Unhappy with boundaries, NE sisters nibbling away at our land,Gogoi says

GUWAHATI: Ever since four hill states - Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram - were carved out of what was then the composite Assam province, not one has come to terms with its boundaries leading to frequent clashes and encroachment claims. Tripura and Manipur, erstwhile princely states not annexed to the Assam Province by the British, don't have a grouse over their borders.

The latest round of Assam-Nagaland boundary clashes at Uriamghat in Assam's Golaghat district began on August 12. It raged for two days, turning into a major law and order problem. At least 14 Assam villagers were shot dead by raiders from Nagaland and their houses burnt. Protesters in Assam vented their anger on the state government for failing to protect the boundary. For a week, agitators in Golaghat and the police clashed repeatedly till the Army was called out on Wednesday, bringing the situation under control. Three protesters died in police firing.

For Assam CM Tarun Gogoi, this flare-up has been the most serious crisis since he took charge in 2001. As people and rivals held him responsible for failing to control the violence, he told TOI: "We moved SC to end disputes with Nagaland and Arunachal. Border commissions were set up to settle issues with Nagaland, Arunachal and Meghalaya but none of them accepted commission recommendations. We're waiting for the SC verdict. These commissions can only give recommendations but can't make them binding."