The Mizoram government has proposed to hold official-level discussions with Assam in early April to address the long-standing border dispute between the two northeastern states, officials said on Monday.
A senior Mizoram government official stated that they have suggested holding the talks in Guwahati in the first or second week of April. The meeting aims to resolve disputes along the 164.6 km-long shared border between Mizoram and Assam.
“The proposed official-level meeting is crucial to sort out technical and contentious issues before engaging in ministerial-level structured discussions,” the official added.
Ministerial discussions between the two states took place in Aizawl on August 9, 2024, where both governments reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability along the disputed border. However, the fourth round of ministerial talks in August last year did not yield significant progress due to the lack of prior groundwork.
“The previous ministerial-level discussion could not achieve much because official-level talks were not held beforehand. Before the fifth round of ministerial talks, groundwork at the official level is necessary to make meaningful progress,” the official emphasized.
The last ministerial meeting, held after a 21-month gap, was the first since the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), led by Chief Minister Lalduhoma, came to power in Mizoram in 2023. After the August 9 meeting, Assam Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora described the discussions as positive, stating that both states were committed to resolving the dispute amicably.
Mizoram Home Minister K Sapdanga, who led the state’s delegation, also expressed optimism, saying they were hopeful of settling the border dispute.
As per the third ministerial meeting held in Guwahati in November 2022, Mizoram had already submitted a list of 62 border villages located within its territory to the Assam government.
The boundary conflict involves Mizoram’s Aizawl, Kolasib, and Mamit districts, which share a border with Assam’s Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi districts. The border dispute has been ongoing since 1972 when Mizoram became a Union Territory, and the boundary was vaguely defined under the North-East Areas Reorganisation Act, 1971, without proper demarcation.
Tensions escalated on July 26, 2021, when police forces from both states exchanged fire near Vairengte village on National Highway 306, resulting in the deaths of six Assam Police personnel and several injuries.
Mizoram claims that 509 square miles of the reserved forest, notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) 1873, belong to its territory. Assam, however, considers the border based on a 1933 Survey of India map as its official boundary.
With the upcoming talks in April, both states are looking to establish a structured dialogue to bring an end to the decades-old territorial dispute.
