60 years after passing degree, former Mizoram CM Zoramthanga to receive certificate from Gauhati University

Six decades after completing his undergraduate examination, former Mizoram Chief Minister and Mizo National Front (MNF) president Zoramthanga is set to receive his degree certificate from Gauhati University on August 20.

Zoramthanga appeared for the final undergraduate examination in 1966 from Dhanamanjuri College in Manipur, then affiliated with Gauhati University, with English as his major subject. He passed the examination with a second-class result.

However, after completing the examination, he went underground as a member of the MNF, which had launched an armed struggle under the leadership of Laldenga. As a result, he could not collect his undergraduate degree certificate.

At a ceremony at the Phanidhar Dutta Seminar Hall on August 20, the university Vice-Chancellor will formally hand over the certificate to the 82-year-old Zoramthanga. The programme is scheduled for 2.30 p.m.

Zoramthanga joined the MNF in 1965 and went underground the following year. He remained closely associated with Laldenga until the signing of the Mizoram Peace Accord in 1986, playing an important role in the organisation’s political, military and diplomatic activities.

He was involved in managing MNF camps in the then East Pakistan and present-day Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan, and also played a role in establishing contacts with China and pursuing peace negotiations with the Government of India.

After the Mizoram Peace Accord and Mizoram’s attainment of full Statehood in 1987, Zoramthanga served as Education and Finance Minister in the coalition government formed by the MNF and the Congress.

Following Laldenga’s death in 1990, he became president of the MNF, a position he continues to hold. He served as Mizoram Chief Minister for three terms — from 1998 to 2008 and again from 2018 to 2023.

To mark the occasion, the Amia Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development, the Gauhati University Institute of North East India Studies and the Centre for South East Asian Studies will jointly organise a special lecture by Zoramthanga titled “From Guerrilla Fighter to a Peace Maker.”

The lecture will be inaugurated by Gauhati University Vice-Chancellor Professor Nani Gopal Mahanta. Subhash Chandra Das, chairman of the governing body of the Amia Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development, will attend as the guest of honour.

Zoramthanga is also the author of From Guerrilla Fighter to Chief Minister, an autobiography published by Penguin Books in 2026. During the lecture, he is expected to reflect on various aspects of his political journey, from his years as an underground MNF leader to his tenure as Chief Minister.