The border disputes between Assam and Meghalaya should have been sorted out in 1971 when North Eastern States (Reorganisation) Act, 1971 was crafted to deal with all issues related to the creation of new states and union territories carved out of the State of Assam. The preamble for the formation of the State of Meghalaya reads, “On and from the appointed day there shall be formed a new State, to be known as the State of Meghalaya, comprising— (a) the territories which immediately before that day were comprised in the autonomous State of Meghalaya formed under section 3 of the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act, 1969 (55 of 1969); and (b) so much of the territories comprised within the cantonment and municipality of Shillong as did not form part of that autonomous State, and thereupon the said territories shall cease to form part of the existing State of Assam.”
The contours of the borders and of its residents have changed considerably in the past 49 years. And it is to Meghalaya’s discredit that its political leaders turned the issue into a political football that comes alive just before the elections and is forgotten thereafter. Whenever some pious noises were made by members of the Opposition in the Assembly, there would be bureaucratic level talks which ended in more papers being added to files. This is, in fact, the first time that a Chief Minister from Meghalaya has taken it upon himself to discuss the matter upfront with his counterpart the Chief Minister of Assam in what appears to be a serious attempt to resolve the border disputes. The formation of regional committees for each of the areas of dispute headed by MLAs of those areas has also brought a certain clarity and removed the obfuscation. By talking to the residents along the border who are at the receiving end of the conflicts and asking them to opt whether they wish to remain with Meghalaya or Assam a lot of the irritants are ironed out. At the end of the day the border residents have to co-exist peacefully.
Those who have held the reins of governance in Meghalaya should have the grace to admit that the border areas with Assam have been woefully neglected even while the neighbouring state has been more generous in its treatment of the border residents. These are lessons to be learnt. Turning serious issues into political slugfests is the work of insecure men who are elected to rule the state but whose insidious intent is to retain power at all costs. The slip is showing, albeit a little late in the day.
