- Any keen observers of the current affairs within the country would have been invested in the way two houses of Parliament in the ongoing monsoon session is getting disrupted by the opposition parties. Of course, there is pandemic-related news, and the ongoing Olympics too would be attracting considerable attention from the followers. Apart from the mentioned, certain mundane matters related to the field of cinema, cricket, and other political narratives would usually hog the limelight too. Amid all this, many concerned citizens would have also noticed the extraordinary and frightening spectacle of police forces of two states of the Union of India training guns on each other causing deaths and injuries recently.
PC: India Today Web Desk
- You are bound to feel baffled and equally agitated as to why two states of the nation would train arms and ammunition against the police forces as happened between Assam and Mizoram the other day. The situation that panned out between the two forces is not only unprecedented but also raises pertinent questions as to what is happening within the hallowed portals of federalism that we as a nation are so proud of brandishing all the time. Assam police losing six personnel and several others getting injured is a serious cause of concern. Looked from any angle, some elements of this dispute seem as ugly as one between two aggressive countries. The exchange of fire between the two states of the Republic is simply unacceptable.
- The narrative emanating from both sides is not amusing at all. Assam says Mizoram police fired on its cops with light machine guns. Mizoram, on the other hand, counters Assam police overran a police duty post in its territory. Understandably, the origins of this particular fight seem to lie in claims over roads and forest land. And amazingly, what did the Union Home Ministry do when the issue was spiraling out of control. The Ministry asked the two warring states to settle the issue peacefully between themselves rather than offer some tangible and acceptable political solution. The Centre assuming that business-as-usual approaches to long-simmering inter-state conflicts will only vitiate the atmosphere.
PC: Utpal Parashar
- It is well known that the entire Northeast region is extremely sensitive and as such, New Delhi simply cannot afford these ugly flashpoints to get worse. The above instance is just the latest in a series of inter-state border issues between Assam and its neighboring Northeast states. Mind you, Beijing will be watching the entire unfurling of the skirmishes with gay abandon. Note that at the heart of these disputes is not just discrepancies between constitutionally set boundaries and those perceived to be historical boundaries. Economic competition for land, engendered by lack of non-farm jobs across NE is the primary cause. No wonder, lakhs of migrant workers from the Northeast move out in search of greener pastures to other parts of the country, including Assam.
- Even though the present union government has largely focused on strengthening the overall development of the Northeast region through several central schemes, it is evident that their ability to attract job-creating investment is still far away. Apart from job generation, a time-bound court-monitored commission involving local communities in joint demarcation exercises should be announced forthwith. The ruling dispensation at the Centre can also breathe easy by hoping to impress upon many NDA governments in the Northeast to amicably settle for inter-state border disputes without running foul at the first hurdle itself. Move ahead decisively, and now!
