The flare-up of violence on the Assam-Mizoram border is a matter of serious concern, especially because the region has many fault lines that can create social and political turmoil. Violence is more problematic because it involves governments, which have hardened their positions after the conflict. Five Assam policemen and one civilian were killed in the firing from the Mizoram side on Monday in clashes between the police forces of both states. Civilian groups were also involved. There have been skirmishes between the two sides arising from a border dispute and they have been more frequent in the past few months. The boundaries of most states in the North-East are disputed and the disputes have come out in the open in many ways. Assam has such disputes with not only Mizoram but with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya. The negotiations for a resolution of the Nagaland insurgency are stuck partially because of the territorial dispute between Nagaland and other states.
Ironically, the clashes took place two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with the chief ministers of all North-Eastern states to discuss the border disputes and other issues. It was resolved at the meeting that all the disputes will be resolved peacefully. Both Assam and Mizoram seem to have mishandled the situation on their border and allowed it to be guided by emotions. The responses of the governments are also immature. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga have engaged in a Twitter battle after the incident, trading charges and videos which could be considered provocative by the other side. Sarma says he has also ordered deployment of about 4,000 commandos on the border. Assam is ruled by the BJP and Mizoram by its ally, the Mizo National Front (MNF), and both are members of the North-East Democratic Alliance, of which Sarma is the convenor.
The border disputes and tensions in the North-East can even be considered a colonial legacy. All the states were carved out of Assam in the last 50 years with their borders arbitrarily decided without much consideration about overlapping interests. Divisions have continued in the region where tribal identities are important and politics has not done much to subsume them. This does not augur well for a region which is strategically important and is economically backward. Assam is taking the matter to the Supreme Court. The immediate task is the bring the situation on the border under control and ensure that there is no further escalation. But the ideal solution to the dispute, and other disputes in the region, is a political settlement involving all the states. The Central government should take the initiative for that.