Assam CM Speaks at Length on Border Issues, Says 'Long-Term' Solution is 'Complex' and Needs Time

Discussing at length on the various aspects of the interstate border clash that led to the loss of lives of six Assam Police personnel and over 50 more civilians being injured in the process, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for the first time since the incident have spoken about the multifaceted challenges associated with the border issue and the ways of probable chances to reach a long-term solution.

While speaking at an interview with the national media, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma pointed out that the process of a long term solution is a very complex procedure. He said, "It is very difficult to reach a long-term solution to age old problems as the solution to it is often a very complex one. Even though others might claim historical facts to certain aspects of demarcations, but with the state of Assam, it is very different. Assam has to both defend and protect its constitutional boundaries as this state is a result of various administrative arrangements made by the Government of India."

CM Sarma further stated, "The people of Assam have never demanded any geographical claims, but these arrangements by the government of India has given us these territories and defined our constitutional boundaries and asked us to manage these. It is not the people of Assam who had created these boundaries, but still without any factual claims, we are being looked upon with suspicion."

Reiterating on the historical and administrative perception of various governments that have run the state, the Assam Chief Minister asserted, "One must understand unlike other states, Assam is not just about one community and the state is not created on a particular community's demand. These are constitutional boundaries that were provided to us by Parliament of India. If the Supreme Court makes an accurate assessment by looking into the history along with the administrative decisions of various governments and then decides the boundaries, Assam has no issue with whatsoever."

On being asked about the role played by the Central home ministry in diffusing the tension between the two states, he stated that, "The home ministry right since the beginning has been ardently trying to resolve the tension and bring peace between the states. Since the last six months, the home ministry has been working very hard to make the states reach an agreement over the borders, but sadly enough, it did achieve results for some reasons. Following the incident of July 26, the home ministry including the ministers and the senior officials, have been trying to negotiate talks in order to reach an amicable solution on both the sides. They are leaving no stones unturned to ensure that such violent incidents do not take place in the future.

Regarding the issuing of travel advisories against the Mizoram government, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma explained, "Travel advisories weren't made to stop people from going to Mizoram, but to simply alert them of the tense situation so that they can avoid any mishap or untoward incidents that could further aggravate the situation. We have issued travel advisories even during the times of Covid-19 pandemic and alerted people against travelling from one state to another. In a situation where tension and and conflict prevails, how can you let people go there? It was a precautionary measure so that there is nothing to fire up the tension. We were not in a situation to afford to escalate the tension. On the other hand, we have also issued directives and advisory to protect the lives and properties of Mizo people in Assam."

On accusations of being provocative during following the clashes, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma composedly replied to the media that, "Since our policemen lost their lives during the shootout from the Mizoram side, one must understand there are sentiments throughout Assam. According to public sentiments at such crisis times, people were of the view that Assam has taken a toll since there was no significant damage to Mizo people or Mizoram. If I would not have reacted on time, then the already bereaved people of Assam would have seen that the Chief Minister was simply sitting back idle without commenting anything over the entire fiasco. Things would have really gone bad in Assam as the sentiments of the whole state is associated with the deaths of those brave police personnel who laid down their lives on the line of duty. But at the same time I also kept my constant communication with the government of Meghalaya also as I was doing my duty as Chief Minister of Assam, both simultaneously. The people of Assam have seen to the fact that I have not abandoned them when they needed me the most."