Young Mizo Association

The Young Mizo Association (YMA) is the largest and most comprehensive non-profit, secular and nongovernmental organisation of the Mizo people. It was established on 15 June 1935, originally as the Young Lushai Association (YLA), which was later replaced with the "Young Mizo Association" in 1947. It was initiated by the Welsh Christian missionaries who understood the need of cultural conservation of the Mizo tribe, who were under pressure of political and social modernisations. It was registered as SR No. 4 of 1977 under Indian Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860) on 14 May 1977 to the Government of Mizoram.

The association is administered by a central committee (Central YMA), headquartered at Aizawl, and under which there are 5 sub-headquarters, 47 groups and 772 branches, which covers all of Mizoram and some parts of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.

Lalbiakzuala was elected on 17 October 2013 at the 68th General Conference as the President for 2013-2015 office, replacing T. Sangkunga.

By 1935 Christianity had taken over most of the traditional Mizo lifestyle, formal education system had been introduced, British rule was about to be revoked and local administration was to be subjected to Indian politics. The basic tribal administrative system Zawlbuk was dissolving. The traditional social security, custom and training ground for young men was coming to an end, thereby necessitating a substitute of the tribal institution urgently. As serendipity would have it, a thunderstorm on the Monday evening of 3 June 1935, right after worship service, drove the Welsh missionaries and the Mizo church leaders to the nearby residence of Miss Kattie Hughes (known to Mizos as Pi Zaii), at Aijal (now Aizawl), wherein they made an impromptu proposal over a cup of tea for establishing an association that would unite all the Mizo people. As a Christian gathering, the initial proposed name was Young Mizo Christian Association, to rhyme with Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), which on scrutiny they noticed had a restrictive and religious fundamentalist connotation. Then Rev David Edward (Zorema Pa) came up with "Young Lushai Association" akin to their familiar Young Wales Association in Wales. The name was unanimously accepted. It was also agreed that the association would be formally inaugurated on the coming 15 June.