The decades-long boundary dispute between Assam and Mizoram took a bloody turn on July 26 when six policemen from Assam were killed and 42 others wounded in firing by Mizoram police. One civilian in Mizoram was also injured. The blame game about whose forces fired first and the call for peace followed. But people living on either side of the 165.6-km-long border do not see an early end to such conflicts given the inflexible attitude of both states and the complications involved in the process. Here's the lowdown on the dispute:
Why do Assam, Mizoram clash on the border?
The border dispute between Assam and Mizoram is a legacy of two British-era notifications of 1875 and 1933, when Mizoram was called Lushai Hills, a district in Assam. The 1875 notification differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar and the other demarcated boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur. While Mizoram became a state only in 1987 following years of insurgency, it still insists on the boundary decided in 1875. Assam, on the other hand, wants the boundary demarcated in 1986 (based on the1933 notification). "Why would we accept a Colonial era order? In that case, entire Mizoram was part of Assam before the Independence," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on July 27. Mizoram says the 1986 agreement is not acceptable as the Mizo civil society was not consulted at that time.
What is the current status of the border?
According to an agreement signed between the two states some years ago, a status quo is to be maintained till a solution is found. But alleged encroachments from both sides have led to frequent clashes on the 165.6km long border between Assam's Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi and the districts of Kolasib, Aizawl and Mamit in Mizoram. Both the states also share border with Bangladesh. Violence broke out in February 2018 after a group from Mizoram constructed a resthouse inside the forest land on the border in Cachar. Mizoram claims that Bangladeshi settlers living in Assam often try to encroach on the forest land, which belongs to Mizoram. Several schools were bombed in Karimganj district in October last year, which Mizoram claimed were constructed on their land.
What triggered the latest clash?
According to Assam, a police team led by an IGP went to the border at Lailapur area in the Cachar district after it found that the Mizoram government had constructed a road and a security post in a forest land which belongs to Assam. Lailapur shares a border with Mizoram's Kolasib district. As the team was holding discussion with the Kolasib superintendent of police, armed residents attacked them and then Mizoram police indiscriminately fired at them. Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga claimed that nearly 200 Assam police overran a CRPF camp and a Mizoram police post, and reached an autorickshaw stand at Vairengte in the Kolasib district, fired tear gas shells and opened fire at local residents who gathered and protested there. Mizoram police retaliated in defence.
What's the role of the neutral force, i.e. the CRPF?
There is a CRPF camp on the disputed forest land. On July 26, Mizoram alleged that the Assam police had overrun the CRPF camp and entered their area. Assam denied the allegation. After the latest clash, police of both the states vacated their camps, and the CRPF has been deployed there.
What's the way forward?
Assam is planning to petition the Supreme Court for maintaining the status quo. But people in both the states want the Centre to demarcate the border soon and end the conflict forever. The Supreme Court had earlier directed the Centre to set up a boundary commission but nothing much happened on that. In fact, the latest clash happened two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting in Shillong with chief ministers of all the states in the Northeast and asked them to solve the long border amicably through talks. The opposition Congress asked why Shah could not solve the issue when the BJP or its allies are in power in all the states.
What are the other border conflicts in the Northeast?
Assam has similar border conflicts with Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, which were carved out of it as seperate states between 1963 and 1972. Tripura also has a border dispute with Mizoram. Violent clashes have taken place along the Assam-Nagaland border since 1965, more recently in 2017, leading to deaths and displacements. Similar violence was also witnessed on Assam-Meghalaya and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh borders.