The dispute between the two northeastern states of Assam and Mizoram over the border dispute has turned violent. 5 Assam Police personnel have been martyred in Lylapur on the Assam-Mizoram border. At the same time, more than 50 people are reported to be injured. Assam alleges that the people of Mizoram opened fire and Mizoram alleges that the Assam Police personnel fired at civilians.
The Barak Valley districts of Assam- Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi share a 164-km-long border with three districts of Mizoram- Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit. There were clashes along the inter-state border in August 2020 and February also during a territorial dispute. Both Assam and Mizoram are hilly areas.
In fact, the land for cultivation in the hilly areas is very less. Therefore, there is a dispute among the local people for a small piece of agricultural land. The latest controversy escalated when the Assam Police stopped the people of Mizoram from cultivating on their border and drove them away.
At least eight huts near the Aitlang river in the disputed area were torched at 11.30 pm on Sunday, Mizoram’s Inspector General of Police (Northern Range) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte said. There was no one in these huts. These huts belong to the farmers of Vairengte, a border village near Assam.
A senior Assam Police official said that miscreants from across the border suddenly started firing when civil officials from both the sides were holding talks to resolve differences. At the same time, CM Zoramthanga accused the Assam Police of lathi-charging and lobbing tear gas shells, while the Assam Police claimed that a large number of “militants” from Mizoram pelted stones and attacked Assam government officials.
During separate telephonic conversations with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked them to maintain peace along the inter-state border. The Home Minister asked the Chief Ministers to resolve the border dispute with mutual consent. Both the Chief Ministers have assured the Home Minister that necessary steps will be taken to ensure peace and resolve the border issue amicably.
The incident has come to the fore two days after Amit Shah had underlined the need to resolve border disputes in talks with the chief ministers of the eight northeastern states. Assam is currently ruled by the BJP, while Mizoram is ruled by the Mizo National Front (MNF), a part of the BJP-led Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA).
There is also a dispute going on with the neighboring state of Assam, Meghalaya. Tension on the border escalated in Guwahati’s Khanapara area due to an alleged attempt by the Meghalaya government to install electric poles on state land. The Assam government is already supplying electricity to the area. The border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya has been going on for years. This issue also arose in the meeting between the Chief Ministers of the two states in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Shillong, Meghalaya capital two days ago.