Guwahati: Mizo National Front (MNF) president Zoramthanga on Monday stated that the historic Mizo Peace Accord, signed between the Centre and the erstwhile underground MNF in 1986, represents the entire Mizo people of Mizoram, not just the MNF.
Zoramthanga made the statement during the MNF’s observance of the accord’s 39th anniversary across Mizoram.
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“Some vested interests devalue the Mizo peace accord as only the accord between the Centre and the MNF. Laldenga signed it on behalf of the MNF, and Lalkhama (former State Chief Secretary) signed it on behalf of the Mizo people who did not go underground,” the former Chief Minister asserted.
Zoramthanga stated that the MNF signed the accord from a position of strength for both parties. He explained, “Had we signed the accord when we were organisationally weak, we would have been too submissive. However, we signed the accord when we were economically and organisationally strong.”
He further cited the significance of the accord in elevating Mizoram from a Union Territory to a full-fledged state with special provisions under Article 371G of the Constitution.
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Notably, this crucial article safeguards Mizo religious and social practices, customary law, administration of justice, and land ownership, preventing any parliamentary act from applying to Mizoram without the State Legislative Assembly’s resolution.
Meanwhile, the Youth wing of the MNF unveiled a hoarding of Article 371G in front of the MNF office (Mizo Hnam Run) in Aizawl.
Lalkhama, the former Chief Secretary who was a signatory to the 1986 accord, unveiled the hoarding. He stressed the importance of making the protection offered by Article 371G known to more people and acknowledged the sacrifices of MNF cadres and martyrs as the “real heroes” behind the peace.
MNF Legislator Robert Romawia Royte added that the peace accord mandated the Parliament to enact the 53rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1986, which then incorporated these crucial safeguards for the Mizos under Article 371G.
The Mizoram peace accord, signed on June 30, 1986, ended two decades of insurgency, leading to Mizoram becoming the 23rd Indian state on February 20, 1987