Border row: Mizoram sends 3rd letter to Assam, urges immediate talks

Aizawl, Feb 20: The Mizoram Home Department has sent a third letter to its Assam counterpart, calling for prompt action to hold official-level talks in Guwahati before the upcoming fifth round of ministerial negotiations on the long-standing border dispute, a senior Home Department official said on Wednesday.

The official stated that Mizoram is keen on finalising the modalities for ministerial discussions through prior official-level deliberations.

"We believe that setting the groundwork at the official level will ensure a more productive ministerial dialogue, facilitating a smoother path toward resolving the border dispute," the official said.

Despite repeated queries from Mizoram regarding the next round of talks and additional clarifications, Assam is yet to respond, the official added. The delay comes despite an agreement reached on August 9, 2024, when both states pledged to maintain peace along the interstate border and commence fresh negotiations before January 31, 2025.

The last meeting, held in Aizawl, was attended by Mizoram Home Minister K Sapdanga and Assam's Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora.

The Assam-Mizoram border dispute originates from conflicting colonial-era demarcations—one from 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), which Mizoram considers legitimate, and another from 1933, which Assam follows.

Mizoram asserts that 509 square miles of the Inner Line Reserved Forest (ILRF), as per the 1875 notification, rightfully belong to it, whereas Assam adheres to the 1933 boundary drawn by the Survey of India. As a result, both states lay claim to overlapping areas, with no ground demarcation conducted to date.

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