Sêrkâwn is a village within

Lunglei Lunglei (, locally ), formerly rendered Lungleh, is the second-largest town in Mizoram, Northeast India, northeastern India, situated in the south-central part of the state. The town served as the capital of British rule in the Lushai Hills, Br ...

Administrative Block,

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is continuous with Lunglei within 1 km area. It is 107 km from the state capital

Aizawl Aizawl (, American English, US: , British English, UK: ; Mizo language, Mizo: ), formerly known as Aijal, is the capital city and the most populous city of Mizoram, India. It is also the third largest city in northeast India. It is situated ato ...

. The place chosen by British missionaries, it is the home of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and

formal education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

in southern Mizoram. The oldest schools and hospital in southern Mizoram were established there. It still is the centre of administration of

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 m ...

. The British used to call it (as a literal translation) "Lemonvale". The name is due to abundant

lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

trees native to the place during the

British occupation The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establishe ...

. It remained the principal centre of learning and music during the 20th century.

History

There is no available record of habitation in Sêrkâwn before the advent of British missionaries.

James Herbert Lorrain James Herbert Lorrain, or Pu Buanga, (6 February 1870 – 1 July 1944) was a Scottish people, Scottish Baptist missionary in northeast India, including Mizoram, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh. He and Frederick William Savidge reduced the Mizo lan ...

and

Frederick William Savidge Frederick William Savidge (1862 – 1935) was a pioneer English Christian missionary in northeast India. He and James Herbert Lorrain brought Protestantism to Mizoram, and some parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Together they were entirely r ...

, sent by

Baptist Missionary Society BMS World Mission, officially Baptist Missionary Society, is a Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. The headquarters is in Didcot, England. History The BMS was formed in 1792 as the ''Particular Baptist Societ ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, arrived in

on 13 March 1903 and chose their settlement at Serkawn. They started organising school, theology classes and medical services. The medical services were strengthened as a small dispensary in 1919 with the help new missionaries. The dispensary ultimately developed into the present day

Christian Hospital Serkawn Christian Hospital Serkawn ("Serkawn Hospital") is a hospital-cum-nursing school at Serkawn, Lunglei, Mizoram, India, operated by the Baptist Church of Mizoram. Started in 1919, and formally established in 1923, it was the first hospital and nursi ...

. The present Baptist Higher Secondary School was established as an extension of Savidge's school. By the 1930s there were some twenty isolated families in the village, and became a village of educated people. Between 1932 and 1946 the school authority held annual festivals, famously known as "Sêrkâwn Concert". Major activities included music concert and

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

s. This was the first ever entertainment festival of any kind in Mizoram.

Geography and climate

Sêrkâwn is only a kilometre away from the centre of Lunglei town, the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

capital of the region. It is a smooth running hillock with rich natural vegetation. It is naturally covered by plenty of

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

and

banyan A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...

trees. Climatic condition is very mild with an annual average temperature of ~20°C.

Education and institutions

Established by British missionaries, Sêrkâwn has the best developed school in southern Mizoram. The first elementary school was started by F.W. Savidge, and was gradually expanded to different levels. There are Serkawn Primary School, Serkawn Middle English School and Baptist Higher Secondary School. In addition Serkawn Christian College is a major institute of nursing.

Other landmarks

*Old Age Hall worth INR 1.15 million was constructed by

Government of Mizoram The Government of Mizoram ( Mizo: Mizoram Sawrkâr) also known as the State Government of Mizoram, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Mizoram and its 11 districts. It consists of an execut ...

in 2013 for public recreation. It consists of a recreational hall for senior citizens, health clinic and a nursery, along with a garage. *Sports stadium is currently under construction. The foundation stone was laid down by

Lal Thanhawla Pu Lal Thanhawla (born 19 May 1938 or 1942) is an Indian politician and former List of chief ministers of Mizoram, Chief Minister of Mizoram, belonging to the Indian National Congress party. He holds the record for longest-serving Chief Ministe ...

, Chief Minister of Mizoram, on 23 September 2013. The project worth INR 241,808,000 was sanctioned by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. It will have a standard-sized football ground, and public gallery with 1,000 seating capacity.

References

External links

Wikimapia
{{Lunglei district Villages in Lunglei district