Border litmus test

 It is too much of a coincidence that tension along Assam’s borders with Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland have risen after Dr.Himanta Biswa Sarma (HBS) took over as BJP chief minister in the first week of May 2021. Soon after he took over, Dr.HBS, let the cat out of the bag when he vowed that his government will ensure protection of the state’s borders with all its might. He also informed that armed police personnel will be deployed in the borders to beef up measures. As commented earlier in this column, Assam Police made incursions deep inside Nagaland in Tzurangkong area under Mokokchung district bordering Jorhat. In the first incursion, Assam Police personnel destroyed farm huts and uprooted areca plants cultivated by villagers of Aosenden village. This provocative action was later followed by incursions at Vikuto village on June 30 by around one hundred armed personnel comprising of Assam Home Guard and Armed Police Battalion. The armed personnel set up outpost inside Vikuto village under Tzurangkong area and mounted a machine gun at the hilltop. Tensions were mounting in the entire border belt as affected villages demanded action for evicting the armed incursions. Such a counter would have only resulted in igniting the spark to another armed confrontation between the two states. It was surprising that the Nagaland government, especially its district officials and police was caught napping. This was not the case with Mizoram which had enough experience in dealing incursions by the Assam Police as well as the unlawful activities of civilians mobs at inter-state border check gates. This is not to mean that preparedness should be violence. Even in the 1985 Merapani ‘war’ Nagaland Police only responded to the unwarranted and unprovoked firing by Assam Police because the so-called ‘neutral forces’ chose to remain bystanders. Assam has common borders with Bhutan, Bangladesh, West Bengal, Manipur and Tripura and unresolved border disputes with Arunachal Pradesh,Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. Except for Manipur and Tripura, other north eastern states were administratively under Assam. In all cases, the Assam government had been reluctant to accept the traditional and historical boundaries of its former districts that became states. Instead, the Assam government continued to carry on with boundaries mapped by the colonial rulers by insisting on notifications which suited its claims. In this regard, it may be mentioned that the Modi government wants to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day in a befitting manner and include resolution of border conflicts among north east states as one of its achievements. This was made known by union home minister Amit Shah at 69th plenary meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC) on January 24,2021 in Shillong where all governors and chief ministers attended. Shah again renewed the Modi government’s desire that all border disputes be resolved before August 15,2022 at the meeting with chief ministers, chief secretaries and DGPs of the north eastern states at Shillong on June 24,2021. It may sound good that border issues be resolved peacefully but it does not make good sense to states whose lands have been deceitfully, arbitrarily and unfairly transferred to Assam for administrative or commercial interests. Nagaland has huge tract of land transferred in 1925 to Assam by the British. Unfortunately, besides the cacophony of emotions expressed by all and sundry in the media, there are hardly any in the government who are willing to work consistently to fight it legally.