"Peace Accord represents will of the people, not just MNF": Former Mizoram CM Zoramthanga

Marking the 39th anniversary of the historic Mizo Peace Accord, Mizo National Front (MNF) president and former Chief Minister Zoramthanga strongly asserted that the 1986 accord was not merely a pact between the Centre and the then-underground MNF, but a collective mandate of the Mizo people.

Addressing a commemorative function at Saitual on Monday, Zoramthanga said, “Some vested interests attempt to reduce the significance of the Mizo Peace Accord as an agreement solely between the Centre and the MNF. However, it was signed on behalf of the MNF by Laldenga and on behalf of the non-insurgent Mizos by then Chief Secretary Lalkhama.”

The MNF celebrated the 39th Peace Accord Day statewide, though the state government did not organize any official observance of the occasion.

Zoramthanga, once a leading rebel commander during the insurgency, emphasized that the accord was signed from a position of strength for both the Indian government and the MNF. “We were economically and organizationally strong when we negotiated peace. Had we been weak, the accord would have lacked balance,” he noted.

He also highlighted the constitutional milestone that followed the accord — Mizoram's elevation to statehood in 1987 and the special protections granted under Article 371G of the Indian Constitution. This provision ensures that no Act of Parliament applies to Mizoram in matters of Mizo religious and social practices, customary laws, administration of justice, and land ownership, unless approved by the state legislature.

In a symbolic move, the youth wing of the MNF unveiled a hoarding of Article 371G in front of the MNF headquarters, Mizo Hnam Run, in Aizawl. The hoarding was inaugurated by Lalkhama, who had signed the accord in 1986 on behalf of the Mizo public.

Speaking at the event, Lalkhama paid tribute to the sacrifices of MNF cadres and martyrs, acknowledging them as the true architects of peace. He stressed the need to educate future generations about the protections enshrined under Article 371G.

MNF legislator Robert Romawia Royte recalled that the peace accord led to the 53rd Constitutional Amendment, which formally incorporated Article 371G as a safeguard for the Mizo people.

Signed on June 30, 1986, the peace accord ended two decades of insurgency and paved the way for Mizoram to become India’s 23rd state on February 20, 1987 — a turning point in the region’s political and social history.