With a fresh clash reported from the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday appealed to both sides to maintain peace and said no boundary can divide the hearts of the people who have been living like brothers and sisters for generations.
GUWAHATI — With a fresh clash reported from the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday appealed to both sides to maintain peace and said no boundary can divide the hearts of the people who have been living like brothers and sisters for generations.
A fresh clash erupted between protesters from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in Dhemaji district, forcing the police from the neighbouring state to fire in the air to control the mob even as the indefinite economic blockade against the Himalayan state entered its second day.
"I appeal to the people of Assam and Arunachal to maintain peace and harmony. Boundaries may define our States, but they can never divide our hearts," Sarma said in a post on X.
Tagging his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Assam CM said that the two Northeastern states share a bond that goes far beyond boundaries.
"For generations, our people have lived as brothers and sisters, bound by love, affection and mutual respect," he added.
Sarma stressed that the two states have resolved most of their border differences through dialogue and friendship in recent years.
"Only 52 villages remain, and both governments will continue discussions in the same spirit to resolve the dispute completely," he added.
Arunachal Pradesh was a centrally-administered region initially after Independence and became a Union Territory later, before attaining full statehood in 1987.
After Arunachal Pradesh achieved statehood, a tripartite committee was appointed, which recommended transferring certain territories from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh. Assam contested this, and the matter is in the Supreme Court.
Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share a 804.1-km border in Udalguri, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Charaideo districts, and 12 of the adjoining state.
There are 1,200 points of dispute along the inter-state border between the two states.
The Assam government on July 29 told the state Assembly that Arunachal Pradesh has encroached upon 16,144.01 hectares of land. Out of this encroached land, Arunachal Pradesh is claiming 858.91 sq km.
Both the states have constituted 12 regional committees to resolve the border disputes, and are taking steps to resolve these issues based on recommendations of these committees, which have jointly toured the areas and held consultations with stakeholders.
A Namsai Declaration was signed by the chief ministers of the two states on July 15, 2022, setting in motion measures to resolve differences in 123 villages of Assam claimed by Arunachal Pradesh.
An MoU in this regard was later signed by the two CMs in the presence of the Union Home minister in the national capital on April 20, 2023.
Out of the 123 villages claimed by Arunachal Pradesh, the differences in 71 villages have been resolved, and the process is on to address the issues in the remaining 52 villages.