Tuesday’s agreement between Assam and Meghalaya to end their boundary dispute in six of the 12 areas, where discord persisted, is a welcome first step. The agreement signed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma, in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, also sets the stage to resolve differences in the remaining six areas. Based on a draft resolution of January 29 between the two States, the agreement covers Tarabari, Gizang, Hahim, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pillangkata and Ratacherra under the Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro) and Cachar districts of Assam and the West Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi and East Jaintia Hills districts of Meghalaya. By adopting a give-and-take approach, the two States have demonstrated that knotty boundary issues can be resolved — in this case, partially to begin with — if there is a will to arrive at an agreement. Of the disputed territory — a little over 36 square kilometres — the two States will get a near equal share, enshrining the sharing principle that might serve as a template to resolve other boundary disputes in the northeast. Assam, the mother State from which other States were carved out in the northeast, currently has boundary disputes with Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. As the Home Minister underscored in Delhi, the spirit shown by Mr. Sarma and Mr. Sangma should be used in other disputes as well. People living in the six disputed areas should be allowed to choose where they want to live. While Mr. Sarma has blamed the Congress for allowing the dispute between Assam and Meghalaya to fester, Nandita Das, Congress MLA from the Boko seat, alleged that in three of the six “resolved sectors”, there was no give and take. The agreement requires delineation and demarcation by the Survey of India as well as parliamentary approval.
One can only hope that the right lessons will be drawn by Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland from Tuesday’s accord to understand the other’s point of view and come to agreements. In July 2021, five policemen and a civilian from Assam were shot dead in violent clashes with their Mizo counterparts at a disputed point between Assam and Mizoram. The clash came right after a meeting that Mr. Shah had had with the Chief Ministers of northeast States to resolve boundary disputes. It is imperative that Assam and the other States locked in dispute use goodwill and the good offices of the Centre. Rather than entrusting security to paramilitary forces, one confidence-building measure could be to deploy State police without arms wherever possible. It would be a signal that all States are committed to resolving their disputes peacefully. For the moment, Tuesday’s agreement is a moment to savour.
