At least five Assam Police personnel were killed and 50 others were injured as Assam and Mizoram policemen allegedly fired at each other on Monday in a sudden escalation of a border dispute between the two North-eastern states of India.
Here is your 5-point explainer to understand the Assam-Mizoram Dispute:
- The root cause of the current clashes is the land dispute between Assam and Mizoram over “improper demarcation of the state border”. Two border notifications were issued during British rule; however, the issue remains.
- Both Assam and Mizoram claim land on the border between Assam’s Cachar and Mizoram’s Kolasib district. Both states accuse each other of encroachment.
- Mizoram was earlier a part of Assam and was called “Lushai Hills” before it became a Union Territory in 1972., subsequently it was upgraded to a state in 1987.
- Assam and Mizoram also have border disputes in Karimganj-Mamit and Hailakandi- Kolasib border.
- Mizoram, which shares a border with three states, also has a dispute with Tripura.
