Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s claim on Friday that 92 percent of the inter-state boundary dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh has been “resolved” and that an agreement between the two neighbouring states is likely to be signed in the next couple of weeks is a very welcome announcement. Sarma’s announcement came after he held talks with his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart, Pema Khandu. According to Sarma, after having achieved “substantial progress” in resolving the boundary issues, disputes over only about ten villages remained to be sorted out. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share an 804.10 km inter-state boundary. The origin of the inter-state boundary dispute between the two states can be traced back to the time when NEFA was first created and then again when it was reorganised as Arunachal Pradesh, during which several plains portions of the erstwhile agency were transferred to Assam. The new state soon began making claims on the basis of tradition, old usages, and practise to define the boundary. It was when developmental activities such as the construction of schools, religious institutions, markets, and police stations, etc. began along the interstate boundary that disputes and claims started becoming prominent. There are some who say these developments are more of a political than a socio-economic issue. But there are also strong views in favour of saying that it is a socio-economic issue that is occasionally politicised. Efforts to resolve the boundary issue had begun as early as 1965, when the other state was called NEFA. Since then, several so-called high-powered expert committees were formed, which, sadly, could not prescribe any amicable solution. The Survey of India’s efforts too had failed, while a suit filed by the Assam government in the Supreme Court in 1989 had also led nowhere. The Supreme Court, for its part, had also appointed a local commission, which too practically failed in its mission. What appeared was that there was a total lack of political will on the part of the earlier leaders and governments in either state. Given this background, Assam Chief Minister Sarma deserves full marks for having taken the bold initiative of finding a solution by going directly to ground zero, meeting people on either side of the boundary and getting their opinions, and weighing the socio-economic pros and cons of both states. On July 15, 2022, the Chief Ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh met at Namsai and, after a detailed discussion, signed what has been described as the ‘Namsai Declaration.’ Accordingly, the two states, through the Declaration, resolved to “restrict or minimise the boundary disputes between the two states in respect of 123 villages placed before the Local Commission by Arunachal in 2007.” As of now, the two Chief Ministers have deputed their respective MLAs to visit the ten villages in question in the Jonai region and submit a report, which will form the basis for putting an end to the decades-old dispute.