After Amit Shah's intervention, border dispute between Assam, Mizoram resolved: Sources

By Rajnish Singh
New Delhi [India], July 26 : Border dispute between Assam and Mizoram seems to have resolved after Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday spoke to Chief Ministers of both states asking them to resolve the crisis, sources said.
The two chief ministers have agreed on Shah's request and the police forces of both states have now returned back from the disputed site, sources said.
In a telephonic conversation, the Home Minister took stock of the situation of the clash and asked the Chief Ministers of the two states to maintain peace and normalcy.
A war of words ensued between Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his counterpart from neighbouring Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma as the former urged Home Minister Shah to look into the matter and immediately end this crisis.
During his two-day trip to Meghalaya last weekend, Shah had held a closed-door meeting with chief ministers of the northeast states.
A clipping shared by Zoramthanga on Twitter showed police trying to stop a clash among men armed with sticks.
In reply to the tweet, Assam Police said miscreants from Mizoram were indulging in stone-pelting and attacking Assam government officials stationed at Lailapur to protect Assam's land from encroachment.
In reply, Sarma shared a clipping and said a superintendent of police from Mizoram was asking Assam's officials to withdraw from their post, failing which civilians from the neighbouring state would not stop the violence. He too sought immediate intervention of Shah and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
"How can we run a government in such circumstances?" Sarma wrote.
Soon after, Zoramthanga wrote to Sarma, "After a cordial meeting of CMs (chaired) by Shah, two companies of Assam Police with civilians lathi-charged and tear-gassed civilians at Vairengte Auto Rickshaw stand inside Mizoram today. They even overrun CRPF personnel/Mizoram Police."
Zoramthanga shared another video and alleged that an innocent couple were "manhandled and ransacked by thugs and goons" on their way back to Mizoram via Cachar in Assam. "How are you going to justify these violent acts?" he wrote.
On Saturday, Zoramthanga said border disputes in the northeast are a legacy of the colonial era and lasting peace between states is important for further development of the region.
Speaking on the border dispute with Assam at the CM's meeting, chaired by Shah in Shillong on Saturday, Zoramthanga said the area claimed by the latter has been used by people from Mizoram for over 100 years.
"The border disputes are a legacy of the colonial era that the present government inherited from its predecessor which has been left unresolved at the time of the formation of states like Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram," he said.
"The large tract of areas claimed by Assam to be within its constitutional boundary has been used for collection of forest producers and for shifting and settled cultivation for the past 100 plus years by the people of Mizoram, and that Assam started claiming these areas only fairly recently due to population pressure apparently caused by the large-scale influx of migrants from outside Barak valley," he said.
Zoramthanga further requested the Assam government to respect and honour the situation on the ground and desist from disturbing the peaceful environment.