The Chin people (, ) are a Southeast Asian people native to Chin State and its neighbouring states of Myanmar. The Chin are one of the founding groups (Chin, Kachin, Shan and Bamar) of the Union of Burma. The Chin speak a variety of related languages, share elements of cultures and traditions. According to the British state media BBC News, "The Chin people... are one of the most persecuted minority groups in Burma." These people predominantly live in the Chin State, Bago Division, Ayeyarwady Division, Magwe Division, Rakhine State and Sagaing Region of Myanmar, but are also spread throughout Burma, Bangladesh and India. In the 2014 Burmese ethnic census, the Chin ethnicity was again dismissed by the people of the Chin State. It is to be noted that the Mizo people in Mizoram, India and the Chin are both Chin-Kuki-Mizo people, who share the same history with each other. The difference in name and dispersal across international borders resulted from a British colonial policy that drew borders on political grounds rather than ethnic ones. This page mainly focuses on the Chin people that is those who live in areas that became part of Burma and later Myanmar. During the era of British rule, the colonial government used the compound term 'Chin-Kuki-Mizo' to group the Kukish language speaking people, and the Indian government inherited this nomenclature. Some Chin nationalists now consider that Chin would mean subtle Paite domination of Chin, Kuki and Chin identity, which other groups like Hmars, Chins (Chinmi), and Koms may not use. Etymology The term 'Chin' initially as used by the Burmese in Myanmar referred to all the hill tribes in the western frontier of Myanmar. However, in India the hill tribes are divided into two groups i.e. Chin-Kuki and Naga. The Kukis generally live to the south of the Nagas. The term now generally refer only to the majority Chin-Kuki-Mizo speaking communities of Myanmar since many of the similar tribes have rejected the name as foreign. Alternatively, the Chin-Kuki-Mizo use the original name of the people ‘Chinlung/Khul/Sinlung’. It goes by different pronunciations through the respective languages’ evolution to Yaw, Jou, Zou, Cho, Qin, Zy etc. History and politics The Chin people are believed to have come to Burma via the Chindwin Valley in the late ninth or tenth century A.D. They moved westward, and are thought to have settled in the present Chin State around 1300-1400.