In From Guerrilla Fighter to Chief Minister, Zoramthanga Chhangte traces the turbulent journey from the 1966 uprising through years of exile and failed negotiations to the historic Mizoram Peace Accord of 1986. The book offers a deeply personal Mizo perspective on a conflict that ultimately gave way not to enduring bitterness, but to reconciliation and lasting peace

On August 22, Zoramthanga, a three-term (ending 2023) former Chief Minister of Mizoram and long-time President of the Mizo National Front, received his BA degree from Gauhati University, 60 years after graduating from Dhanamanjuri College, Imphal, then affiliated with Gauhati University. On June 26, the Indian Express carried in its column “40 years ago” its front-page lead as “Laldenga would be new CM of Mizoram in an MNF-Congress I coalition government”, replacing the incumbent Chief Minister Lalthanhawla, who would be his deputy CM. The Mizoram Peace Accord is one of India’s most successful internal peace processes, negotiated with Laldenga by four Indian governments, culminating in PM Rajiv Gandhi’s pointed efforts — this after Congress I had signed peace accords in J&K, Punjab, Assam, Nagaland and Tripura.

The story From Guerrilla Fighter to Chief Minister is told by Zoramthanga Chhangte, a Mizo who graduated from Laldenga’s PA and became his most trusted aide and Vice President of the MNF. He is an eternal believer in Jesus Christ, the Lord God of his life and its turbulent trajectory. The book has 80 short chapters covering the movement in graphic detail.

A former Havildar in the Indian Army, Laldenga was fluent in English and Hindi and taught English at a local school for Rs 5. The insurgency and bid for secession began on 1 March 1966 with the declaration of a Unilateral Declaration of Independence and the launch of Op Jericho, which simultaneously targeted Aizawl (capital of Mizoram),........

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