An ‘Elephant Trying to Chase a Rat’: Indian COIN in the Mizo Hills, 1967–1970

Indian COIN operations during the Mizo civil war (1966–1986) are widely believed to have been effective, apparently paving the way for lasting peace. This article refutes this traditional stance. Indian COIN had serious limitations, struggling in an operational sense to conclusively defeat the MNF partly because of its broader inability to secure widespread local support. The peace that has defined the Mizo Hills since 1986 was forged despite Indian COIN in the early stages (1967–1970) of the conflict, as operations hindered the state's chances of military victory and created long-term resentment amongst the civilian population.