The Mizoram government is set to sign a peace agreement with the Lalhmingthanga Sanate-led faction of the Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) on April 14 at Sakawrdai village near the state’s border with Manipur, in a move expected to end one of the region’s longest-running insurgencies.
Officials in the State Home Department said the agreement will be signed between the Home Secretary, on behalf of the government, and HPC(D) president Lalhmingthanga Sanate, in the presence of Adviser to the Chief Minister (Political) Lalmuanpuia Punte.
The ceremony will coincide with the surrender of 43 cadres, who are expected to lay down arms and enter a rehabilitation process later this month.
The agreement follows recent talks in Aizawl between government representatives and an HPC(D) delegation led by Sanate. The discussions, held at Punte’s office, resulted in a consensus that officials say will effectively bring an end to the Hmar insurgency in Mizoram.
Sources indicated that the Sanate faction did not press any political demands during negotiations. Instead, the settlement focuses on developmental measures, particularly improving connectivity in the Sinlung Hills Council (SHC) area.
It also includes provisions for the rehabilitation of former militants, a general amnesty, and compensation for surrendered weapons as per Ministry of Home Affairs norms.
The Sanate-led group is considered the last remaining faction of the Hmar insurgency, which began in the late 1980s.
According to a report by The Times of India, the HPC(D) faction led by Lalhmingthanga Sanate represents the last surviving strand of the insurgency, which traces its origins to the formation of the Hmar People’s Convention in 1986 as a political platform seeking self-governance for Hmar-inhabited areas in Mizoram.
In April 1987, the HPC launched an armed movement demanding the creation of an autonomous district council under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, leading to a phase of heightened violence that peaked in the early 1990s.
A breakthrough came on July 27, 1994, when the Mizoram government and the HPC signed a Memorandum of Settlement, resulting in the creation of the Sinlung Hills Development Council. Following the accord, 308 militants surrendered along with their arms.
However, dissatisfaction over the implementation of the agreement led to a split within the organisation. In 1994, a breakaway group led by Lalhmingthanga Sanate formed the HPC(D) and continued the insurgency.
The group later fragmented further, with a rival faction led by H. Zosangbera emerging in the 2000s after aligning with Kuki militant groups. The Zosangbera faction signed a separate peace agreement with the state government on April 2, 2018, leading to the dissolution of the SHDC and the formation of the Sinlung Hills Council.
Despite these developments, the Sanate faction remained outside the peace process, operating from bases in Assam’s Cachar district. In recent years, its activities have declined and were largely limited to sporadic incidents such as extortion in parts of Cachar and northern Mizoram.
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