The Zou community in Manipur was exposed to independent India's developmental state. Since the 1950s, they began to participate in the democratic process, especially electoral politics. Political pioneers, like T. Gougin and M. Thangkhanlal, emerged from this new political climate in the early decades of postcolonial India. Such developments affected the outlook and livelihood of many Zous who enjoyed upward mobility. The expansion of the so-called Licence Raj helped the growth of an administrative town, Churachandpur, in southern Manipur. More enterprising Zous saw new opportunities in this urban centre and set up their own "colonies" (e.g. Soduh, Sugnu Zouveng, Zomi Colony, Zoveng, Kamdou Veng, Hiangzou, and New Zoveng) to settle in and around Churachandpur town. Better access to education enabled these urban settlers to enter the government civil service sector that grew in the 1970s and 1980s. Within the Zou community, the Church and other NGOs are significant employers of theological graduates.