Image Courtesy:insidene.com
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has responded to a complaint by one Mohammed Injamamul Haque of Assam about the clashes that took place along the Assam-Mizoram border, and issued notice to the Central government as well as the state governments of Assam and Mizoram.
The violence took place on July 26 at an autorickshaw stand in Vairengte, Mizoram along the border with Assam. Trouble began when a large number of Assam Police personnel including an Inspector General (IG), Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Superintendent of Police (SP) as well as a District Collector reached the area purportedly to investigate alleged Mizo incursion into Assam territory. They faced opposition from local Mizo groups.
Policemen clashed with armed protesters, while chief ministers of both states had a war of words on Twitter. While Mizoram CM Zoramthanga claimed that an Assam Police vehicle ran over a local check post of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Chief Minister accused Mizoram Police of opening fire using Light Machine Guns (LMG). Six Assam police personnel were killed in the violence.
In its notice the NHRC says, “The Commission has considered the matter. Facts of the case are disturbing. The allegations made in the complaint are serious in nature involving deaths and injuries to public servants.” It goes on to say, “The case, therefore, involves a grave violation of human rights of the deceased and injured. Such types of cases are viewed very seriously by the Commission. In these circumstances, let a notice be sent.”
The matter will now be heard after four weeks.
While both Assam and Mizoram have been maintaining an uneasy détente since a meeting held on August 5, the dispute is unlikely to die down, given how it has persisted for decades. But this meeting also took place after an escalation that involved Assam issuing travel advisories against travel to Mizoram and even ordering all incoming vehicles from Mizoram to be checked, purportedly to curb drug trafficking. Then there was the alleged blocking of NH 306 by Assam that prevented trucks carrying Covid-19 medication, oxygen cylinders and other essentials from entering Mizoram. This highway is said to be the lifeline of Mizoram.
Brief Background of the border dispute
SabrangIndia has previously reported, the problem stems from an unresolved border-dispute between the states. In colonial times, Mizoram was a district of Assam and was called Lushai Hills. In 1875 a notification was issued that differentiated Lushai Hills from the Cachar plains. Today, three districts of Mizoram — Kolasib, Aizawl and Mamit — share a border with southern Assam’s Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts. It is alleged that in many places the border is not properly demarcated leaving it porous, thus leading to encroachment. The border dispute talks had to be put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but intermittent violence has been reported in the region even during the lockdown.
In fact, as we had reported earlier, on October 17, 2020, clashes had broken out in the exact same area when people from Lailapur broke the status quo and allegedly constructed some temporary huts. People from Mizoram side then went and allegedly set fire to them. In the same month, on October 9, 2020, similar clashes had broken out along the border between Assam’s Karimganj district and Mizoram’s Mamit district when a hut and betel nut plantation belonging to two Mizoram farmers were set on fire. Though the area has been cultivated historically by Mizoram farmers, the spot falls in the territory of the Singla Forest Reserve that falls under the jurisdiction of Karimganj district of Assam.
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