lawngtlai town became the district headquarters. Since then, Lawngtlai has grown as a key centre for governance, education, and local trade for villages spread across the rugged southern hills of Mizoram.