De-escalating tension on Assam-Mizoram boundary

Flare up in the situation along Assam-Mizoram inter-State boundary calls for urgent intervention by the Central government for de-escalation before it reaches a flashpoint. Fresh trouble brewing in the area a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah's meeting with the Chief Ministers of north-eastern States speaks volume about the volatility. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga taking to their twitter handles to level allegations and counter-allegations over the escalation in the situation is a worrying development. Sharing videos of the troubled situation in their tweets, both the Chief Ministers also tagged Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister's Office. Assam Chief Minister alleged in his tweet that the SP (Superintendent of Police) of Kolasib district in Mizoram had asked the Assam Police to withdraw from their post and also warned that civilians of the district would neither listen nor stop violence until the Assam Police withdraws from the post. He also urged his Mizoram counterpart to intervene at the earliest. Responding to Sarma's tweet, Mizoram Chief Minister levelled a counter allegation that two companies of Assam Police with civilians resorted to baton charge and also fired tear-gas shells inside Mizoram. Such war of words between the two Chief Ministers on the social media will only add fuel to the fire and has the potential to provoke miscreants on both sides of the disputed boundary to target innocent civilians and their properties. Speaking to Zoramthanga, Sarma reiterated that Assam will maintain the status quo and peace between the two States and also offered to visit Aizawl to discuss the issues. This is expected to open a channel of dialogue. There is no alternative to maintaining status quo till the dispute over demarcation of the inter-State boundary is resolved and the final boundary is settled.

Failure of the police forces of the neighbouring States to coordinate and maintain peace is likely to trigger clamour for deployment of Central paramilitary personnel as a neutral force in the disputed stretches of the Assam-Nagaland boundary. This signals a breakdown of the coordination mechanism between the two States at the administration level too. The two States seeking to hold on to their positions and preventing any bid of encroachment either by a government agency or civilians stems from the differing perceptions of boundary among the governments and civilians on both sides. Difference in perception over Constitutional and historical boundaries have turned the boundary dispute into a protracted one. Such differences in perception have also come in the way of resolution of the dispute not just between Assam and Mizoram but also in respect of boundary disputes of Assam with Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. Assam and Mizoram shares 164.6-km-long boundary. Mizoram claims that large tracts of land traditionally used for shifting and settled agriculture by its people have been claimed by Assam to be within its Constitutional boundary. Assam, on the other hand, has been insisting that its forces are well within its Constitutional boundary and are deployed to defend the status quo. Such claims and counterclaims can only be settled across a table and not by any unilateral or arbitrary action on ground without final demarcation. A set of confidence-building measures will need to follow on the part of both the States to prevent escalation in the situation. Assam Police and Mizoram Police must prevent the civilian population of their respective States from getting involved in the dispute. This can be the first step towards normalising the situation. It is also the Constitutional duty of both the States to protect the residents of both the States in their respective territories from any revenge attack or intimidation by miscreants. At a time when India is deepening its engagement with Myanmar and other ASEAN countries as well as the neighbouring country of Bangladesh for trade, commerce and cultural relations, escalation in the situation along the Assam-Mizoram boundary in the proximity of the India-Myanmar and India-Bangladesh borders will be sending a wrong signal about the prevailing situation in the region. The two States displaying maturity in the management of the situation along the disputed stretches of the boundary is critical to the Northeast region. It will leverage such bilateral and multilateral engagements of India to end its landlocked situation by unlocking the huge potential of the region for accelerated growth and development. The region can hope to derive immediate benefits from such an engagement after unlocking from the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation.

The immediate challenge for the Central government and the two neighbouring States is to ensure that such potential for growth is not lost in escalated situation due to unprofessional and immature handling of skirmishes along inter-State boundaries. The violent situation prevailing for a prolonged period indicates that de-escalation may not be possible at the bureaucratic level; but, the two Chief Ministers sitting across the table can definitely lead to the working out of a mechanism for the maintenance of peace. If direct parleys fail to ensure a formal dialogue, the Central government convening a meeting of the two Chief Ministers will be inevitable.