Laldenga (11 June 1927 – 7 July 1990) was a Mizo

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...

northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. He was the founder of the

Mizo National Front The Mizo National Front ( MNF) is a regional political party in Mizoram, India. MNF emerged from the Mizo National Famine Front, which was formed by Pu Laldenga to protest against the inaction of the Indian central government towards the fami ...

, a social organisation turned political party. He was the first

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of Mizoram as a

federated state A federated state (which may also be referred to as a state, a province, a region, a canton, a land, a governorate, an oblast, an emirate or a country) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. Such states d ...

, the office of which he held from 1986 to 1988. Originally a

Havildar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergeant, ...

in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, Laldenga later worked as an Accounts Clerk in the

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...

. Disappointed by the government's indifference to the severe famine in the Mizo district in the late 1950s, he rebelled against the government. As a leader of the

(MNF), he led a

secessionist Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

war seeking Mizo territory's independence from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He was captured many times, and spent most of his time in exile in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The guerrilla movement lasted for sixteen years till the

Mizo Accord The Mizoram Peace Accord, 1986 was an official agreement between the Government of India and the Mizo National Front (MNF) to end insurgency and violence in Mizoram, India, that started in 1966. The Mizo National Front was an organisation of Miz ...

was signed in 1986, by which he became the Chief Minister of the new state of Mizoram. He won the first

Mizoram Legislative Assembly The Mizoram Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Mizoram in India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Aizawl, the capital of the state. The Legislative Assembly is composed of 40 Member of the Legislative Assembly ...

election under statehood in 1987, and continued at the Chief Minister office for another year. He died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in 1990.

Early years

Laldenga, the fourth child of a cultivator Liantlira Ralte and Darchhungi Hnamte, was born on 11 June 1927 in village Pukpui in the Mizo district of Assam (now in the

Lunglei district Lunglei district is one of the eleven districts of Mizoram state in India. As of 2011 it is the second most populous district in the state, after Aizawl. It is also the largest district in Mizoram with an area of 4,572 km2(1,765 sq mi). To ...

of Mizoram). He joined the Indian Army in 1944 and served up to

. He resigned from the army and joined civil service as Accounts Supervisor under District Council office in

Aizawl Aizawl (; Mizo: ) is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. Aizawl was officially established on 25 February 1890. With a population of 293,416, it is the largest city in the state. It is also the centre of administration containing all ...

Secessionist movements

Laldenga joined a voluntary organisation called Mizo Cultural Society, formed in 1955, as its Secretary. The society became Mautam Front in March 1960 to work for relief due to the

Mautam ''Mautâm'' is a cyclic ecological phenomenon that occurs every 48–50 years in the northeastern Indian states of Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, as well as in many places of Assam which are 30% covered by wild bamboo forests, and Chin State in ...

famine that affected the entire Mizoram (which was then a district council of Assam). The government could not make efficient effort to provide basic survival needs, and this prompted the need for more powerful pressure group. The organisation was then renamed Mizo National Famine Front (MNFF) in September 1960. This soon evolved into a political organisation and ultimately became the Mizo National Front (MNF) on 22 October 1961. Laldenga took the support from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

for the separatist movement and was arrested and jailed by Indian authorities. As an outcome of his talks, between 1963 and 1966 East Pakistan provided military training and shelter to Mizo fighters when they needed exile. On the night of 28 February 1966, the MNF launched a daring and ambitious attack on the district's major towns, resulting in the

March 1966 Mizo National Front uprising The Mizo National Front uprising was a revolt against the government of India aimed at establishing a sovereign nation state for the Mizo people, which started on 28 February 1966. On 1 March 1966, the Mizo National Front (MNF) made a declaratio ...

. It declared independence and called on the Mizos to rise against India. The Indian government responded by sending troops and aircraft on bombing missions. Villagers were uprooted from the hills and sent without their consent to what were called Regrouped Villages built along the highways. For the next 20 years, violence continued in the Mizo hills with the fighters camping in Mizoram (India) and

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

. With the fall of East Pakistan in 1971, Laldenga's men scattered to

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

while he moved to Pakistan. After secret meetings in Europe with Indian officials, he returned seeking a peaceful resolution of the problem. During his guerrilla life, Laldenga was arrested on several occasions and spent 10 years in exile, mostly in Bangladesh and

. He returned to India for peace talks in 1976, but the terms of negotiations failed in 1982. MNF was officially outlawed in January, and he, with some relatives, were arrested. He was extradited by the Indian government in April.

Peace Accord and last days

When Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India in 1984, it encouraged a new wave of negotiation. Laldenga met him on 15 February 1985, and peace settlement was on its way. On 30 June 1986 the official document entitled ''Mizoram Accord, 1986, Memorandum of Settlement'' was then signed by Laldenga, R. D. Pradhan, Home Secretary, and Lalkhama, Chief secretary. Laldenga became an interim Chief Minister, as the sitting Chief Minister

Lalthanhawla Lal Thanhawla (born 19 May 1938 or 1942) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Mizoram, belonging to the Indian National Congress party. He holds the record for longest-serving Chief Minister of Mizoram, occupying the position f ...

stepped down to Deputy Chief Minister. Under the terms of the accord, Mizoram was granted statehood in February 1987. Laldenga and his party MNF won the first elections to the state legislature. Elected from Sateek leh Aizawl North-II constituencies, he became the first Chief Minister of Mizoram as a federated state. However, defections toppled him from office in 1988.

Death

Laldenga never rose to political arena again due to chronic lung cancer. In early 1990, he received medical treatments at the

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. After a three-month therapy, he headed home via England. Just after landing on the London airport, he died as he was taken to

Ashford Hospital Ashford Hospital is a general hospital in Ashford, Surrey. It is managed by the Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Staines Poor Law Union Infirmary which opened in the mid-19th cen ...

on 7 July 1990. His body was transported reached Aizawl on 11 July and was honoured with the first state funeral in Mizoram on 13 July, and buried at the centre of

city.

References

External links