The recent initiative taken up by the chief ministers of some states in the Northeast India to resolve the long-standing boundary dispute was encouraging; a positive move towards economic and social development in the region. However, just a few days after the chief ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh met in Guwahati with the aim to settle the border row permanently and decided to conduct a ground-level survey on boundary status, fresh tension flared up along the border of the two states over road construction on Thursday, after a contractor reportedly fired in the air when villagers from Assam obstructed construction work. This unfortunate incident was a result of people taking the law into their own hands, which is not uncommon in the region. Many precious lives have been lost in the past because of such unlawful acts and it has to be stopped once and for all for the betterment of everyone. People should respect the law of the land and report any suspicious activities to the authorities. Disregard for the law will result in tension, conflict, anarchy, loss of lives and harm the cordial relationships between the states and its people.
The law and order situation in the landlocked Northeast, which has been ragged by insurgency-related violence for decades, has improved significantly over the years. The student bodies and civil society organisations in the region often come together to fight for common issues and even lend support when a person from the region faces discrimination. There is emotional connection among the people because of various reasons including geographical location and common problems like lack of infrastructure. In the meantime, the existence of uneasy calm between several states over border rows is undeniable. Assam alone has border disputes with its neighbouring states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. While the conflict could be blamed chiefly on demarcation of boundary when the new states were created, leaving it unresolved for decades is unfortunate. The government of India should intervene on this matter which has been plaguing the region for years. The state governments too should come forward with an open mind and be willing to address the anomalies by applying give-and-take policy. In this regard, the chief ministers of the five states with border disputes have taken the right move by engaging in dialogue to solve the problem, including out-of-court settlement. The people of the region should join hands in this effort as well. It’s a fact that the north-eastern states are lagging behind their counterparts in various fields, especially infrastructure. Not only is the region landlocked but the states and its smaller components are also locked due to poor transport and communication infrastructure which are imperatives for alleviation of poverty. These barriers, often compounded by border disputes and landownership issues, are major impediments to economic and social growth in the region. The sooner these barriers are cleared, the better.