Bhupen Goswami
Guwahati: Home Minister Amit Shah today announced that the 700-km-long Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border dispute has ended. The border dispute between the two states, pending since 1972, has been resolved by both the states. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu signed the agreement in the presence of the Home Minister. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and senior officials from the Centre and both the states were present on the occasion. The governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday signed an agreement in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to end the over five-decade-old border dispute between the two states, Home Minister Amit Shah said today. With this, the problem of 123 villages located on the border of the two northeastern states has also been resolved.Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share an 804.1-km-long border and the border dispute between the two states has been going on since Arunachal Pradesh was declared a Union Territory in 1972. Shah said at a time when the country is celebrating 75 years of Independence, the dispute over 123 villages located on the inter-state border of the two states has now ended forever. Shah said the “amicable” settlement of the long-standing border dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh was a “historic” development for the two states. Shah expressed hope that an end to this age-old border dispute, which has been going on since 1972, will bring all-round development and peace in the northeastern states. The Union minister said it was a big moment for the entire northeastern region which has been witnessing all-round development since the Narendra Modi-led government came to power in 2014. The Home Minister said Modi has been actively promoting languages, literature and culture of the Northeast and the recent record-breaking performance of ‘Bihu Dance’ is a shining example of this.He said the report of a local commission on the border dispute had been wandering here and there for decades, which has now been accepted by both the states. Amit Shah said that today’s agreement will prove to be a milestone towards realizing Modi’s dream of a developed, peaceful and conflict-free Northeast. Shah said that since 2018, the central government has signed several treaties/agreements, such as… Peace has been established with bru tribals, nlft militant groups and residents of Karbi Anglong in Assam and by ending violence from the Northeast. He said that compared to 2014, there has been a 67 per cent decrease in incidents of violence in the Northeast, 60 per cent in the deaths of security forces personnel and 83 per cent in the deaths of civilians, which is a big achievement. The Home Minister said the Modi government has withdrawn AFSPA from many places in the Northeast. “70 per cent of the AFSPA has been completely withdrawn from 70 per cent of Assam, 15 police stations in six districts of Manipur, all districts except three in Arunachal, seven districts in Nagaland and Tripura and Meghalaya,” he said. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described the signing of the accord as historic and said it will usher in peace and prosperity. He said that after 51 years, India’s oldest inter-state border has reached its conclusion and this has been possible due to the blessings of the Prime Minister, the guidance of the Union Home Minister and the tireless cooperation of the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. Sarma said today’s agreement with Arunachal Pradesh is in line with the efforts made with Meghalaya in the last two years. This will increase the spirit of brotherhood in the Northeast and strengthen our federal structure as it has brought in a new way of resolving disputes between states. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu described the end of the border dispute as “extremely important and historic” and expressed confidence that it will bring a big change in peace and development in the two states.
