Local interests key to resolving NE disputes

Five Meghalaya villagers and one Assam forest guard were killed in a firing incident

The festering border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya has flared up again with a firing incident along the boundary which claimed some casualties. Five Meghalaya villagers and one Assam forest guard were killed in the incident. The two governments have different versions on the incident. Assam says that its forest guards who seized a truck which was smuggling timber across the border were attacked by unknown persons and the casualties were the result of defensive action by the guards; Meghalaya says the killings were caused by unprovoked firing by Assam police personnel and forest guards. Separate enquiries have been ordered by the two states, and Meghalaya has also called for a CBI or NIA probe. The incident happened in the disputed area between the West Karbi Anglong district in Assam and the West Jaintia district in Meghalaya.

The Assam and Meghalaya Chief Ministers, Himanta Biswa Sharma and Conrad Sangma respectively, have spoken to each other but the incident has made the ongoing border negations between the two states more difficult. Assam has border disputes with all the states that were carved out of it. They have erupted in violence also. Meghalaya became an independent state in 1972 and has contested the provisions of the law that led to its formation. Last year, there were clashes between the police forces of Assam and Mizoram in which five persons were killed. The central government has taken special interest in the negotiations between the states. Ministerial level talks are continuing, and the next round of talks are due soon. Assam and Meghalaya had 12 issues of dispute, and agreement has been reached on six of them. This week’s firing occurred in an area where the dispute is yet to be settled.

Both states, in fact all states which are involved in border disputes in the North-East, are on the same side of the political fence. The BJP rules Assam and Himanta Biswa Sarma is the leader who took the party to its dominant position in the region. Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party is a BJP ally. While this should help the governments to communicate better with each other, the realities on the ground and divergent interests make it difficult for them to reach agreements. While the boundaries were fixed, they divided many communities. Common sources of livelihood and economic activities were disrupted. Most disputes have their origin in these issues. Therefore, the interests of local communities have to be taken into consideration for a durable solution to the disputes. The central government is in vantage position to bring about a resolution of all disputes and it should persist with its initiative.