Mizo conflict

The Mizo conflict emerged from long-standing grievances among the Mizo people of the Lushai Hills, then part of Assam. Discontent intensified after the Mautam famine of 1959, triggered by the cyclical flowering of bamboo and a resulting rat population explosion that destroyed crops. The Mizo National Famine Front, founded by Laldenga, accused the Assam state government and New Delhi of an inadequate relief response. In 1961 it reorganised as the Mizo National Front (MNF) with the goal of an independent Mizoram.

On 1 March 1966 the MNF launched "Operation Jericho," seizing government installations in Aizawl, Lunglei and other towns and declaring independence. The Indian government responded with a major counter-insurgency campaign. In a controversial episode, the Indian Air Force conducted airstrikes on Aizawl on 5–6 March 1966 — one of the few documented instances of the Indian state using air power against its own territory. The government also implemented a "grouping of villages" policy from 1967, forcibly relocating much of the rural Mizo population into roadside centres, which caused lasting social disruption.

The insurgency continued at lower intensity through the 1970s. In 1972 the Mizo Hills were separated from Assam and made a Union Territory, partially addressing autonomy demands. After protracted negotiations led on the Indian side by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Home Ministry interlocutors, and by Laldenga for the MNF, the Mizoram Peace Accord was signed on 30 June 1986. The MNF renounced violence and secession; in return, Mizoram was granted full statehood on 20 February 1987, becoming India's 23rd state, and Laldenga became its first Chief Minister.

The settlement is widely cited as one of the most successful counter-insurgency-to-political-settlement transitions in South Asia, and Mizoram has since remained among India's most peaceful states.