Shillong MP Ricky AJ Syngkon has called attention yet again in parliament to the Assam-Meghalaya border conflict at Langpih in West Khasi Hills. On this side of the border too it is the residents of Meghalaya who have faced the bullets in the same manner that five men were shot to death at Mukroh West Jaintia Hills in 2022 on allegations that they trespassed into Assam territory and were indulging in illegal timber transportation from Assam towards Meghalaya. That case has remained in limbo despite being ostensibly investigated by the CBI. The Meghalaya Government is yet to strengthen its border outpost at Mukroh even while Assam Police has a well -entrenched set-up and a no-nonsense police team guarding the inter-state border there.
Perhaps it is the provocative nature of the Assam Police which led to the July 2021 outburst at the Mizoram-Assam border where “miscreants” shot and killed six Assam Police personnel and injured 65 others who included civilians residing along the border. When that happened Assam went into a hyperbolic mode and raised a storm seeking the central government’s intervention. Union Home Minister, Amit Shah was quick to respond and call for restraint. Not much is heard from the same Home Minister when people were killed at Mukroh by Assam Police. What’s evident are the double standards of the central government to act with haste when it comes to BJP-ruled states but to ignore states ruled by its allies.
The border problems between Assam and Meghalaya have become a playbook for electoral gains. Each state makes an election issue out of the miseries of people living precariously at the borders and even having to harvest their crops under police protection. The MDA-1 government gave hopes that it was serious about resolving the matter with the central government as the referee but that is all for public display. Earlier the talks were held somewhat frequently but now there has been a long and lingering silence on the matter even as those living along the Assam-Meghalaya border whether in West Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi or Jaintia Hills are living lives of quiet desperation. A case in point is that of Mukroh where five men, who their family members claim were going to harvest their farm products, were mercilessly gunned down by Assam Police without giving them time to surrender. Did those men coming from impoverished homes indulged in some crime? What was the crime? Do police have ‘shoot to kill’ orders at the borders? What if Meghalaya Police did the same to encroachers in Langpih, West Khasi Hills or the borders with Karbi Anglong in Ri Bhoi district? One thing that stands out is that the Assam Police are trigger happy while on the Meghalaya side it would appear that the police are more on the defensive. It is doubtful if Meghalaya Police would shoot anyone even if the person were to trespass inside Meghalaya. The question is will there ever be a solution to the border disputes? If not, why not? Are there no maps to establish the designated territories of each state? Why make the border dispute an ongoing drama?
