“I can boast that the transformation of MNF from a rebel group to a political party of India is one of the most significant peace initiatives that India has witnessed in the post-Mahatma Gandhi period,” claims chief minister Zoramthanga, who also heads the MNF. Zoramthanga, chief minister for the past 10 years, was not just secretary to the legendary Laldenga who launched the movement for a sovereign Mizoram in 1966, but also remained Number 2 to him throughout the armed struggle till it came to a close in 1986.

The birth of the MNF is a fascinating tale. Mizoram, then the Lushai Hills district of Assam, in 1959-60 suffered from the worst natural calamity in recent history. It was Mautam, a famine induced by the widespread flowering of bamboo — a calamity, that people believe, returns every 50 years. The Assam government, however, did not respond well to the calamity, forcing the Mizos to set up a voluntary organisation called the Mizo National Famine Front (MNFF).

This Front rendered yeoman service in providing relief to the famine-stricken. Then it dropped the ‘Famine’ from its name and converted itself into a political party called MNF. But its charismatic president Laldenga, an ex-serviceman, did the unexpected. He declared an “independent sovereign” Mizoram as the MNF’s goal. That was on October 22, 1961. Five years later, on February 28, 1966, the MNF declared war against India, launching a simultaneous attack on government installations, including several posts of the Assam Rifles.

“Yes, MNF has come a long way since it was formed 47 years ago. And the greatest achievement is that it ushered in an era of peace in Mizoram apart from working sincerely for its people,” says Zoramthanga, who also takes credit for drafting the peace accord of June 30, 1986.

The MNF story is unique in three aspects, points out Noni Gopal Mahanta, of the Conflict & Peace Studies cell in Gauhati University. “Firstly, it reflects the accommodative capacity of the Indian state despite its numerous contradictions. Next, there was a correct conflict resolution approach. But most significantly, the leaders of the erstwhile underground group were sincere towards their people and their needs,” says Mahanta.

MNF president Zoramthanga is currently engaged in trying to bring several other insurgent groups of the Northeast to negotiate with the government. “I have been in touch with them for a long time now, trying to tell them how important it is to find a peaceful solution,” he says.

The MNF’s transformation from an armed rebel group to a political party was also marked by the commitment to abjure violence, which led to the surrender of every weapon that its cadres had. The 1986 peace accord has set in motion a dynamic that has led to Mizoram becoming the second best state as far as human development indicators are concerned.

The transformation did not take place overnight. “The 20-year long underground movement also had an almost simultaneous history of negotiations. A lot of hard work went into it till the accord was signed. What also helped is the religious and linguistic homogeneity of the Mizos,” says Margaret Chalthanpluangi Zama, a professor in Mizoram University. “But that does not mean the MNF is a paragon of virtue. There have been numerous allegations of nepotism and corruption against them in the past 10 years. But they have survived, and have also managed to attract young voters who were born after the 1986 accord,” says Zama.

The MNF has had its ups and downs. While it won 25 seats out of 40 in its electoral debut in 1987, it lost power in 1989. Laldenga passed away in 1990. The MNF lost the 1993 polls too, but it bounced back in 1998, winning 33 seats in alliance with the Mizo People’s Conference. In 2003, it retained power on its own, winning 23 seats out of 40.