Bishaldeep Kakati
(deep.kakati99@gmail.com)
Bagmita Borthakur
The Northeast suffers from two distinctive predicaments about its borders. The borders of the Northeast bring with them the problem of jurisdiction as well as the problem of illegal immigration leading to population expulsion. Both problems are highly debated at different levels but in recent times it is the border dispute between the two states of Northeast that has grabbed headlines both nationally and internationally, i.e. the state of Assam and Meghalaya. Assam and Meghalaya have already signed a pact in March 2022 to solve the five-decade-long border dispute, in six of the twelve contested locations. But unfortunately again on 23rd November 2022, the borders of Assam and Meghalaya had to be sealed because of unsettled border demarcations, leading to five Meghalaya residents and one Assam forest guard being killed in Mukroh Village. The conspicuous fact is that, along the 884-km long border, the two states have twelve disputed stretches.
Assam during British rule was undivided, and it was in 1972 only when Meghalaya became an independent state. The boundaries of Meghalaya were demarcated according to the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act of 1969, but this demarcation is still not properly accepted by the residents of the state of Meghalaya. The branches of the border dispute started with the recommendations made by a 1951 committee which was headed by the then Chief Minister of Assam, Gopinath Bordoloi. The committee came up with a recommendation that Blocks I and II of Jaintia hills (falling in the jurisdiction of Meghalaya) be transferred to the Mikir Hills situated at Karbi Anglong and some other areas of Garo hills to the district of Goalpara in Assam. The 1969 Act that demarcated the boundaries of Meghalaya was based on this committee's recommendations. This demarcation led to border disputes in areas like Langpi, Upper Tarabari, Gazang reserved forest, Hahim, Borduar, Boklabara, Nongwah, Matamur, Khanapara-Pilangkata, block I and block II of Deshdemoreh, Khanduli and Retacherra. The historic MoU that was signed between the Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya on March 29, somewhat brought closure to the disputed areas which included Tarabari, Gazang, Hahim, Boklabara, Khanapara-Pilangata and Retacherra, but the rest of the areas are still disputed with the two states on 22ndday of August 2022, deciding to form three regional committees to solve the issues.
However, the major concern in the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute is the Langpi area in the west Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya which borders the Kamrup district of Assam. During British rule, Langpi was part of the Kamrup district but post-independence, it became part of the West Khasi Hills. Regarding this district, whereas Assam considers it to be a part of Mikir hills, on the contrary, Meghalaya questions Block I and II of the Mikir hills, as the people of Meghalaya consider these parts to be of erstwhile united Khasi and Jaintia hills district.
A lot of steps have already been taken to solve the disputes but till today the State has not arrived at an appropriate solution to close the chapter of the border dispute once and for all. A joint official committee that was formed in 1983 to solve the border disputes recommended that the Survey of India should once again map out the border by taking opinions from both states. In 1958, an independent panel was set up, which was headed by Justice YV Chandrachud to solve the border dispute but Meghalaya did not agree with the report that the committee published, and hence, again no solution could be formulated to solve the issues. About 100 km of the border was demarcated with the help of the Survey of India in 1991 but even that demarcation was rejected by the Meghalaya government, calling it to be a game of foul play against them. In 2011, another attempt was made to solve the border dispute when the Meghalaya Assembly passed a resolution where it desired the intervention of the centre for the establishment of a Boundary Commission but even that could not yield fruitful results. Again in 2019, the Meghalaya government asked the Honorable Supreme Court of India to instruct the centre to solve the dispute but even that petition was turned down. Therefore, the pertinent question that still lies unanswered is: Can border disputes be solved once and for all?
A few of the factors like historical accounts, administrative mobility, the sentiments of the people, ethnicity, along with the states' geographical position with its borders and its boundaries encircled by rivers, streams, hills etc are taken into account while solving border disputes. But on a critical note, it can be observed and analysed that political manifestos to display one's supremacy over the other on a regional level cannot solve the age-long dispute of border not just between Assam and Meghalaya but in the Northeast as a whole. The political angle to the border dispute over time has also worsened the situation and as such, the aspirations of the people residing in both states must be given more importance rather than political supremacy while solving the border disputes.
The analysis of the history related to the border dispute between Meghalaya and Assam has brought forward the notion that nothing but alternative dispute resolutions like talks and deliberations, amicable disposition of issues about border issues as well as people's opinion-based mediation remains the only solution to the border dispute. The biggest example of alternative dispute resolution coming in as a success in regards to solving the border issue is the recent settlement of issues about the six disputed border areas of Assam and Meghalaya by signing a pact between both states.
However, in the rest of the six disputed areas, if both states altogether cannot come to a feasible solution, then the intervention of the Central government is a must in this regard. The Central government should opt for the opinions of representatives from both states and then form an expert committee to properly demarcate the borders. And once the Central government in the modern era expertly demarcates the border, the same must be accepted by both states without again indulging in any kind of contradictory opinions.
For the betterment of people, it is important that both states come to a consensus and thereby put an end to the disputes that often lead to armed rebellions at the borders, not only killing civilians but also disrupting civil movements. Since the sentiments of the people of both states are associated with the borders, even the Central government should be careful while demarcating the borders. However, speedy disposition of the border dispute remains the need of the hour.