Fresh clash at Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border

A fresh clash erupted between protesters from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in Dhemaji district on Thursday, days after 12 people were injured on August 10 after alleged firing by miscreants along the inter-State border over an encroachment dispute.

Arunachal police fired in the air on Thursday to control the mob even as an indefinite economic blockade called by the local groups linked to Assam’s Mising community on Wednesday continues to be in force.

The Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), the top student organisation of Assam’s Mising community, and other local groups, on Wednesday launched an indefinite economic blockade against Arunachal Pradesh in protest against the alleged firing in which 12 indigenous people from Assam were injured.

“When the blockade was going on, some people from Arunachal Pradesh indulged in stone pelting on protesters from Assam and some persons sustained minor injuries. This led to a scuffle between the two sides,” an Assam Government official said. The incident on Thursday took place at Likabali entry point in Silapathar in Dhemaji district of Assam, he added. “Then we saw that police from Arunachal fired three rounds in the air to control the mob on their side,” they added.

Along with TMPK, other local social groups like Mising Mimag Kebang (MMK) and Takam Mising Mahila Kebang (TMMK) are supporting the blockade and have stopped all vehicles, barring emergency and school transportation, from coming or going to Arunachal Pradesh at the entry points.

The organisations are demanding an early resolution of the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border dispute, action against miscreants who had fired two days ago and an end to alleged encroachment in Assam.

Chief Ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh appealed for peace in the region, urging people to refrain from violence. “I appeal to the people of Assam and Arunachal to maintain peace and harmony. Boundaries may define our States, but they can never divide our hearts,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X. Tagging his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Assam CM said that the two Northeastern states share a bond that goes far beyond boundaries.

“For generations, our people have lived as brothers and sisters, bound by love, affection and mutual respect,” he added.

Sarma stressed that the two states have resolved most of their border differences through dialogue and friendship in recent years. “Only 52 villages remain, and both Governments will continue discussions in the same spirit to resolve the dispute completely,” appealed Sarma.

“Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share a deep bond of history, friendship and brotherhood. Our differences must always be addressed through dialogue, mutual understanding and peaceful means,” CM Khandu posted on X. He also appealed to people on both sides of the border not to allow the recent developments to affect the long-standing ties between the two States.

Meanwhile in Delhi, the MPs from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh appealed to the people living along the border of the two states to maintain peace, live harmoniously and resolve their differences through dialogue.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share an 804.1-km border in Udalguri, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Charaideo districts. There are 1,200 points of dispute along the inter-State border between the two States. The Assam Government on July 29 told the Assembly that Arunachal Pradesh has encroached upon 16,144.01 hectares of land. Out of this encroached land, Arunachal Pradesh is claiming 858.91 sq km.

Both the States have constituted 12 regional committees for resolving the border disputes, and are taking steps to resolve these issues based on recommendations of these committees, which have jointly toured the areas and held consultations with stakeholders. A Namsai Declaration was signed by the CMs of the two States on July 15, 2022, setting in motion measures to resolve differences in 123 villages of Assam claimed by Arunachal Pradesh. An MoU in this regard was later signed by the two CMs in the presence of the Union Home Minister in the national capital on April 20, 2023. Out of the 123 villages claimed by Arunachal Pradesh, the differences in 71 villages have been resolved and the process is on to address the issues in the remaining 52 villages.