Six decades after completing his graduation examination, former Mizoram Chief Minister and Mizo National Front (MNF) president Zoramthanga, now 82, is set to receive his bachelor’s degree certificate from Gauhati University on August 20.
Zoramthanga had appeared for his 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, but could not collect his degree certificate after going underground and joining the armed movement led by MNF founder Laldenga.
Zoramthanga had joined the Mizo National Front in 1965 and went underground immediately after completing his examination in 1966. He subsequently spent nearly two decades as a guerrilla fighter and one of Laldenga’s closest associates.
Although he could not collect his graduation certificate at the time, Zoramthanga preserved the certificates he had received from Gauhati University for the matriculation and pre-university examinations conducted under the university.
On August 20, the university will formally hand over his long-awaited graduation certificate at a ceremony scheduled for 2.30 pm at the Phanidhar Dutta Seminar Hall on the Gauhati University campus. The certificate will be presented by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Nani Gopal Mahanta.
The occasion will also feature a special lecture organised jointly by the Amiy Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development, the Gauhati University Institute of North-East India Studies and the university’s Centre for South East Asian Studies.
Zoramthanga will deliver the lecture titled “From Guerrilla Fighter to a Peace Maker”, reflecting on different phases of his long political journey, from armed struggle to peace negotiations and democratic politics.
Born in 1944, Zoramthanga was among Laldenga’s most trusted associates. During the two decades of underground activity leading up to the 1986 Mizo Peace Accord, he played a significant role in the organisational and diplomatic affairs of the MNF.
He was involved in operating the MNF’s military and political camps in what was then East Pakistan and is now Bangladesh, as well as in Myanmar and Pakistan. He also played an important role in establishing contacts with China and in efforts to initiate peace negotiations with the Government of India from Europe.
Following the signing of the Mizo Peace Accord in 1986 and Mizoram attaining full statehood in 1987, Zoramthanga served as Education and Finance Minister in the coalition government formed by Laldenga’s MNF and the Congress.
After Laldenga’s death in 1990, Zoramthanga became president of the MNF, a position he continues to hold.
He served as Chief Minister of Mizoram for three terms — from 1998 to 2008 and again from 2018 to 2020 — and played a major role in shaping the state’s reputation as one of the most peaceful states in the Northeast, while promoting education and human development.
In 2026, international publishing house Penguin Books published Zoramthanga’s autobiography, “From Guerrilla Fighter to a Chief Minister,” which has received considerable attention in India and abroad.
The special lecture will be inaugurated by Gauhati University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Nani Gopal Mahanta. Subhash Chandra Das, chairman of the governing body of the Amiy Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development, will attend as the guest of honour.
