{{short description|Indian military officer and politician}} {{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[Brigadier (India)|Brigadier]] | name = T. Sailo | honorific_suffix = [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal|AVSM]] | image = Thenphunga.jpg | constituency = Aizawl West II | order = 2nd | office = Chief Minister of Mizoram | term_start = 8 May 1979 | term_end = 4 May 1984 | lieutenant_governor = N. P. Mathur <br> [[Sourendra Nath Kohli]] <br> H. S. Dubey | predecessor = [[Ch. Chhunga]] | successor = [[Lal Thanhawla]] | term_start1 = 2 June 1978 | term_end1 = 10 November 1978 | lieutenant_governor1 = N. P. Mathur | predecessor1 = President's Rule | successor1 = President's Rule | alma_mater = [[University of Calcutta]] | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1922|1|1}} | birth_place = Melkhat/Ṭhuampui, [[Lunglei]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]] | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2015|3|27|1922|1|1}} | death_place = [[Aizawl]], [[Mizoram]], India | resting_place = Kanan Veng, Aizawl | resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|23|43|53|N|92|42|30|E|type:landmark|display=}} | spouse = Thansiami | allegiance = {{flag|British India}}<br> {{flag|India}} | branch = {{army|British India}}<br>{{army|India}} | service_years = 1942-1974 | rank = [[File:Brigadier of the Indian Army.svg|20px]] [[Brigadier (India)|Brigadier]] | unit = {{plainlist| *[[Punjab Regiment (India)|Punjab Regiment]] *[[Assam Regiment]] }} | commands = | battles = {{tree list}} *[[World War II]] ** [[Burma campaign]] {{tree list/end}} | mawards = {{plainlist| *[[Padma Shri]] *[[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal]] }} | party = [[Mizoram People's Conference]] | children = 4 | laterwork = }}
[[Brigadier (India)|Brigadier]] '''Ṭhenphunga Sailo''', [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal|AVSM]] (1 January 1922 – 27 March 2015) was an Indian military officer and politician who served as the 2nd [[Chief Minister of Mizoram]]. He founded the [[Mizoram People's Conference]], one of the major political parties in Mizoram. He was a recipient of [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal]] and Padma Shri for his military service and humanitarian works,<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web | url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | title=Padma Awards | publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India | date=2015 | access-date=21 July 2015 | archive-date=19 October 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019215108/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> and the [[Mizo Award]] for his lifetime achievements.
Sailo was the son of Vanchheuva, a Mizo chief of Ṭhuampui village at Lunglei district. He studied at Serkawn Middle English School, Shillong High School (in [[Meghalaya]]), and [[Serampore College]] in Calcutta (now [[Kolkata]]). He earned his certificate of Intermediate of Science ([[Higher Secondary School Certificate|higher secondary level]]) from the [[University of Calcutta]]. He immediately joined the [[British Indian Army]] to serve in [[World War II]]. Recruited as a [[second lieutenant]] in 1942, he became the first military officer among the [[Mizo people]]. He retired with the rank lr Brigadier in 1974. By then his native state was ravaged by political insurgency, and he soon set to humanitarian works and established the Human Rights Committee, which he developed into a recognized political party named the People's Conference (later renamed the [[Mizo People's Conference]]) in 1975.
Sailo led his new party to victory in the Mizoram Legislative Assembly election in 1978, and he became the second Chief Minister. Re-election the next year brought him another victory, and he remained the Chief Minister till 1984. Though he was elected for an MLA seat in the 1984 election, his party was overwhelmed that year by the Mizoram Congress party (under the [[Indian National Congress Party]]). He was then appointed the Opposition Leader in the legislative assembly. He was subsequently elected in 1998 and 2008, but failed to recover his party. He retired from politics in 2013 at age 91, at which time he was the oldest elected legislator.
==Early life and education== Sailo was born to Mizo Chief Vancheuva and his wife Hrangvungi. He completed his elementary schooling at Serkawn Middle School in Lunglei, and was the topper in the Middle School Leaving Certificate examination under the [[Mizoram Board of School Education]].<ref name=kiddy>{{cite news|last1=Vanchhawng|first1=Kiddy|title=MIZO ARSI LIAN, BRIG T. SAILO HERLIAM TA|url=http://www.mizosr.com/2015/03/mizo-arsi-lian-brig-t-sailo-herliam-ta.html|access-date=11 April 2015|work=Mizo Special Report|language=lus |trans-title=Brig T. Sailo the giant star of Mizos has died|date=27 March 2015}}</ref> He then went on to High School in Shillong from 1937 to 1940, followed by higher secondary education in an Intermediate of Science program at [[Serampore College]] in 1941. The next year he earned his certificate under the [[University of Calcutta]].<ref name=election>{{cite web|title=Brig T. Sailo Biography|url=http://www.elections.in/political-leaders/brig-t-sailo.html|website=elections.in|publisher=Compare Infobase Limited|access-date=5 April 2015}}</ref>
==Military career== At the height of the Second World War in February 1942, Sailo applied for an emergency commission as a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[British Indian Army]] and was selected to join the [[Indian Military Academy]] in [[Dehradun]]. He received an emergency commission in November the same year and was posted to 2nd [[Punjab Regiment (India)|Punjab Regiment]] at [[Meerut]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Indian Army List |page=1402|date=April 1942|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.284969/page/n961/mode/2up?q=sailo}}</ref> He became the first military officer among the Mizo people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Former Mizoram CM Brigadier T Sailo passes away|url=http://www.dayafterindia.com/magz_detail_news.php?id=3693|website=The Day After|access-date=5 April 2015|date=15 April 2015}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He served in the [[Burma campaign]] in [[WWII]] and joined the [[Lushai Brigade]]. He was commended for his bravery and was twice [[mentioned in dispatches]].<ref name="obt">{{cite web |title=Obituary references |url=https://mizoramassembly.in/storage/Assembly/Proceedings/State/Seventh_Assembly/6th_Session/Mizo/2015/mi_pro07072015.pdf |website=mizoramassembly.in |access-date=1 April 2025 |language=lus|date=7 July 2015}}</ref> After the Independence of India, he was promoted to [[lieutenant colonel]] in 1960, in 1963 he was again promoted to [[colonel]], and then in 1966 to [[brigadier]] until his retirement in 1974.<ref name=election/>
==Politics== After retiring from the Army, Sailo created the Human Rights Committee in 1974, fighting alleged Army excess against civilians caught in the separatist conflict between the [[Indian Army]] and [[Mizo National Front]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bareh|first=Hamlet|title=Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Mizoram|year=2007|publisher=Mittal Publications}}</ref> He submitted a memorandum containing 36 cases of atrocities committed by the Indian Army since 1 March 1966. To fight his cause in the political arena, he founded the People's Conference party (later renamed [[Mizo People's Conference]]) on 17 April 1975. He was arrested during the state of [[The Emergency (India)|National Emergency]] under [[Maintenance of Internal Security Act|MISA]], a period of massive crackdown on civil rights and political opposition. He spent 10 months in Nowgong special jail.<ref name="obt"/>
His party won the [[Mizoram Legislative Assembly]] election of 1978, and he became the second Chief Minister of Mizoram on 2 June 1978.<ref>{{Cite web |last=PUBLIC |date=27 March 2015 |title=Ex-Mizoram chief minister Brig T Sailo passes away |url=https://theshillongtimes.com/2015/03/28/ex-mizoram-chief-minister-brig-t-sailo-passes-away/ |access-date=4 May 2024 |website=The Shillong Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Due to political unrest, his government was dissolved after six months in November 1978, and the Union Territory was declared under President's Rule.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 November 2018 |title=November 12, 1978, Forty Years Ago |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/november-12-1978-forty-years-ago-5441627/ |access-date=4 May 2024 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> In the next election in 1979, his party won again and he once again became the Chief Minister, a post which he held for a full term till 1984. In the 1984 election, although he was elected in his constituency, his party was defeated by the [[Indian National Congress]] ([[Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee]]) led by [[Lal Thanhawla]]. He became the Opposition Leader.<ref name=Vanglai15>{{cite news|title=CM hlui leh Mizo Award 2011 dawngtu Brig. Ṭhenphunga Sailo kan chân ta|language=lus |trans-title=Former CM and Mizo Award 2011 recipient Brig. Ṭhenphunga Sailo has died|url=http://www.vanglaini.org/tualchhung/33426#sthash.tpjImxJN.dpuf|access-date=5 April 2015|work=Vanglaini|date=28 March 2015}}</ref>
His party received a serious blow with the [[Mizoram Peace Accord]] of 1987, as the [[Mizo National Front]] emerged not only as a new political party, but was also offered the government as part of the peace negotiation. He joined forces with [[Lalduhoma]], who had founded the Mizoram National Union, merging the two parties into Democratic Party. After failure in the 1989 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election, they joined the national party [[Janata Dal]]. Sailo parted way from the mainstream Janata Dal to make coalition with the Congress party in the 1993 election. Sailo's party named themselves the Mizoram Janata Dal, but which was not recognised by the [[Election Commission of India]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=12 April 2023 |title=Election Commission derecognises People's Conference as state party in Mizoram |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/election-commission-derecognises-peoples-conference-as-state-party-in-mizoram/articleshow/99424621.cms |access-date=4 May 2024 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> Thus, his party members contested as independent candidates and managed to win eight seats that helped Lal Thanhawla of Congress to become the Chief Minister.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khojol |first=Henry L. |date=23 September 2020 |title=MNF legislators demand disqualification of independent MLA Lalduhoma |url=http://www.eastmojo.com/mizoram/2020/09/23/mnf-legislators-demand-disqualification-of-independent-mla-lalduhoma/ |access-date=4 May 2024 |website=EastMojo |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 1993 |title=Congress(I) voted back to power in Mizoram, ally MJD demands better portfolios |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19931231-congressi-voted-back-to-power-in-mizoram-ally-mjd-demands-better-portfolios-812001-1993-12-30 |access-date=4 May 2024 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref> After falling out with Congress party, Sailo changed its party to Mizoram People's Conference, to reflect its old name.<ref name=":0" /> In the 1998 elections, Sailo and his party supported the Mizo National Front, and made coalition government led by [[Zoramthanga]] of the Mizo National Front as the Chief Minister. Sailo was appointed Principal Advisor to the state government.<ref name=election/> His ministry also initiated the [[Aizawl]] city extension project, [[Bairabi Dam]], which he alleged was never pursued by successive governments.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sailo among oldest active politicians|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/at-86-former-brigadier-still-active-in-mizo-politics/80105-30-58.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512233513/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/at-86-former-brigadier-still-active-in-mizo-politics/80105-30-58.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 May 2014|access-date=13 August 2012|newspaper=IBN Live}}</ref>
Sailo was elected again in the 2008 election, and as his last term as Member of the Legislative Assembly ended in January 2014, he retired. He announced his formal retirement at the assembly session on 24 July 2013. At age 92, he was allegedly the oldest elected member of any legislative body in the world.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chhakchhuak|first1=Linda|title=Brig Sailo bids adieu to active politics|url=http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jul2513/oth05|access-date=5 April 2015|work=Assam Tribune|date=25 July 2013}}</ref>
==Awards and honours==
Sailo was given the military award [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal]] (AVSM) during his service. He was awarded the [[Padma Shree]] in 1999 by the Government of India.<ref name=election/> In 2001 the [[Mizo Zirlai Pawl]] declared him a corruption-free politician in their public poll.<ref name=zalen>{{cite news|last1=CHDA|title=Pu Thenphunga Sailo thlah nan|url=http://zalen.co.in/pu-thenphunga-sailo-thlah-nan/|access-date=11 April 2015|work=Zalen|language=lus |trans-title=An obituary of Thenphunga Sailo|date=28 March 2015}}</ref> In April 2011, the then-Governor of Mizoram, Lt. Gen. [[Madan Mohan Lakhera]], awarded him the Mizo Award organised by Mizoram's ''[[Vanglaini]]'' daily newspaper.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vanlalsangi|first1=K|title=GOVERNOR IN MIZO AWARD HLAN|url=http://www.dipr.mizoram.gov.in/press-release/governor-in-mizo-award-hlan|publisher=Directorate of Information & Public Relations, Mizoram|access-date=5 April 2015|trans-title=Governor gave away the Mizo Award|language=lus|date=20 April 2011}}</ref>
==Personal life and death==
Sailo married Thansiami, daughter of Mizo folklorist P.S. Dahrawka, in 1946. They had three sons and a daughter.<ref name=Vanglai15/> One of his sons, Lalsangliana, joined the Mizo rebels, the Mizo National Army (later Mizo National Front), in secret while studying at [[St. Edmund's College, Shillong]] in 1966. He became one of the elite "Special Force" under [[Laldenga]], leader of the Mizo National Front.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bareh|first1=H. M.|title=Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Mizoram Volume 5|year=2001|publisher=Mittal Publ.|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8-1709-9792-4|pages=95–96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlHhTlPpanIC}}</ref> Two of his children, Lalhmangaiha and Laldingliani joined the [[Indian Revenue Service]]. After retirement, Lalhmangaiha, succeeded his father as President of the Mizoram People's Conference in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 April 2011 |title=Former Mizoram chief minister Brig T Sailo's son, Lalhmangaiha Sailo was elected as the new president of Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/former-mizoram-chief-minister-brig-t-sailos-son-lalhmangaiha-sailo-was-elected-as-the-new-president-of-mizoram-peoples-conference-mpc-in-the-party-general-conference-held-in-aizawl-and-he-would-succeed-his-ailing-octogenarian-father-a-former-indian-revenue-service-officer-lalhmangaiha-sailo-who-recently-retired-from-service-and-joined-active-politics-defeated-his-only-rival-lalhmingthanga-former-deputy-chief-minister-and-also-a-close-relative-of-the-sailo-family-in-an-organisational-election-/articleshow/8000475.cms |access-date=4 May 2024 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>
Sailo's daughter Laldingliani served as a member of the National Commission for Women (NCW) from 2013 to 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Current Commission Laldingliani Sailo|url=http://ncw.nic.in/frmcurrentcommission.aspx|publisher=National Commission for Women (NCW). |access-date=5 April 2015}}. She is, to date, the only Mizo to have become Member of NCW. She earlier also served as Member, Delhi Commission for Women.</ref>
Sailo's son Lalrinliana studied medicine and orthopaedic surgery and became Director General of Health Service for the Government of Mizoram.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chawngchilh|title=Lalhmangaiha Sailo|url=http://www.misual.com/2011/07/26/lalhmangaiha-sailo/|website=mi(s)ual.com|access-date=5 April 2015|language=lus}}</ref>
Sailo wrote an autobiography of his military life, ''A Soldier's Story''.<ref name=zalen/>
After suffering from lung problems and [[hypertension]], on the morning of 27 March 2015, Sailo was taken to the New Life Hospital due to trouble breathing. He was pronounced dead at 11:50 [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]. His funeral was held the next day at noon and he was interred at a private grave in his garden.<ref name=Vanglai15/> President [[Pranab Mukherjee]] and Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] sent messages of condolence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 March 2015 |title=President Mukherjee, PM Modi condole demise of Brig. T. Sailo |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/president-mukherjee-pm-modi-condole-demise-of-brig-t-sailo-115032800607_1.html |access-date=4 May 2024 |work=Business Standard}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{S-start}} {{Succession box ||before=[[President's rule]] |title=[[List of Chief Ministers of Mizoram|Chief Minister of Mizoram]] |years=2 June 1978{{spaced ndash}}10 November 1978 |after=[[President's rule]] }} {{Succession box ||before=[[President's rule]] |title=[[List of Chief Ministers of Mizoram|Chief Minister of Mizoram]] |years=8 May 1979{{spaced ndash}}4 May 1984 |after=[[Lal Thanhawla]] }} {{S-end}}
{{Chief Ministers of Mizoram}} {{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Social Work}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sailo, Thenphunga}} [[Category:1922 births]] [[Category:2015 deaths]] [[Category:Politicians from Aizawl]] [[Category:Mizo people]] [[Category:Chief ministers of Mizoram]] [[Category:British Indian Army officers]] [[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Indian Army officers]] [[Category:People from Lunglei district]] [[Category:Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni]] [[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]] [[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work]] [[Category:Mizoram MLAs 1978–1979]] [[Category:Mizoram MLAs 1998–2003]]