Defusing tension

Prompt action by Assam and Mizoram governments prevented escalation in the boundary skirmishes between the two neighbouring states. The two states, however, must stay alert and thwart any attempt by miscreants to exploit the situation to incite fresh clashes. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga talked to each other and emphasized maintaining the law and order in the affected areas. Their resolve to work together for "maintaining brotherhood between the two states" has sent out much needed positive messages to defuse tension. Joint visit by official delegations of the two states to the affected areas should be undertaken as part of follow-up confidence-building measures to allay apprehension among the people living on both sides of the inter-state boundary. The Central government must take the initiative to help Assam and Mizoram settle their boundary dispute through sustained dialogue.

The assurance of support by the Central government to both the states should not be a lip service. Unsettled inter-state boundary disputes in the northeastern region often manifest in ugly boundary skirmishes and provide the space to vested forces to foment trouble to make these spaces insecure. A vast stretch of these disputed sites being located in remote, inaccessible forest areas, criminals and antisocial elements like timber smuggler, drug and human traffickers, gun running racketeers, illegal migrants exploit the disputed insecure inter-state boundary areas to for their criminal activities. The two states share 164.6 km long inter-state boundary touching the three districts of Barak valley in Assam. Allegations of encroachment of the inter-state boundary by illegal Bangladeshi migrants must be probed and expeditious action should be taken. The Assam government must ensure that movement of trucks carrying supplies of essentials and passenger vehicles to Mizoram is not obstructed by anyone. Mizoram should also ensure that free movement of people and vehicles from Assam is not disrupted so that normalcy is restored quickly, and sense of security is instilled. Dispute over the boundary must be amicably resolved and across the table. Having established a structured mechanism of regular coordination with Arunachal Pradesh for maintaining status quo along disputed areas of the boundary, Assam should find it easier to push for a similar mechanism with Mizoram.

It is unfortunate that the setting up of a COVID-19 testing centre on the boundary for Mizoram-bound truckers and other visitors reportedly provided the spark to a violent clash. When the two states should have been joining hands in their battle against the COVID-19 virus, they have been compelled to get busy defusing tension over boundary skirmishes. Lessons must be learnt from the experience and both the states should adopt the policy of keeping official counterparts of each other informed whenever any development activity is undertaken on the border. Creating assets that can be beneficial to people living on both the sides of the disputed stretches of the boundary can reduce tension and induce the feeling of joint ownership. Political parties in both the states should play a pro-active role in defusing the tension along the boundary. Media in both the states must exercise restraint while reporting the incidents and should make endeavour in defusing the tension and restoration of normalcy. Graphic details of violent clashes should be avoided, and stories of peace building and reconciliation should be given prominence. Officials of police and civil administration should also be extremely cautious during media briefing on the situation. Both the governments must keep hawk's vigil against mischief monger abusing social media and digital platforms to spread rumours and hate messages. There is no alternative to self-restraint by users of social media in such delicate situation.

The people and the governments in Assam and Mizoram must not forget that both the states have high stakes in India's growing bilateral engagement with Bangladesh for trade, commerce and enhancing economic cooperation and the country's engagement with ASEAN. The ongoing Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project with two modes of transport- waterways and roadways—will connect Mizoram to Sittwe port in Rakhine state in Myanmar. Once completed and commissioned, this ambitious cross-border connectivity project of India will cut down transportation distance between Kolkata and Sittwe from 1880 km through the Chicken Neck corridor at Siliguri to 930 km. The Sittwe port will get connected with Paletwa in Chin state of Myanmar by 158-km-long waterways along Kaladan river and 110 along roadways to Mizoram-Myanmar border from Paletwa. A 10-km road stretch will connect the Mizoram-Myanmar border point to the National Highway 306 (earlier known as NH 54) passing through Assam-Mizoram boundary stretches along which have been gripped by the boundary tension. Disruption of peace and tranquility along this national highway will have adverse consequences on the connectivity project which is targeted to connect the landlocked economy in Mizoram, Assam, and other states in the region to the vibrant ASEAN economy.