AIR Spotlight: Settling Inter-State Border Disputes in the North-East

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio News on air. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation.

This article is about the discussion on: Settling Inter-State Border Disputes in the North-East for a Brighter Future.

Participants

• Subimal Bhattacharjee: Political Analyst
• Sonu Sood: AIR Correspondent

Context – The GoI has signed several agreements to end insurgency and bring lasting peace to the northeastern states. A historic border agreement was signed between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on 20th April 2023 to end decades-long border disputes along their boundaries. Also, on 29th March 2022, Assam and Meghalaya chief ministers signed an agreement to resolve the five-decade-old border dispute. These developments are significant for restoring normalcy and enabling perception changes about the northeastern region. 

Peace Agreements and Accords Involving North-Eastern States 

The Government of India has given a big push to a diverse range of infrastructure projects in the North Eastern Region (NER). The Government has laid emphasis on improving rail, road, air and inland waterways connectivity in the NER and with a host of power projects, the region is already on course to turn power surplus. The integration of northeast India into mainstream Indian life has been on the national agenda. 

Three core objectives for the NER:

The Central government has identified three core objectives for the NorthEast Region:

• to preserve its dialects, languages, dance, music, food, and culture and to create attraction for it all across India;
• to end all disputes in the North East and to make it a peaceful region,
• to make the North East a developed region and bring it on par with the rest of India.

Major agreements signed during the last few years to end violence and bring stability to the region include-

• Tripura Peace Accord – It is a tripartite accord signed on 10th August 2019 by the GoI, the Government of Tripura and NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) to end the insurgency.
• Bru Settlement Agreement (2020) – In a historic and landmark event, an agreement has been signed between GoI, the governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru community representatives in January 2020 to put an end to the 23-year-old Bru refugee crisis.
• Bodo Peace Accord – The Tripartite Bodo Accord is a peace treaty signed in January 2020, between the Assam State Government, the Central Government, and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland. The objective was to stop separatist demands from the Bodo-Kachari community and bring peace.
• Karbi Anglong Agreement (2021) – In September 2021, the Karbi Anglong Agreement was signed between 5 insurgent groups in Assam and the Central Government and the State Government.
• Assam Tribal Peace Agreement (2022) – A tripartite peace agreement was signed between the Centre, the Assam Government and eight tribal groups of Assam. The agreement was signed to end the decade-old crisis of tribal groups and tea garden workers in Assam. This agreement is another move by the GoI to make the northeast region extremism free by 2025.

Inter-State Boundary Disputes in North-Eastern Region-

Long pending disputes between various states in the Northeast had been a major concern in the development of the region. Many decades-long disputes are finally getting permanently resolved through the proactive efforts of the Central government. This has given a push to integration and trust and has paved the way forward for long-term peace and progress.

• Assam-Meghalaya Inter-State Boundary Agreement – A landmark agreement was signed in March 2022, to settle the dispute over six areas out of a total of twelve areas of the interstate boundary dispute between the states of Assam and Meghalaya. This agreement alone resolved around 65 % of border disputes between the two states.
• The governments of Assam – Arunachal Pradesh signed an MoU on April 20, 2023, to resolve their five-decade-old border dispute. 
• The agreement is expected to settle the dispute relating to 123 villages covering over 700 kilometres of the border between the two states, taking into account historical perspective, demographic profile, administrative convenience, proximity to the border, and aspirations of the residents.

Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)

As a result of the border dispute settlement agreements and peace accords, there has been a significant improvement in the security situation of the Northeast. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been reduced from a large part of the North East, fulfilling the long-standing and sentimental demand of the North Eastern states.

• Assam: 60% of Assam now free from AFSPA
• Manipur: 15 police stations in six districts were taken out of the periphery of the disturbed area
• Arunachal Pradesh: Now AFSPA is left in only three districts and two police stations in one district
• Tripura and Meghalaya: Completely withdrawn
• Nagaland: Disturbed area notification removed from 15 police stations in seven districts

4G Connectivity for Arunachal Pradesh 

As a part of the specialised efforts by the GoI for the development of the NER, the government has approved 2,605 4G mobile towers for providing connectivity to more than 3,721 villages in Arunachal Pradesh with a total outlay of Rs 2,675 crore.

• 254 4G mobile towers were launched on April 22, 2023, by the Union Minister for Communications, Railways and Electronic and IT, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw. These towers will provide connectivity to 336 villages, mostly in border areas.
• Access to high-speed network connectivity is being ensured for the state of Arunachal Pradesh through various schemes and projects such as ‘Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP-NER) for the North-Eastern Region’, ‘Provisioning of Mobile Services in Uncovered Villages of Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam’ and 4G saturation project.

Act East Policy 

The Act East Policy of India was launched at the East Asia Summit in Myanmar in November 2014. It is the upgrade of the ‘Look East Policy’ launched by the then PM P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1991.

• The objective of the Act East Policy is to promote economic cooperation, and cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels thereby providing enhanced connectivity to the States of North Eastern Region with other countries of its neighbourhood. 
• The Act East policy is playing an instrumental role in bringing a paradigm shift and marking a significant change in the potential role of the Northeast region.
• Under the “Act East Policy” the government is relying on the 3 C’s (Culture, Connectivity, and Commerce) to develop better relations with ASEAN nations.

Conclusion – The GoI has taken significant measures for the development of the NER such as signing peace accords, resolving inter-state border disputes, providing enhanced connectivity, and a number of schemes have been launched for the welfare of the region among others. From being on the margins of the India story, the northeast is quickly becoming one of the country’s growth engines.

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