Zomia is a vast highland region stretching across parts of Southeast Asia—including northern #Myanmar, #Thailand, #Laos, #Vietnam, Yunnan (#China), and Northeast 3India—defined not by political borders but by its elevation and resistance to state control. Popularized by historian Willem van Schendel and anthropologist James C. Scott, Zomia represents a zone where diverse ethnic groups historically fled to avoid taxation, conscription, and domination by lowland states.