The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday summoned the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of Assam and Mizoram to discuss border issues, a day after six people were killed and over 50 injured in an armed clash. The already fragile peace between the states turned sour on Tuesday with leaders from both sides expressing anger over the incident, indicating a turbulent path to peace.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla will chair the meeting to discuss the sudden escalation of violence along the Assam-Mizoram border. A home ministry official said in New Delhi that the meeting of chief secretaries and director generals of police is expected to work out a formula for peace so that such violence does not recur.
The two northeastern states have been locked in a battle over their borders for decades, often resulting in major and minor conflicts, but Monday saw none. Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he will abide by any law made by Parliament that forces him to hand over his land to another state, but will not allow “an inch of encroachment” till then. . .
BJP general secretary and Lok Sabha MP from the state Dilip Saikia demanded that Mizoram apologize to the people of Assam for the death of its policemen. Saikia told reporters in the national capital, “What the Mizoram Police did to the local people yesterday is condemnable. A video was shown to the Mizos celebrating the killing of Assamese police personnel. I am condemning this barbaric attack on the Assamese people and the police.” I condemn the attack.” Forgiveness
Mizoram’s Information and Public Relations Minister Lalruatkima immediately retaliated and claimed that despite tension along the border, the CRPF personnel did not stop the armed police personnel and civilians of Assam from infiltrating into Mizoram. “This bloody clash could have been avoided if the CRPF personnel had prevented the Assam Police from entering the Mizoram region,” Lalrutkima told PTI.
Meanwhile, Sarma alleged that after assuming office in May, he had spoken to Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and suggested that the status quo should be maintained by both the states. He said the Mizoram chief minister had agreed but insisted that the chief secretary level talks should continue.
“On July 8, Chief Secretary level talks were held in New Delhi under the aegis of the Union Home Secretary, but the Mizoram official refused to accept the satellite images to maintain the status quo and agreed to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). refused.” he said.
The Assam chief minister also said that his government would approach the Supreme Court to protect the innerline forest reserve from destruction and encroachment and would deploy three commando battalions in Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts bordering Mizoram to strengthen security. . “Defining the boundary is the responsibility of the Center and we will follow it… If tomorrow Parliament makes a law by which our land can be given to another state, we will do so but till then we will protect our constitutional boundary. He said after paying floral tributes to the martyred soldiers.
He claimed that some people entering India from Myanmar wanted to settle in Dima Hasao district of Assam via Mizoram, but his government foiled the efforts. “Then we attacked the drug route from Mizoram and Manipur to Assam,” he said.
“Finally, the introduction of the Assam Cattle Protection Bill in the state assembly also created apprehensions, although we have clarified that transport in the northeastern states will not be affected, provided they have a valid permit,” he said. non-state actors.
“Those who have entered Mizoram from Myanmar are trying to come to Assam and stay in Dima Hasao district. But we did not allow them,” he was quoted as saying.
Assam has declared three days of state mourning following the incident. “The dispute is not about land, but encroachment of reserved forests. We have no settlements in forest areas and if Mizoram can provide evidence, we will evict immediately,” he said.
He said, “People have sacrificed their lives but the border has been protected which we will continue to do at any cost. We have very strong police deployment inside our border and not even an inch of land will be allowed to be encroached upon.” ” Responding to a question whether there could be a foreign angle to the border flare-ups, he said, his government has taken decisions in the last two months, which may have angered “some non-state vested actors”.
He claimed that some people entering India from Myanmar wanted to settle in Dima Hasao district of Assam via Mizoram, but his government foiled the efforts. “Then we attacked the drug route from Mizoram and Manipur to Assam,” he said. “Finally, the introduction of the Assam Cattle Protection Bill in the state assembly also created apprehensions, although we have clarified that transport in the northeastern states will not be affected, provided they have a valid permit,” he said. non-state actors.
Asked whether the problem could be solved as the NDA constituent NDA, the northeastern version of the NDA, was ruling both the states, Sarma retorted, “It is not a political issue. Rather, there is a long-standing border dispute.Earlier, both the states had Congress governments.
Was the problem resolved then?” Tensions are rising, with frequent incidents of burning of houses and encroachment on land by both sides since October 2020.
On October 22, 2020, high level talks were held under the aegis of Union Home Ministry where it was decided to maintain status quo and resolve the dispute through discussion. An Aizawl report said tensions flared up again in February this year and since then hundreds of people have fled their homes near the Galachera border post.
After a hiatus of a few months, a grenade was hurled at a team of Assam government visiting the border by unidentified assailants from Mizoram on 10 July, while two back-to-back explosions were heard from across the border in the early hours of July 11. Went. Mizoram was a district of Assam, which was created as a union territory in 1971 after years of rebellion and the boundaries of the district did not really matter. It became a state in 1987 and border issues arose in the form of the notion that the border should be separated.
While Mizoram wants it to be along the Inner Line notified in 1875, which Mizo tribals consider part of their historical homeland, Assam maintains that it should be defined according to the district’s demarcation done much later. In an unrelated development, but which may give an insight into the Centre’s approach to border lines between states, the government on Monday told the Lok Sabha that such disputes can be resolved “only” with the cooperation of the states involved. And the central government acts only as a facilitator.
“The Central Government’s view has consistently been that inter-State disputes can be resolved only with the cooperation of the State Governments concerned and that the Central Government acts only as a facilitator for an amicable settlement of the dispute in a spirit of mutual understanding, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said. Assam has been engaged in border disputes with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram for a long time.
Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry said that the Center is in regular touch with the Assam and Mizoram governments and trying to defuse the situation. CRPF troops have been deployed in the violence-hit area.
(with PTI input)
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