Zoramthanga (born 13 July 1944) is an Indian politician who is the
Chief Minister of Mizoram
The Chief Minister of Mizoram is the chief executive of the Indian state of Mizoram. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elec ...
. He is the president of
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 famin ...
(MNF) party. He had served as the Chief Minister of Mizoram from December 1998 to December 2008, for two consecutive terms. He was second-in-command to
Laldenga
Laldenga (11 June 1927 – 7 July 1990) was a Mizo nationalist and politician from Mizoram in northeast India. He was the founder of the Mizo National Front, a social organisation turned political party. He was the first Chief Minister of Mizor ...
during the
secession movement of Mizo National Front, and became the successor as the party leader, after MNF was a recognised political party, following the death of Laldenga in 1990.
He joined the
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 members, who are directly elected f ...
as Minister of Finance and Education in 1987. His party lost the 2008 Assembly elections to the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
. He contested from both North and South Champhai and lost in both constituencies.
He tendered his resignation to Governor
MM Lakhera
Lt Gen (Retd.) Madan Mohan Lakhera, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (born 21 October 1937) is the former Governor of the Indian state of Mizoram. He held that position from July 2006 till September 2011. During 2004–2006, he was the Lieutenant Governor o ...
on 8 December 2008 and left office three days later. He has cited anti-incumbency as reason for the loss of his party. He returned as Chief Minister after his party came back to power in the 2018 state assembly elections.
Childhood
Zoramthanga was born to Darphunga and Vanhnuaichhingi on 13 July 1944 at
Samthang village. He is the second youngest child of their eight children – five brothers and three sisters.
Education
Zoramthanga entered primary school at Samthang in 1950. After completing class III, he studied at South Khawbung middle school in 1954, and completed class VI in 1956. In 1957, he moved to Champhai to enter Gandhi Memorial High School.
His family joined him at Champhai in 1960. He completed matriculation in 1961. His family financial situation prevented him for further education since higher education was not available in Mizoram at the time. He instead became the Headmaster at Champhai Vengthlang Middle School. With his salary savings and much with self support, he went to Imphal, Manipur, and got enrolled for pre-university college (PUC, equivalent to higher secondary) at Dhanamanjuri (D.M.) College of Arts.
He completed PUC in 1962, and continued to study B.A. He graduated in 1966 with honours in English. Recalling his struggle, he said: "During my college days I worked in a stone quarry, chiseling and carrying loads of boulders. To be precise, I chiseled my way to graduation. I think I earned enough to support myself then."
Career
Zoramthanga officially joined the Mizo National Front freedom movement in 1965, while in his last year of college. When the MNF uprising started in 1966, he joined the guerrilla movement and went underground to Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) border. He was offered the position of a secretary for Run Bung Area, a responsibility he held for three years. In 1969, all the MNF cadres went down to East
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
(now
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 President,
Laldenga
Laldenga (11 June 1927 – 7 July 1990) was a Mizo nationalist and politician from Mizoram in northeast India. He was the founder of the Mizo National Front, a social organisation turned political party. He was the first Chief Minister of Mizor ...
, engaged him as his Secretary. He held this job for seven years. In 1979, he was given the responsibility of the Vice President.
The MNF rebellion ended in 1986 with the signing of Mizo Peace Accord with the Government of India.
MNF was offered to run an interim state government. With Laldenga as the Chief Minister, Zoramthanga was appointed as one of the Cabinet Ministers.
Mizoram was declared a full state 20 February 1987. By then MNF became a recognised political party.
The first election for the Mizoram State Legislative Assembly was held in the same month resulted in MNF winning the majority of assembly seats, 24 out of 40. Zoramthanga was elected from Champhai constituency.
In the first Mizoram State Legislative Assembly, Zoramthanga became Minister of Finance and Education.
In 1990, when Laldenga died, he became the President of the Mizo National Front. In the 1993 election MNF lost to the Indian National Congress party, but Zoramthanga won the Champhai constituency. He was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the legislative assembly.
When the assembly elections were held at the end of 1998, he led his party to victory and became the Chief Minister of Mizoram for the first time. He was re-elected in the 2003 election becoming Chief Minister for the second time. But his party lost the 2008 Assembly elections, overcame by the Congress party.
He lost his candidature from two Champhai constituencies, Champhai North and Champhai South.
He and his party again faced heavy defeat in 2013 election to the Congress party. In 2018, his party got the majority again. He was elected from the Aizawl East-I constituency and became the Chief Minister of Mizoram on 15 December 2018.
Personal life
Zoramthanga is an eloquent debater. He won inter-college debating competition at New Delhi while in his B.A. class. He is member of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church. He married Roneihsangi on 2 February 1988. They have one son, Rothansiama, and a daughter, Milari.
Legal issues
First corruption case
In 2010, Zoramthanga was charged with several corruption cases. The main allegation was supply of fencing materials from the Department of Agriculture to his private farm at Aii Puk during his tenure as Chief Minister (1998 to 2008).
The supply was made in the name of Aii Puk Zau Cooperative Farming Society owned by Zoramthanga. A
Public Interest Litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...
was submitted to
Gauhati High Court
The Gauhati High Court was promulgated by governor general of India on 1 March 1948 after the '' Government of India Act 1935'' was passed. Establishing the High Court of Assam with effect from 5 April 1948, for the then Province of Assam. It ...
by an anticorruption organization, People's Right to Information and Development Society of Mizoram (PRISM), in 2007, and again in 2009.
Upon lack of action, PRISM submitted the charges to the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Mizoram Police that included disproportionate wealth with respect to his income, supply of fencing materials to Aii Puk, and extortion of funds from government contractors. The ACB filed corruption cases under the
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (No. 49 of 1988) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to combat corruption in government agencies and public sector businesses in India.
Provisions
The act consists of 5 chapters spread across ...
, on 16 September 2010, following which his residence was raided for evidences.
The ACB reported that Zoramthanga had amassed a total property value of
₹90.9 million in 2010
from the official declaration of
₹13.8 million in 2003.
Zoramthanga declared that of his total capital,
₹44.9 million was his brother L. Nghakliana's and nephew Zoramchhana's which he managed on their behalf.
On 8 November 2021, the court of Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) of Mizoram dismissed the cases. Zoramthanga was acquitted of charges on misuse of power in the case of Aii Puk, and as to the disproportionate wealth, the court "did not find sufficient evidence to prove" the allegations.
Mizoram Intodelhna Project case
In 2002, Zoramthanga's ministry created an agricultural development project largely to mitigate
slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...
system. The scheme called Mizoram Intodelhna Project (MIP) was designed as financial
gratis
Gratis may refer to:
* Free, meaning without charge. See Gratis versus libre
* Gratis, Ohio, a village in Preble County, US
* Gratis Township, Preble County, Ohio, US
See also
* Free (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
to farmers who were pursuing alternative agriculture systems. In 2009, PRISM filed a case to the Anti-Corruption Bureau that Zoramthanga, H. Rammawi, then Agriculture Minister, and Lalhuapzauva, Adviser to Chief Minister, had given on loan basis large sums of money to private firms against the project guidelines.
According to the allegation, ₹5 million rupees were given to Mizoram Venus Bamboo Product Pvt. Ltd., and ₹8.3 million rupees each to Hnahlan Grape Growers' Society and Champhai Grape Growers' Society. The ACB started investigation in 2009 and chargesheeted the case in 2013.
The Gauhati High Court put the case before the Special Court under Prevention of Corruption in 2018. The first court hearing was called in 2019 but was cancelled due to absence of a witness. The three accused appeared before the court on 17 February 2021.
The Special Judge acquitted them on 30 March 2021 on the grounds of lack of evidence.
Chanchinmawia's case
Revd. Chanchinmawia, moderator of
Mizoram Presbyterian Church Synod
Mizoram Presbyterian Church Synod (''Mizoram Presbyterian Kohhran Synod'' in Mizo language, Mizo) is the largest Christian denomination in Mizoram, northeast India. It was a direct progeny of the Calvinistic Methodist Church (officially named th ...
and Chairman of Mizoram People's Forum, was found dead in the morning of 1 October 2007 at his quarters-residence at Khatla, Aizawl, Mizoram. Lying on a pool of blood, his body showed several cut wounds and bruises. A hammer and a knife drenched in blood were on his side. The police report, upon which Additional District Magistrate (Judicial) of Aizawl made a judgement, declared in December 2007 that it was a case of suicide. His son Ramdinpuia, backed by the church, disagreed and believed that it was a homicide. The case was reopened in 2008 and the
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...
was put on the task. The CBI made no further progress.
A decade later in 2018, an information was published in a newsletter ''Congress Thlifim'' that Chanchinmawia's death was a case of murder and the then Chief Minister Zoramthanga masterminded the assassination. The newsletter asserted that in the interrogation of criminal suspects, one, Muanhlua claimed that he knew six people who were paid by Zoramthanga to make the murder, and a voice record which mentioned that Muanhlua demanded Zoramthanga a huge sum of money for keeping silent. In March 2017, Mizo National Front and B. Zorampara, president of Peace Accord MNF Returnees Association, filed a case against Thansanga, an informer to the newsletter. Thansanga had also said that Zorampara was the one who recruited the murderers from Manipur. On 17 May 2017, Zoramthanga filed a defamation case against Thansanga, as well as James Thanghmingliana, the publisher, and David M. Thangliana, the editor.
References
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External links
Profileat Mizoram NIC.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoramthanga
People from Aizawl
Mizo National Front politicians
Mizo people
Chief Ministers of Mizoram
People from Champhai
Living people
Indian Presbyterians
1944 births
People from Champhai district
Leaders of the Opposition in Mizoram
Mizoram MLAs 2003–2008
Mizoram MLAs 2018–2023
Mizoram MLAs 1993–1998
Mizoram MLAs 1998–2003