Vaphai is a village at the extreme east of

Champhai district Champhai district is one of the eleven districts of Mizoram state in India. The district is bounded on the north by Churachandpur district of Manipur state, on the west by Saitual and Serchhip districts, and on the south and east by Myanmar. ...

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 ...

Geography and location

Vaphai, with an average altitude of 5,686 feet (1,733 m) above sea level, lies about 11 km east of Tehsil Main Town

Khawbung Khawbung () is a village in the Champhai district in the Indian state of 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-kilom ...

Etymology

Its original name was "Ivaphai", which literally means "Plains of the river Iva", referring to its original location in the river valley slightly west of its present location. The first syllable got dropped probably by

elision In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run to ...

in course of time. It is situated at an average altitude of 5,686 feet (1,733 m) above sea level.

History

The village was established by Pu Mitinlianan in 1876 who started ruling the village for 45 years till his death in 1921. It was then ruled by Pu Chawnghleithanga in 1922 (1 year), who then passed it on to his son Pu Tlangtinchhuma who ruled till 1937 (14 years). And who then passed it on to his wife Pi Satinkhawli ruled till 1945 The last chieftainship was held by Pu Lalrokhama (17 years) until the abolition of chieftainship in 1954.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, Vaphai has 454 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 95.25%.

Tourism

Since the Mizos moved into Mizoram from the east, most historical monuments and places of cultural importance are to be found in eastern Mizoram and Burma. Ṭan tláng, lit. Ṭan mountain, with a height of 6,027 feet (1,837 m) is the fifth-tallest mountain in Mizoram.

Economy and border haat trade

Vaphai ( Saikhumphai) is one of the 4 Border Haats (markets) in Mizoram, others being at Sangau ( Pangkhua), Hnahlan and Zote, all of which boost the local trade and economy.Outlook India India, Myanmar likely to set up four ''Border Haats''
Outlook India, 20 Aug 2019.

Transport and connectivity

Zokhawthar Zokhawthar is a border town in the Champhai district of Mizoram state of India. Demographics According to the 2011 census of India, Zokhawthar has 501 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding c ...

(88 km north) provides connectivity to

India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway (IMT Highway), long route, is a 4-lane highway under construction under India's Look East policy that will connect Moreh, India with Mae Sot, Thailand via Myanmar. Imphal-Mandalay-Bangkok route, c ...

(IMT),The Role of BIMSTEC in Revitalising India’s Northeast
ORF, 23 Jun 2021. and

Asian Highway Network The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

and

Asian Highway 1 Asian Highway 1 (AH1) is the longest east-west route of the Asian Highway Network, running from Tokyo, Japan via the Korean Peninsula (South Korea and North Korea), China (Mainland China and Hong Kong), Mainland Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Camb ...

(AH1).New road, rail links to make Manipur gateway to SE Asia: CM
The Hindu, November 08, 2018.

References

{{Mizoram Villages in Khawbung block