STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Former Mizoram Chief Minister and Mizo National Front (MNF) president Zoramthanga received his Bachelor of Arts degree certificate from Gauhati University on Thursday, nearly six decades after he passed his final examination in 1966.
Gauhati University presented the certificate to Zoramthanga during a ceremony at the Phonidhar Dutta Seminar Hall. Vice-Chancellor Professor Nani Gopal Mahanta handed over the certificate to the former Chief Minister.
Zoramthanga appeared for his final-year BA examination at Dhanamanjuri College in Imphal in 1966, when the institution was affiliated with Gauhati University. He majored in English and cleared the examination in the second division.
After completing his examination, Zoramthanga joined the Mizo National Front, which was then led by Laldenga, as the insurgency intensified in Mizoram. He subsequently went underground and could not collect his degree certificate.
The university also hosted Zoramthanga for a special lecture titled “From Guerrilla Fighter to a Peacemaker”, which focused on conflict, peace, reconciliation and the changing socio-political landscape of the Northeast.
The lecture was organised jointly by the Armia Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development (OKDISCD), Gauhati University Institute of Northeast India Studies (GUINEIS) and the Centre for South East Asian Studies (CSEAS). Professor Nani Gopal Mahanta inaugurated the programme, while Subhash Chandra Das attended as the guest of honour.
The programme was attended by Dr R Lalthangliana, MLA and Senior Vice-President of the MNF; Professor Akhil Ranjan Dutta, Director of GUINEIS; Subhash Ch Das, Chairperson of OKDISCD; Professor Saswati Choudhury, Director of OKDISCD; and other academics and dignitaries. Zoramthanga also authored the autobiography “From Guerrilla Fighter to Chief Minister”, which was published by Penguin Books in 2026.
Also read: Mizo National Front Gears up for Return to Power, says Zoramthanga