ASSAM-MIZORAM BORDER DISPUTE
Chief secretaries of Assam and Mizoram are scheduled to meet on Tuesday in New Delhi to find a final solution to the border dispute between the two states. The meeting has been called after Mizoram CM, Pu Lalthanhawla, wrote to home minister Rajnath Singh seeking Centre’s intervention.
POLITICS
Mizoram, the only Congress-ruled state in the north-east, is slated to go to polls later this year with the BJP trying to make inroads in the state. According to the 2011 Census, the state has population of over 10 lakh, with majority of them being Christians.
BACKGROUND OF DISPUTE
This is not the first time that the two states have clashed over boundary demarcation in bordering districts of Hailakandi (Assam) and Kolasib (Mizoram). The disputed area falls under the Ramnathpur police station in Hailakandi.
FRESH ROW
The Latest tussle started on February 27. According to a report submitted by the Hailakandi SP, an illegal sign board was placed by the Mizo student body, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), in Bairabi, a reserved forest area between Hailakandi and Kolasib. The board said the place was the site for a rest house called Zofate Chawalhbuk. The MZP claims the land is owned by the family of Ch Chhunga, Mizoram’s first CM, and it was donated to the student body. Assam says the land falls under its jurisdiction.
A police team from Hailakandi dismantled the board. But around 50 people, accompanied by the Mizoram police, started construction of a waiting shed, says the Assam govt report. Police parties from the both sides held talks and the report claims that during the discussion, the Mizoram police said ‘Yhis is a political gimmick on the eve of election (in Mizoram)’. Later, the Assam police dismantled the waiting shed and a land grabbing case was registered.
On March 8, trouble started again when about 20 MZP members reached the spot. They were asked not to dump any construction material there but Assam officials say the MZP contingent remained adamant . Later, the group was joined by around 60 more members of MZP. The situation remained tense as Assam police pushed them back.
LATHI-CHARGE AND FIRING
On March 10, around 100 MZP members with construction equipment joined their associates at the camping site in Kolasib and moved towards the disputed site. To disperse them, Assam police used five rounds of rubber bullets and two rounds of INSAS rifle fire. On March 12, MZP organised a rally in Mizoram capital Aizawl seeking action against Assam police for firing at its members.
MIZORAM REMAINS SCEPTICAL
“The issue is unlikely to get sorted at the level of chief secretaries. We expect a meeting between the chief ministers of both states in presence of the Union home minister to arrive at some concrete steps. The border dispute between our states is a difficult one to sort. We are prepared to take it to the Supreme Court if the matter isn’t resolved properly,” says Mizoram home minister R Lalzirliana.