SUMMARY

Paite is the name used by Indian authorities for an ethnic group living in the highland frontier regions of North Eastern India. They are part of the larger population known as Zomi (also known as Zos), spanning from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh to Chin State in Burma (Myanmar). The total population of Paites is approximately 30000 people, almost exclusively concentrated in the Churachandpur district, in Southern Manipur, close to the Indian-Burmese frontier.

Paite is a relatively arbitrary term, and, in fact, the Paite communities mainly use the term Zomi when describing themselves. Further, they are closely related to the Kuki (Thadou) and Chin tribes inhabiting the same areas - and there are claims that the Kukis and Paite of Churachandpur are two (at times rival) clans of the same ethnic group, with ethnolouges labeling both as being part of the larger Chin-Kuki-Mizo ethnicity. The Government of India lists the Paite as a scheduled tribe – a group awarded special protection by the Indian Government on account of their clan-based, tribal organization. Like most tribes in North Eastern India, most Paite are Christian, mainly Baptist or of other protestant denominations, with a small percentage being animists.

There is no over-encompassing organization of Paite groups, even within Manipur. Local clan leaders as well as village and regional councils do, however, exist and their role is relatively important - local councils had an important role to play out during various conflicts, such as the one with the Kukis in 1997. Further, there are small insurgent organizations, partly created as defensive forces during the 1997 conflict, such as the ZRO/ZRA (Zomi Revolutionary Organization / Zomi Revolutionary Army) . They, however, are relatively small and not representative for the overall Paite population.

The Paite have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.