NJ Thakuria
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma arrives in New Delhi to meet PM Narendra Modi about the Assam-Mizoram border dispute, in which six police personnel lost their lives.
Guwahati: Deterred with the Assam-Mizoram border dispute, in which six police personnel lost their lives during duty hours on 26 July; Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma arrives in New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and BJP Parliamentarians from the State.
CM Sarma, who faced unprecedented criticisms for his style of dealing with border disputes, sent two of his ministers to Aizawl for face-to-face discussions and building confidence measures. A joint statement between the two governments of neighbouring states in northeast Bharat was also issued with all positive words. Earlier, a series of FIRs against each other’s government officials, including Sarma, was also revoked as a goodwill gesture.
Later, State ministers Parimal Suklabaidya and Ashok Singhal visited the affected Lailapur area and talked to the agitators of Barak valley, who prevented entering the goods-carrying trucks to Mizoram. Miscreants already vandalized many trucks on the way to Mizoram carrying eggs from Cachar. Finally, the unofficial economic blockade was reportedly lifted, and the normal movement of vehicles on NH 306 was resumed as a relief to the hills State.
The violent incident spread all negative news about the Centre’s inability to resolve the inter-State border feuds even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah have shown utmost seriousness to settle the issue amicably. PM Modi, who was apprised about the ground situation by a delegation of saffron MPs from north-eastern States on 2 August, reiterated his commitment to resolving the issue.
Led by Union law minister Kiren Rijiju, the delegation also blamed the Congress for playing tricks over inter-State border issues of the land-locked strategically sensitive region. The lawmakers even criticized former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi for not being sensitive to the aspirations of various indigenous communities, including the Mizo people.
Meanwhile, Assam’s influential student leader Samujjal Bhattacharjya appreciated both the State governments for taking initiatives to resolve border issues at the earliest so that the spirit of the North-East can be kept alive. Resolving border disputes between Assam and Mizoram through dialogue is an effective way to foster peace and stability in the region, commented Bhattacharjya.
However, in the public domain, allegations and counter-allegations continue surfacing. A section of Mizo nationals claimed that the State government in Dispur was giving shelter to many suspected Bangladeshi Muslim families in the border areas, who were the real culprits for the tensions. They repeatedly stated that Mizo people have all love and affection for the Assamese community.
On the other hand, a section of Bengali-dominated Barak valley residents argued Mizoram was giving shelter to many Burmese refugees within its territory. They categorically claimed that the State government in Aizawl remains soft towards a huge number of Christian Chin refugees who were enjoying various government facilities in India-Myanmar border areas for many years.
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