Monday Musing
[ Ranjit Sinha ]
The joint initiative of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam to resolve the boundary problem not only deserves admiration, it will also be a golden age in the political history of the Northeast if the boundary issue between the two neighbouring states is resolved permanently without much hindrance.
Arunachal has been bearing the brunt of the boundary problem for decades without any fault on its part, apparently, since the transfer of more than 1,000 sq kms of land to Assam in 1951. Since then, constituting of several committees for bringing a permanent solution to the Assam-Arunachal boundary issue made the issue more complicated. However, the formation of the local commission, appointed by the Supreme Court of India during 2006 for identification of Arunachal-Assam boundary areas, made both the state governments more aware of the need of a robust mechanism of their own for a permanent solution to the boundary issue. Subsequently, the Namsai Declaration was signed in July, 2022, between the Assam and the Arunachal governments to bring an end to the decades-long boundary issue and the ‘agreement’ set the motion in the right direction as it advocates involvement of local people of both the states to identify the boundary areas and to solve the boundary problem mutually and amicably.
The MoU signed by the CMs of Assam and Arunachal in April this year, in the presence of union Home Minister Amit Shah and the then union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi, after the Namsai Declaration, shows the seriousness and determination of both the governments and their people to bring about a permanent solution to the interstate boundary issue. Both the states agreed that there will be no new claim on areas and villages in the future beyond the areas of 123 villages identified by the local commission in 2007, and that the MoU shall be a final agreement in respect of these 123 villages.
When the efforts are on by the regional committees of both the states to identify the unresolved boundary areas through field visits, dialogue and meetings, the recent boundary-related clashes in Kangku circle in Lower Siang district, where two people from Assam lost their lives, is unfortunate.
The state government should pay heed to the demand of the All Arunachal Border Students Union for the arrest of the person from Assam, who, according to the union, was “the mastermind behind the boundary-related violence that led to the death of the two persons,” and to take steps for the release of the arrested persons from Arunachal in connection with the firing incident.
At the same time, both the state governments must ensure that the peace-loving people living along the boundary areas of both the states are not being harassed by some vested interest persons who are trying to derail the peaceful endeavour for a permanent solution to boundary issue. The BJP governments in Assam and Arunachal must ensure that peace prevails along boundary area to promote mutual trust and harmony, and above all, to create an environment conducive to joint field visits by the regional committees on the boundary issue.
