The peace accord ended a two-decade insurgency in the landlocked north-eastern state – known according to the travel portal Lonely Planet for its “orchids and rhododendrons” – with the 54th Constitution Amendment Bill granting statehood to Mizoram, making it in 1986, the 23rd state in the country; 40 members were elected to the new state legislative assembly by February, 1987.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister of Mizoram, Zoramthanga, who is the current MNF chief, said: “It is not because Mizos are better than others, that we have a time-tested and long-lasting peace… Our peace is a long-lasting one because god has been preparing Mizoram as a safe haven, a “Jerusalem” for our brethren to seek shelter.”

HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT

More than god, the people of the state and protracted negotiations between several stakeholders brought peace to Mizoram.

What preceded the accord were deep mistrust, violence and bloodshed for years. The history of the insurgency begins in 1959, when the Lushai Hills, a district at that time in Assam experienced the devastating ‘Mautam’ famine.

Experts say “Mautam” is a 48-year cyclical flowering of the bamboo plant. When rats eat the seeds of the plant, the population of the rodents multiply rapidly; they then devour crops, destroying farm produce and vegetation.

When the famine struck in 1959, the then Mizo District Council appealed to the Assam government for a sum of ₹150,000 to mitigate the effects of the spreading disaster.

Their request was ignored: Ignorant officials dismissed ‘Mautam’ as a bizarre tribal superstition.

The resulting food shortage in the region first fuelled anger and disbelief, and then triggered deep unrest among the suffering population.

On October 28, 1961, a secessionist movement led by the MNF, an organisation that had evolved out of a famine relief team, took formal shape.

Seven months earlier, on March 1, the organisation had already called for independence from India.

The MNF had formed an armed wing called the Mizo National Army (MNA), created to fight Indian security forces including the army. The MNA, a ragtag group of angry locals, consisted of eight infantry "battalions" organised on the pattern of the Indian army.

The MNA soon launched a full-scale insurgency, after, according to intelligence and army reports from the time, receiving weapons, funding and training from China and Pakistan.

New Delhi’s response was ruthless, by many accounts.

It included unprecedented air strikes by the Indian air force on the town of Aizawl, ordered by then Prime minister, Indira Gandhi. Gandhi ordered the deployment of four fighter jets, which bombed Aizawl, making it the only instance of the Indian air force attacking its own citizens.

Following the air strikes, the Indian military was sent in for operations deep inside the turbulent state, combing village after remote village.

Their aim was to secure all the key border points and to prevent supplies from entering the state through Burma and then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.

In 1967, the Government of India outlawed MNF.

THE ROAD TO PEACE

The road to peace was long and arduous.

The Central government offered to give a Union Territory status to the Lushai Hills in 1971, and on January 21, 1972, the Union Territory of Mizoram was formed.

In 1985, then-high-profile MNF leader, Laldenga met Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, paving the way for the peace accord.

The Mizoram Peace Accord was signed on 30 June 1986. The MNA fighters subsequently surrendered.

On February 20, 1987, the state of Mizoram was formed.

F. Vanlalrochana, a popular columnist in various newspapers in Mizoram, talked about the peace accord and its long-lasting impact.

“Since our forefathers, Mizos have never betrayed any settlement made with another party. In a Mizo society, a person’s integrity is measured by how well he observes the vow he has made. Mizos retaliate with great force if an agreement has been betrayed by another party. The Mizos signed many pacts during the British era, and were never the ones to break it.”

Speaking on the success of the MPA, B. Lalzarliana, assistant professor at the Department of Sociology, Mizoram University said: “Unlike other accords signed by the government of India, the endurance and success of the Mizoram Accord is a testament to the tenacity of the local Mizo populace first and second, the political leadership to make it work.”

The state population, he said, actively support the MPA unlike in other places where similar accords to could be undermined by new factions who are not willing to abide by it.

“The civil society, represented by the Mizo Church, was also instrumental in the signing of the peace accord by actively canvassing for its inception and success. The MPA is successful because all sections of society actively participated in its success even if some of its demands were not met. This is what is needed for a successful peace accord,” he added.

The success of the accord is an example of enduring peace not only in India but also abroad, CM Zoramthanga tweeted.

“The historic MPA signed in 1986 was the most time-tested exemplary accord not only in the country but also in the world, which has lasted till date. Since then, the Mizoram Accord has become an exemplary peace accord. Many neighbouring states and countries also take it as a model of peace. Today, I implore my fellow Mizos to take pride in this gift of God we received, and to preserve it for generations to come.”

“Only through peace can we have real and stable growth and development,” he tweeted.