Border row: Stop the political slugfest

The decades-old boundary dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra has once again erupted, and though both states reckon that only a legal and not a political solution is possible, politicians on either side continue to periodically rake up the issue, resulting in a law-and-order situation in border areas each time they do so. The dispute can be traced back to the Reorganisation of States Act, 1956, which paved the way for the formation of states on linguistic basis. Ever since it came into existence in 1960, Maharashtra has staked claim to 865 villages and the towns of Belagavi and Nippani in Karnataka. In 1966, under pressure from Maharashtra, the Centre set up the Justice Mahajan Commission and its report was to be binding on both states. The Mahajan Commission, which submitted its report in August 1967, recommended merging 264 towns and villages of Karnataka (including Nippani, Nandgad and Khanapur) with Maharashtra, and 247 villages and towns of Maharashtra (including South Solapur and Akkalkot) with Karnataka. Though the report was placed in Parliament in 1970, it was never taken up for discussion. In 2004, Maharashtra approached the Supreme Court challenging the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, and the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960. While Maharashtra has taken the stand that the Supreme Court can adjudicate the matter under Article 131, which deals with disputes between the Union and states, Karnataka has argued that it is only Parliament and not the Supreme Court that has jurisdiction over border issues between states under Article 3.

This time round, the issue has come to focus with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde convening a meeting in his state to review the status of the dispute and deputing two senior ministers, Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai, to pursue the matter both legally and politically. This naturally provoked Karnataka, with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai declaring that not a single inch of land would be ceded to the neighbouring state. Ironically, both states are currently under the BJP’s control, and it is amusing to see the Chief Ministers battle it out in public, while the party claims to stand for ‘Akhand Bharat’. The unity and integrity of the country, rather than states’ claims over a few towns and villages, should be of paramount interest.

Both Maharashtra and Karnataka have used the border dispute to stoke regional sentiments, especially ahead of elections or to divert attention from other important issues. Considering that the matter is pending in court, it is imperative that both states maintain status quo until a legal remedy is found, instead of political parties adding fuel to fire for narrow political gains.