AIUDF Chief Ajmal meets Amit Shah, submits memorandum on Assam-Mizoram border conflict

AIUDF Chief Badruddin Ajmal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital on Wednesday. He sought Shah’s early intervention to resolve the Assam-Mizoram border conflict and also submitted a memorandum.

Taking it to the micro blogging website, Ajmal tweeted, “Today I have met Amit Shah and Sonai MLA Karim Uddin Barbhuiya regarding the recent Assam-Mizoram border conflict. We submitted a memorandum explaining the historical background of the Assam-Mizoram border from the British era and how there has been a clearly demarcated boundary line till the Mizo people with active support from the state administration invaded the area of Assam.”

“We have demanded an early intervention of Home Ministry for the peaceful retreat of Mizo administration in order to maintain peace and tranquillity of inter-state border and to assure that there will not be any violent attack from the Mizo side the way it has been done recently in which six Assam Police personnel were killed,” he tweeted.

Writing about the border history of both the states, in his memorandum to the union minister, he said that the country witnessed a dangerous conflagration in the Assam-Mizoram border. A simmering conflict took an aggravated form due to unprovoked act of aggression from Mizoram side, who through their act broke the status quo in border areas.

“While doing so they have completely overlooked the historical background qua boundaries between these two states. Through military expedition in 1871 and 1889, the entire Lushai Hills was annexed to the British India,” Ajmal noted.

However, before the annexation of Lushai Hills by the British, by a notification issued under B.E.F.R. 1873, Lushai Hills tracts were differentiated from Cachar District by creation of an Inner Line Reserve Forest and were naturally kept at the administration control of the D.F.O, Cachar. But since as on 20 August 1887, there was no administrative control of Deputy Commissioner in Cachar. In 1874, the office of Superintendent of Cachar was abolished and DC post created for Cachar came under administrative control of Chief Commissioner of Assam.

Thereafter in 1933, the Government of India by virtue of powers granted under the B.E.F.R. Act, notified to draw a line of demarcation between Lushai Hills and Manipur beginning at the tri-junction of Lushai Hills, Cachar District and Manipur, the memorandum said.

“The Inner Line Reserve Forest bordering Cachar and Mizoram, till date continues to be administered by the D.F.O., Assam. While on the western side of the Reserve Forest in the Cachar plains areas and on the eastern side of the Reserve Forest, hill tracts of the Lushai begins,” Maulana Badruddin Ajmal wrote.

By 1933 notification, the British government while demarcarting administrative boundaries between Manipur, Cachar and Lushai Hills finally clarified the administration LOC of the respective state.

According to the Govt of Mizoram after the creation of the state, accepting the 1933 notification established it’s administrative chcek gate for issuance of Inner Line passes for non Mizos entering the state at border called Vairengte, which literally means a place where Mizo and non Mizos meet. Now the Mizoram govt unilaterally changed that position by shifting the Check gate 6 to 7 kms inside Assam.

Maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas it is incumbent upon the authorities of both the state to accept the boundary demarcated and accepted since 1933. “It is however said that the authentication of Mizoram by refusing to accept the settled postion has started as aggression on 26 July 2021 which resulted in unfortunate incident of killing of 6 police personnel of Assam. This is the present situation in the border which is an result of unapproved action of the Mizoram authorities,” Ajmal said.

Urging for peace and tranquility in the region and good relations with the neighbouring state, the AIUDF Chief said, they are for a peaceful resolution of the border dispute and it will only be possible if the authorities of both the states refrain from making any kind of aggression. “In these circumstances, it is of utmost importance that the authorities of the Mizoram government takes back the inner line check gate from the present place to its original position at Vairengte till the dispute is finally resolved,” he added.

On Monday Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in Delhi to discuss the Assam-Mizoram border dispute, days after the conflict between the two states resulted in a violent clash killing six Assam police personnel and one civilian in a fierce gun battle.

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