Dr. K. Ranju PhD, CHRBP
The recent disputes between Assam and Mizoram is not new. Rather it has historical roots of 150 years…..
The northeast of India — a territory bounded by Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Tibet and connected to the rest of the nation by a thin land corridor – has been a hotspot of ethnic conflicts for decades, and the borders between its seven states are hazy. Following India’s independence in 1947, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh were formed out of Assam, with Mizoram first proclaimed a federal territory in 1972 and raised to a state in 1987. Kolasib, Mamit, and Aizawl — three Mizoram districts – share a 165-kilometer (101-mile). Boundary disputes can occur as a result of historical and varied cultural claims, with factors such as race, ethnic origin, language, and religion all playing a part. Nobody can deny that a conflict zone – defined by international or interstate territorial disputes – is a frequent site of violence, infractions, and a plethora of complaints. The Mizos have lived in this reality in the Assam-Mizoram border regions for several decades. They are always on alert and live in utter uncertainty as a result of the unresolved border dispute; their everyday lives are constantly threatened by a series of occurrences, many of them violent and unfriendly.
Long standing territorial Disputes
Sandwiched between Myanmar to the east and south and Bangladesh to the west, Mizoram, the songbird of the northeast, is an enticing state adorned with breath-taking vistas and rich cultural institutions. Mizoram’s cultural border is reflected in that it is based mostly on the tribal groups who occupy this attractive state, referred to as the Mizos. Known as the country of numerous tribes and races of people coexisting peacefully, the various tribes and villages here each have their own distinct characteristics. RevLiangkhaia, a priest and Mizo historian, asserts in his book Mizo Chanchin – the first written historical history of the Mizo – that the Mizo people moved from China to western Myanmar approximately 750 AD. They eventually began moving into modern-day Mizoram around the fourth decade of the 16th century. By the third decade of the eighteenth century, the majority of Mizos and their clans had fully relocated to their current site. Mizo people were influenced by British missionaries throughout the nineteenth century, when the British Raj subjugated the chieftainship under its rule, which was eventually repealed in 1954 by the Assam-Lushai District (Acquisition of Chief’s Rights) Act. By 2011, Christian missionaries had facilitated the spread of education, resulting in a high literacy rate of 91.58 percent, the second highest in India. Almost all Mizos became Christians, and the majority of them continue to be such to this day. Following India’s independence, a separatist movement inside the Union campaigned for accession to Myanmar, with which they shared historical, ethnic, and linguistic links and linguistic underpinnings. India’s split in 1947, its separation from Myanmar in 1937, and the government’s administrative expansion over the Indian half of the region all impeded people’s freedom of travel. Numerous Mizo, incensed by the restrictions, refused to recognise the new territorial boundaries.
Assam-Mizoram Conflict
Assam is a state in northeast India that is known for its fertile river basins surrounded by mountains and hills. Tibet is accessible from Assam via the Patkai, whereas Burma is accessible by the ArakanYoma. Historically, these passes were used as a means of transit for people travelling from Tibet, Southeastern China, and Myanmar. The Brahmaputra and Barak valleys extend westward to the Gangetic plains. All of these entry sites were leveraged in the process of populating Assam. Eleven important waves and streams of ethnolinguistic migration went through these areas over time, according to estimations. In 1901, the British compelled Muslim peasants from Mymensingh, Bangladesh (Wave 10) to relocate to Assam in order to increase land productivity. These Muslims are referred to as Miya. Census data has long been a cause of dispute in Assam politics, instilling fear among the state’s residents that “unabated infiltration” from Bangladesh threatens their cultural identity. Muslims are said to have increased from 24.68 percent of the state’s population in 1951 to 28.43 percent in 1991 and 34.22 percent in 2011.
The Assam-Mizoram boundary dispute dates back more than 150 years. While many confrontations between various states in the Northeast have occurred over inter-state issues, the Assam-Mizoram rivalry has seldom escalated into violence. Despite this, it escalated to unprecedented proportions, culminating in the death of at least six Assam police officers and the injury of more than 50 others in a shootout on the interstate line. Days after Assam and Mizoram clashed at Lailapur, Cachar district, on the Assam-Mizoram border, the Assam government issued travel advisories banning people from entering Mizoram. It was comparable to the travel warning issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 23rd May 2016, which advised Indian citizens not to go to Libya due to security concerns and risks to the lives of Indian nationals in Libya. Numerous accusations and counter-claims have been made on social media by members of the general public, prominent politicians, state officials, and even former GoMbureaucrat, with the overwhelming majority claiming that the Mizos caused the disruptions. Mizoram expresses its deepest sympathy to the deceased’s family and the Assamese community. Mizos mourn the unjustified loss of important lives. At the same time, their deaths could have been averted if the Assam Government had refrained from invading another state’s territory or, at the very least, from engaging a large contingent if they intended to negotiate, as they subsequently claimed. Contrary to what some unscrupulous news networks have claimed, nobody in Mizoram applauds the cops’ murders. It should be recognised and included as a self-defense strategy to convince the Assam Police to leave and recapture the Mizoram border post, or in anticipation of possible Assam police firing, as has historically happened. On the other hand, the majority of Mizoram people heard about the catastrophe the next day, indicating that it was not planned in advance but rather a last resort to preserve lives and property.
The conflict is centred on an unresolved border issue between Assam and Mizoram — a 164.6-kilometre-long interstate boundary. Three districts share this border in South Assam — Cachar, Hailakandi, and Karimganj — and three districts in Mizoram — Kolasib, Mamit, and Aizawl. Mizoram’s claim to the region is based on an 1875 notification issued according to the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act of 1873. The British imposed restrictions on foreigners’ entry and stay in certain areas, requiring Indian nationals from other states to get an Inner Line Permit (ILP) in order to visit or remain. The Act divided the North East’s hills from the plains and valleys, prohibiting free travel between the two zones. The hills were classified as “reserved zones,” and Assam claims possession based on a 1933 state government notification that divided the Lushai Hills, formerly known as Mizoram. The boundary line established upon the purchase of the Lushai Hills in 1904 was altered in 1912 and again in 1930. Finally, following successive Assam government modifications, the border between Cachar (Assam) and Mizoram was created in accordance with a 1933 government notice, which the Assam government still adheres to today. According to officials and residents in Assam, Mizos have been squatting in regions 1-3 kilometres from the inter-State boundary. On the other hand, Mizoram claims that the authorities in Assam have been employing “illegal Bangladeshis” to traverse 10-12 kilometres into their jurisdiction. Mizoram politicians have previously maintained that the boundary declared in 1933 was unjust since Mizo society was not consulted.
The Issue of NRC
Assam was forced to establish The National Register of Citizens (NRC) to differentiate between genuine Indians and refugees or unlawful migrants. The NRC was initially published in 1951 but was not updated by successive Assam governments for political reasons. Around 3.29 crore petitions for inclusion in the NRC were submitted, of which 40 lakh were deemed ineligible. This list includes 2.48 lakh “doubtful” voters and those submitted to the foreigner’s tribunal. However, politics has been played on the issue, and intense arguments between the leaders of the government and opposition parties continue, even in Parliament. What is being overlooked in this spat is that the entire saga of inspection began with the Assam Accord, which Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress administration signed with Assam’s students in 1985 to identify the state’s Bangladeshis. Despite this, successive Congress governments in Assam have refused to execute the pact out of fear of a reaction from the vote-bank. Additionally, it must be remembered that this exercise is not directed against any particular community, but rather against aliens who are not Indians but have falsely manipulated their stay in this country as Indians and are receiving all benefits, thereby depriving a genuine Indian of his or her rights. These illegal migrants dance to politicians’ tunes and employ them as human shields in fights with other citizens to earn a living.
Interstate boundaries
District boundaries created on a 1 cm:1 km scale by cartographers became interstate boundaries for what were formerly mountainous and isolated districts of a vast state. Occasionally, the lines were drawn over a hill, and occasionally across a forest, on maps that did not specify whether the hill slope or forest area was in Assam or its new neighbouring state. This created considerable difficulty for administrators on the ground, since the line frequently ran counter to a tribe’s idea of its customary hunting, grazing, or jhum (shifting) agricultural areas. The real difficulties begin with these delineations made by cartographers who have never seen the ground reality. Mizoram historians assert that these woodland regions were used by Mizo tribes for hunting and that people on both sides of the border have coexisted happily for centuries. These confrontations are a very new occurrence, which may indicate political reasons. However, the people of Assam accuse Mizoram’s civil society organisations of inciting conflicts in order to maintain political relevance. Mizoram, on the other side, alleged that huge swaths of land encroached upon by Assam are within Mizoram’s constitutional boundaries and have been utilised by the Mizo people for more than a century.
During the ongoing Assam-Mizoram border conflict, a politician from Assam’s Cachar district was seen instigating Assamese people to succeed in their economic blockade of Mizoram, triggering the Mizo people to starve to death. Such inflammatory comments encouraging poor illegal migrant-dominated border village Lalipur have far-reaching consequences. It should be emphasised that even hostile countries allow medical supplies to cross combat lines during a crisis. Such economic blockades were not unfamiliar to Mizos, who had previously borne them with little or no effort by the central government to overturn them. The implementation of such an economic blockade will force famished people to seek help from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh. This is an embarrassment to the rest of the Indian community, and the federal government should recognise it.
International Bangladeshi Migrants
On virtually every flight from Dhaka’s ShahJalal International Airport, you will see uniformed, wide-eyed, nervous young men and women lined up with their bags for their first trip outside Bangladesh. Around the airport, children cling to their fathers, women cry, and occasionally entire towns come to see off their relatives. Visiting a new nation without a return ticket is scary. This year’s migration added to the 9 million Bangladeshis already residing overseas, many since the 1970s. However, more than half of Bangladeshi migrant labourers are categorised as unskilled. Desperation to escape poverty might confuse crucial understanding and judgement of employing reputable services and secure migration pathways.
Due to a lack of education and knowledge, Bangladeshi migrant workers are generally unaware of their rights and duties. As a result, people are susceptible to having their rights violated. This is true, to a greater or lesser extent, for all migrant workers, who are exploited in a variety of ways, including denial of actual remuneration, physical and mental torture, coercion into work against their will, failure to provide adequate food, housing, and medical care, and sexual assault (female workers). In contrast, an exploitation-free migration system is crossing India’s permeable borders, which may significantly benefit migrant workers by providing a more reasonable standard of living than they would have in their native country.
Issues of Illegal Migrants
According to reports, Indian identification cards and voter cards are sold in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, just before illegal immigrants enter India across the border near Silchar. Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri, Guwahati, Sonitpur, Silchar, Goalpara, Dhubri, and Karimganj are the worst-affected places in Assam in this respect. The highest infiltration occurred in these places, where the Bangladeshis seized land belonging to both the indigenous people and the government. The tragedy of the issue is that, despite Bangladesh’s tiny size, they have been attempting to repatriate Rohingyas living on its territory to Myanmar, but we have been unable to repatriate even ten Bangladeshis from the crores who came here after 25 March 1971. According to the UN report, India was home to 3.2 million Bangladeshi residents in 2013. Assam continues to be afflicted by the influx of Bangladeshis, which is no longer merely a demographic issue but also a significant political one. These influxes are concentrated along Assam’s Cachar district.
Economic factors have been the primary motivation for illegal migration from Assam. Bangladesh has the world’s highest population density, with 969 people per square kilometre. That country’s population is rising at a pace of 2.2 per cent, or 2.8 million people each year. Each year, floods inundate roughly one-third of Bangladesh, displacing over 19 million people. 70% of the population, or 70 million people, live in poverty. Bangladesh’s annual per capita income is 170 dollars, significantly less than India’s annual per capita income. India-Bangladesh border is quite porous. Under these circumstances, ongoing large-scale population migration from Bangladesh to India is unavoidable unless effective countermeasures are implemented.
Apart from the preceding, there are additional reasons that facilitate infiltration from Bangladesh. The illegal migrants and many individuals on our side of the border have ethnic, linguistic, and religious affinities, which permits them to seek refuge. This complicates their detection. Certain political parties have encouraged and even assisted illegal migration to create vote banks. These immigrants are hardworking and willing to work as inexpensive labour and domestic help for less money than the indigenous population. This renders them palatable.
Additionally, because corruption is prevalent, corrupt authorities are bribed to offer assistance. Although there is no proof that Bangladeshi authorities organised population movement, they have made no attempt to prohibit it and may even welcome it to alleviate their population crisis. As a result, there is currently an attempt to conceal this trend. There has been no census conducted to ascertain the number of these illegal migrants. Although precise and accurate numbers are unavailable, their number is estimated to be in the millions based on estimations, extrapolations, and different indications.
When looking at the people in Assam’s border areas, one wonders if one is in Assam or Bangladesh. The dangers of large-scale illegal Bangladeshi migration to Assam, particularly the NE states and our country, must be emphasised. No misguided secularism should stand in the way of this. As a result of Bangladeshi migration, the indigenous people of Assam may become a minority in their state, and areas may be illegally encroached upon. Assamese people and adjacent states’ cultural survival is at risk, as is political control and job possibilities. This stealthy and invidious population invasion may result in the loss of Lower Assam’s essential areas. The inflow of undocumented migrants has turned the border districts into a Muslim majority region. It will only be a matter of time when a demand for their merger with Bangladesh may be made. The rise of global Islamic fanaticism may be fuelling this desire. In this context, it is pertinent that Bangladesh has long discarded secularism and has chosen to become an Islamic State. Loss of Lower Assam and territorial expansion towards the NE. States will separate the North East from the rest of India, denying the nation access to the region’s vast riches.
Consequences, precautions and looking ahead
It is critical to highlight that most of the NE states were carved out of Assam hastily, with little regard for tribal realities on the ground and with newly established state boundaries that did not precisely adhere to the region’s ethnic boundaries. Regrettably, the Central government did not provide a framework for these states to resolve these problems cooperatively and instead left these border disputes to be resolved at a later period. Later on, these concerned governments attempted to address their border issues through bilateral discussions, but these failed, and third-party involvement was sought to resolve the situation. The Centre took the initiative to assist a just resolution of the Northeast’s festering border dispute. It can do so by convincing the concerned governments to sit down and negotiate a settlement or by convening a border commission whose findings are binding on all parties. Needless to say, resolving these border disputes expeditiously has become essential in light of the Central government’s increasing emphasis on the Northeast’s overall development. This objective can only be accomplished by eradicating conflict and fostering greater collaboration among these governments in order to usher in a new age of peace and prosperity in the region. The Constitution has tools for dealing with such issues. If a conflict resolution engagement is successful, it must be supplemented by judicial wisdom and, most crucially, public representation. Domestic fires must be extinguished at a time when India’s international border with a massive neighbour — China — is raging.
Dr. K. Ranju* works for the Qatar Government as a Consultant and Expert on SE Asian Migrant Labor Issues. He also possesses a PhD in the same field. He was born and nurtured in Mizoram’s Hnahthial township (now a district) on the Indo-Myanmar border, where his father worked as a teacher for more than three decades. He is well-versed in Mizo culture and customs.