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CSARN Research Fellowships for Women 2025 applications are open now!!!
Credit: Shona Loong
In reflecting on the conditions under which “borderland knowledge” is produced – including the institutions and actors that produce and transmit research about Myanmar’s borderlands, and train researchers that hail from these places – this piece contributes to debates about knowledge politics in Myanmar. It summarizes points made by the authors at a roundtable on “Research and learning in Myanmar’s borderlands” at the 2024 International Conference on Myanmar’s Borderlands at Chulalongkorn University.
Key data points on conflict, livelihoods, education, and Displacements & Refugees
Key data points on conflict, livelihoods, education, and Displacements & Refugees
This review and analysis examines the complex and evolving situation during 2024, assessing the multifaceted impacts of the ongoing conflict, including the deepening humanitarian crisis, widespread protection concerns, and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions faced by local communities. It draws on diverse sources, including local and international media, research reports, and ground-level data gathered through field observations in the region.
chin state's e-learning corssroads
chin state's e-learning corssroads
In partnership with K4DM, we released a major report on the e-learning landscape in Chin State, surveying organisers, students and teachers. We found strong interest in digital tools, but barriers like unreliable power, low device ownership, and security risks remain.
Key stats:
70% had less than one year of access to online classes
50% lack consistent electricity
Women face greater risks engaging in e-learning
"We go to the jungle to download lessons. That's our school now." – student
About Chin State
About Chin State
Chin State is a mountainous region of western Burma/Myanmar, bordering Northeast India and Bangladesh as well as Rakhine State, Magwe and Sagaing Regions. It is home to approximately 479,000 people. In predominantly Buddhist Burma/Myanmar, 85 percent of people in Chin State are Christian, of many different denominations.
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According to the international legal concept of indigenous peoples, the majority of people in Chin State are indigenous and self-identity as such. Although people in Chin State are unified to some extent through shared history, religion, cultural heritage, geographical homeland, and traditional practices, the origins of the collective term Chin are disputed (‘Chin’ is accepted by many, but not all) and many people prefer to use nomenclature such as Laimi, Zomi, Muun, Zotung, Mara, Matu, Khumi and so on to denote their identities. These identities are also shaped by complex systems of kinship and clans which often also stray into neighboring countries and regions, prompting some to look to a larger overlapping identity of 'Zo'.
Chin State is one of the most linguistically diverse parts of Burma/Myanmar, with many mutually unintelligible dialects and no common language. For most children, Burmese is their second or third language and they are unlikely to use it much before entering school.
Chin State is one of the most isolated regions in Burma/Myanmar, with inadequate road infrastructure, communication systems, healthcare and education facilities, electricity and running water. During rainy season many roads - particularly in remote northern and southern parts of Chin State - are virtually impassable. In Paletwa township, southern Chin State, there are very few roads and people primarily travel by boat on the Kaladan river and its tributaries. In other areas of Chin State many villages are connected by a network of paths rather than paved roads. Shifting cultivation is the primary subsistence livelihood for the largely rural communities in Chin State. Chin State continues to be affected by on going armed conflicts which have taken place in Paletwa township since 2015.
In February 2021, the coup d'état occured after over 10 years of military back parliamentary has been installed. The Civil Disobedience Movement and anti-coup protest was quickly spread over the country against the military coup. Ongoing armed conflict has severely affected the region, bringing the education system to standstill, and resulting in a significant part of the population becoming either internally displaced or seeking refuge in bordering countries such as India, Thailand and Malaysia.
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