Assam, Arunachal sign pact to resolve border disputes

New Delhi: Ending their over 50-year-old border dispute, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday signed an agreement in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah here which will bring settlement to 123 villages located along areas the two northeastern states share.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share an 804.1-km-long border which has been in dispute since the latter was made a union territory in 1972.

Shah said the dispute over 123 villages on both sides of the inter-state border has been resolved once and for all at a time when the country is celebrating its 75th year of Independence. He said it was a historic event for both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh resolving their long boundary dispute amicably.

Shah exuded optimism that the boundary settlement would usher in all-round development and peace in the Northeast as the agreement ended the border dispute which has been lingering since 1972.

“It is a big moment for the entire northeastern region which has been witnessing all round development ever since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014,” he said. The home minister said Modi has been actively promoting the growth of languages, literature and culture of the Northeast and the recent record-breaking performance of Bihu dance was a shining example.

He said that the report of the Local Commission on the border dispute kept circling around for decades, which has now been accepted by both the states. Shah said today’s agreement will prove to be a milestone in the direction of realising Modi’s dream of a developed, peaceful and conflict-free Northeast.

Shah said that since 2018, the central government has signed several accords including with Bru tribals, insurgent groups NLFT and some belonging to Assam’s Karbi Anglong and established peace and ended violence in the Northeast.