GUWAHATI
The Mizo National Front (MNF) and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) have mourned the death of former Mizoram Governor and lawyer Swaraj Kaushal in New Delhi on December 4.
Former Mizoram Chief Minister and MNF president Zoramthanga said Kaushal, who passed away at 73, was a trustworthy person and a “good friend” who stood with the MNF since the 1970s, when it had not transformed from an underground outfit into a political party.
“Kaushal was the legal counsel for Laldenga (former head of MNF and former Chief Minister) when the latter was thrown into Tihar Jail in 1979 during the peace talks. He also spent money for Laldenga so that he could be released,” Mr. Zoramthanga said in Mizoram’s capital, Aizawl.
In a statement from his armed group’s headquarters near Nagaland’s Dimapur town on Saturday (December 6, 2025), NSCN general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah said Kaushal was held in high regard by “both the Indians and the Nagas” for his role as the interlocutor to the “Indo-Naga peace talks”.
The NSCN is also known as the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, or NSCN (I-M).
“He (Kaushal) took an active part during the peace negotiations with the MNF, which led to the signing of the Mizoram Accord in 1986, and was an expert in affairs of North East India. He was the first official Indian interlocutor to engage in peace talks with the NSCN in 1998 in Bangkok,” Mr. Muivah said.
“He was a very rational man with a deep understanding of the Naga political issue,” the NSCN (I-M) leader said, recalling Kaushal’s insistence on a conducive atmosphere to discuss peace.
Kaushal was the husband of the late External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj. He is survived by his daughter and Lok Sabha member Bansuri Kaushal.
Published – December 06, 2025 06:21 pm IST
