Ropuiliani

Ropuiliani became the first woman chief in the recorded history of Mizoram during the late 19th century AD after her husband, Vandula died. She was the chief of a village called Denlung, situated near Hnahthial in southern Mizoram. The village still exists today.

Denying the superiority of the British colonists, she refused to acknowledge the British authority as a result of which she was imprisoned by them in 1893. She was first incarcerated in Lunglei, the second capital of Mizoram but was later shifted to a jail in Rangamati, now in present Bangladesh.

Barely a year after she was imprisoned, Ropuiliani died in jail in January 1894 and her body was taken home by her son, Lalthuama who was also imprisoned along with her. The administration of the village never came under Ropuiliani or her descendents again.