With the Assam-Nagaland border conflict still in the limelight and unresolved, Assam is now again at the centre of a fresh-state border row in the northeast. Tensions erupted along the Assam-Mizoram border on October 17 following violent clashes between the residents of both states.
A number of shops and houses were burnt, a Bengali medium school was bombed and more than 50 people were injured in the clashes. In addition, locals on the Assam side have blocked the National Highway 306 not allowing trucks carrying goods to enter Mizoram starving the latter of essential supplies. The locals want Mizoram to withdraw its security forces posted at the border which the Mizoram government has simply refused to oblige.
In the aftermath of the clashes, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal had reached his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga and both sides agreed to work together to resolve the border issue amicably. CM Sonowal also apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of the situation over the telephone.
Amid heavy security deployment and boiling tension in the border areas of Assam and Mizoram, here is a detailed look into the background of the dispute between the two neighbouring states.
The Assam Mizoram border dispute has been festering for more than 50 years since the time when the inner lines were demarcated according to the administrative needs of the British Raj.
Mizoram, (earlier Lushai Hills) was a part of Assam which was carved out as a Union Territory and later achieved statehood in the year 1987 via the State of Mizoram Act of 1986.
The border issue which could not be settled once and for all when the state of Mizoram was created has thus resulted in both the states continuing to have a different perception of the border.
Assam and Mizoram share an interstate border of 164.6km which is a naturally occurring border having rivers and hills. Villagers in Mizoram and Assam, not fully aware of the boundary demarcation, would often cross over to either side for various purposes. This indeed has led to border contests due to differences in perception over an imaginary line.
The conflict between the two states stems from two notifications-
The first being, the 1875 notification derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act, that marks a boundary between Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar and
And the second notification was that of 1933, which demarcates a boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur.
While, Mizoram believes the boundary should be demarcated on the basis of the 1875 notification, citing historical, ethnic and linguistic factors in its support, on the other hand, the Assam government follows the 1933 demarcation, and that is, therefore, the point of conflict.
According to reports, Mizoram has laid claim to a 509-square mile stretch of the inner-line reserve forest that was notified as the real boundary between the two states. Most of the areas claimed fall within the Inner line Reserved Forest affecting the Barak Valley districts.
There have been various efforts in the past to resolve the border issue permanently. A high-level meeting was held in New Delhi on February 6, 1994, between the Chief Ministers of both the States in presence of the Union Home Minister. It was decided to maintain the status quo along the inter-state border. Thereafter, several Secretary Level and DC level meetings have taken place. However, these talks have not led to any permanent solution to date.
Meanwhile, Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the backdrop of the recent clashes said that solving the inter-state border disputes of Assam with other northeastern states is the top of the agenda for the party and that the Central government would take up the issue after the Assam polls that are five to six months away.
That being said, it is believed that the centre’s intervention would only bring a temporary solution, as several rounds of talks at various levels since the early nineties have not been fruitful and the states have always been eluded of a permanent solution.
Thus, it is evident that the border issue between the two states is complex and they must put a stop to their chauvinistic tendency of using the circumstances on the border as per their convenience.
