Assam to deploy 4,000 commandos after border clash with Mizoram
Mizoram says the area claimed by Assam has been used by its people for more than 100 years, but the Assamese insist that a large chunk of their land has been seized
India’s Assam state said Tuesday it will deploy 4,000 commandos to guard its border with a rival state after six police officers were killed in a gunbattle between the feuding neighbours, reports news agency AFP.
More than 60 others were injured in the rare showdown Monday on Assam’s border with Mizoram. The two have been wrangling over their border for decades.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told newspersons at Silchar, near where the battle was fought, that the “new commando battalion” would be deployed on the border.
Tensions had been building between the two states since last month when Mizoram alleged that Assam had encroached on its territory.
Assam in turn accused Mizoram villagers of encroaching instead on reserve forest land.
Federal Home Minister Amit Shah has sought to defuse the row but a solution to the long-standing dispute did not appear imminent.
Sarma, who belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said his government will petition the Supreme Court to ensure “not an inch of reserve forest is encroached upon”.
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who uses only one name, has accused Assam police of firing the first shots on Monday.
Zoramthanga heads the Mizo National Front, an ally of the national ruling alliance led by BJP.
He said Assam police had forcibly taken over a border post and assaulted unarmed civilians.
The ministers have staged rival social media campaigns, sharing videos showing civilians armed with batons clashing with police and other violence.
Mizoram was a part of Assam until 1972 when it was split up. It became a state in its own right in 1986.
Mizoram says the area claimed by Assam has been used by its people for more than 100 years, but the Assamese insist that a large chunk of their land has been seized.
The far-flung and resource-rich northeastern region has been a hotbed of ethnic tensions since India’s independence in 1947.
Borders between the seven states in the region are not clearly demarcated and there are regular disputes over land and assets. Deadly confrontations such as Monday’s are rare, however.
In view of the death of six people in the border clash with neighbouring Mizoram, the Assam government on Tuesday declared state mourning for three days, reports Indian news agency ANI.
Assam government announced 3-day state mourning as a mark of respect to the five police personnel and one civilian who lost their lives in the Assam-Mizoram border clashes on Monday.
“The state government of Assam expresses its profound sorrow at the sad demise of five of Assam Police personnel and one civilian at Lailapur of Cachar district while defending the borders of Assam on 26 July 2021. As a mark of respect to the departed souls, the Government of Assam has declared state mourning for three days with effect from 27 July. During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast where it is regularly flown and there will be no public entertainment during this period,” read the state government order.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday paid floral tributes to the policemen who were killed in the Assam-Mizoram border clashes that took place on Monday.
After visiting the injured Assam Police personnel at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital today, the Chief Minister paid a floral tribute to the fallen men.
“We are deeply anguished by the loss of lives of our brave @assampolice personnel. I visited Silchar SP Office and paid floral tributes to the five martyrs and salute their sacrifice,” Biswa Sarma tweeted.
On Monday, the border dispute between Assam-Mizoram has resulted in the death of five Assam police personnel and one civilian and more than 50 injured in this incident.
In view of border tensions with Mizoram, the Assam government on Monday urged the neighbouring state to restrain its “people and Police personnel” from indulging in “wanton violence” and work towards restoring peace.
“It is with a heavy heart that we are constrained to note that what is being termed by the Mizoram side as an intrusion and aggression by Assam has left five Assam Police personnel confirmed dead (six as per initial reports, which is being confirmed) and more than 50 injured, including SP Cachar Vaibhav Nimbalkar, who has a bullet embedded in his leg and is in the ICU,” said the Assam government.