The Department of Information, Public Relations & Tourism came into being when Mizoram became a Union Territory in 1972. The first Director of the Department Pu R. L. Thanzawna who was an Assam Civil Service Officer took charge of the Department on 1st May 1972. Around this time, the Mizoram Government Press was also started under the aegis of the IPR & T Department. In the later years, Tourism and Printing & Stationary became separate Departments and the Department then finally became Information & Public Relations Department.
In the trying years of the Insurgency period, the Department had to face a lot of hardships and challenges, so much so that once Pu R. L. Thanzawna who was a part of the entourage of the first Lt. Governor Shri S. P. Mukherjee was ambushed near Zanlawn. Luckily he escaped unhurt. To ease the monotony of curfews and to bring a sense of normalcy, the Department besides its official functions, organized Beat Contents, Cultural Exchanges, Exhibitions, Study Tours, Winter/Christmas fairs and various other such programmes.
During the insurgency period, the Information & Public Relations Department had worked successfully to win over the hearts and minds of the people of Mizoram which slowly culminated in bringing the underground elements and the Government to a negotiating table. The Department was instrumental in mobilizing the people including church leaders and voluntary organizations to participate in the endeavour to bring about lasting peace which is conducive and a pre-requisite for all round development. These efforts resulted in the signing of the Peace Accord which to this day is claimed to be the most successful Peace Accord. Likewise in the Post Peace Accord era till today, the Information & Public Relations Department has been continuously reaching out to the people through various media, mitigating many pressure groups and communicating the futility of violence in any form.
