Songpi/Aizawl: In a rare academic homecoming six decades in the making, former Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, 82, finally received his undergraduate degree certificate from Gauhati University on Wednesday. The ceremony was held at the Phanidhar Dutta Seminar Hall of the university, where Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nani Gopal Mahanta formally handed over the document to the veteran Mizo leader.
Zoramthanga had appeared for his final Bachelor of Arts examination in 1966 from Dhanamanjuri College, Imphal, which was then affiliated to Gauhati University. He had taken English as his major subject and had cleared the examination in the second division, according to university records.
He could never collect the certificate at the time. Within months of completing his examination, he had joined the underground armed movement of the Mizo National Front under its founder Laldenga. As the insurgency intensified in the wake of the 1966 uprising, Zoramthanga went underground, leaving behind his academic life for a career in rebellion and later, statesmanship.
Speaking at the event, Zoramthanga brought humour to the historic moment. I must be the only student in India who has collected his passing certificate after 60 years, he said, drawing applause from faculty, students, and dignitaries present at the hall.
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The degree presentation was not an isolated event. It was organised alongside a special invited lecture by Zoramthanga titled From Guerrilla Fighter to a Peacemaker, where he traced his extraordinary personal and political transformation from an insurgent commander to a three-time Chief Minister of a peaceful state.
File Photo: Former Mizoram Chief Minister and MNF President Pu Zoramthanga, 82, receiving his BA degree certificate from Gauhati University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nani Gopal Mahanta at a ceremony held at Phanidhar Dutta Seminar Hall in Guwahati on August 20, 2026, 60 years after passing his final examination in 1966.
My life journey has been a long one, from conflict to peace and from insurgency to politics, Zoramthanga said in his address. He reflected that decades in the jungle, in exile, and in negotiations had taught him that lasting solutions cannot be achieved through arms, but only through mutual understanding, tolerance, and commitment to democratic values.
The MNF leader, who joined the organisation in 1965, became one of Laldenga’s closest aides during the two-decade-long Mizo insurgency. He handled crucial political, military, and diplomatic responsibilities, including a long stint in exile and underground operations across the Northeast and neighbouring regions.
That long conflict eventually ended with the signing of the historic Mizoram Peace Accord in 1986 between the Government of India and the MNF, an agreement widely regarded as India’s most successful peace settlement. The accord paved the way for Mizoram to attain full statehood and for the MNF to join mainstream electoral politics.
Following the accord, Zoramthanga emerged as one of the most dominant figures in Mizoram’s modern political history. He first served as Chief Minister from 1998 to 2008 for two consecutive terms, and later returned to power from 2018 to 2023, making him one of the longest-serving chief ministers of the state.
As president of the Mizo National Front, he remained at the centre of regional politics for over three decades, shaping debates on Mizo identity, autonomy, development, and Centre-State relations. His experience has often been cited in academic and policy discussions on conflict resolution and peace-building in South Asia.
The event on August 20 also marked the official launch of his autobiography, titled From Guerrilla Fighter to Chief Minister. The book chronicles his early student days, his years as a guerrilla, his role in the peace negotiations, and his tenure in democratic governance, offering a first-person account of Mizoram’s journey from insurgency to statehood.
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Mahanta described Zoramthanga’s life as a living lesson for students. He said the former chief minister’s transition from armed struggle to constitutional office and his contribution to establishing lasting peace in Mizoram holds invaluable lessons for the younger generation, not just in the Northeast but across the country.
The ceremony was also attended by leaders of the Asom Gana Parishad and other dignitaries in Guwahati, underlining Zoramthanga’s long-standing ties with political movements in Assam and the broader Northeast. Gauhati University, which once served as the affiliating university for colleges across the undivided Northeast, has produced several leaders from the region.
For Zoramthanga, who remains active in public life at 82, the receipt of the degree certificate closes a personal circle that began in a college classroom in Imphal in the mid-1960s. It stands as a symbolic milestone that connects his academic youth with a political career that mirrored Mizoram’s own transformation from a conflict zone to one of India’s most peaceful states.
