Assam-Mizoram dispute

THE festering border dispute between Assam and Mizoram continues to trigger violence, three weeks after seven persons, including six Assam police personnel, were killed in a clash between the forces of the two northeastern states. On Tuesday, a civilian from Mizoram was injured in firing by the police in Aitlang area bordering Assam’s Hailakandi district. The cops claimed that they fired in self-defence after miscreants from the other side of the border shot at them. On August 14, a bomb was hurled at a government educational institute in Hailakandi district. The blast damaged the school building, though there was no casualty. These incidents suggest that a rapprochement between the two states is nowhere in sight despite the Centre’s intervention.

Two days after the July 26 clash, consensus was reached at a meeting convened by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi on deploying a neutral Central force along the Assam-Mizoram border. Nevertheless, state police forces are still guarding the border, heightening the risk of more clashes. Early this month, the Centre had decided to demarcate the boundaries of the northeastern states through satellite imaging with the intention of settling various inter-state disputes in the insurgency-prone region. This exercise, being conducted by the North Eastern Space Applications Centre, needs to be expedited so that a mutually agreeable solution can be worked out at the earliest.

In his Independence Day speech, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga vowed that no stone would be left unturned to promote and maintain peace and harmony among the people living in Assam and Mizoram, particularly in the border areas. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, in his I-Day address, said his state was committed to maintaining friendly relations with all neighbouring states. These reassuring words would serve their purpose only if the law enforcers and politicians exercise restraint and prevent a flare-up of violence. The focus of both states should be on tackling the Covid crisis, not on confronting each other. On its part, the Centre ought to closely monitor the situation and thwart attempts by vested interests to foment trouble in the vulnerable Northeast.