The Assam-Mizoram border dispute saw tension escalate in the Gutguti-Gallacher area. According to reports, two abandoned houses were torched in Hailakandi district in Assam on June 4, 2021, allegedly by unidentified people from Mizoram. Additionally, they also constructed a structure on Assam’s territory. A case was filed with the Bairabi police station to identify the persons involved in the incident. LCW could not ascertain if arrests were made.
Vanlalfaka Ralte, the superintendent of police in Mizoram’s Kolasib district, told the media that abandoned houses were previously occupied by non-tribal people working at the paddy fields for the Mizos. He alleged that Bangladeshi immigrants had burnt the houses to flare up the border dispute between the two states. He, however, added that the disputed site falls within the territory of Mizoram and that the paddy field owners had land documents in Mizoram and paid land taxes to the state government.
Hailakandi district Superintendent of Police Ramandeep Kaur, on the other hand, claimed that the area falls under the inner line reserve forest, spanning 509 square kilometres between the border districts of Assam and Mizoram. “Some temporary houses have been constructed 300 metres inside Assam’s territory by a group from Mizoram. These are forest areas, and we don’t have roads and proper ways of transport to reach the border area. But on Mizoram’s side, they have constructed roads to reach these areas,” she said. Some newspapers have reported incursions up to four kilometres inside Assam’s territory. According to Kaur, the matter has been taken up at a higher level by both the states.
Assam and Mizoram have been embroiled in a long-standing border dispute. Three districts in Assam -- Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi -- and three districts in Mizoram -- Kolasib, Mamit and Aizawl -- share a 164.6-kilometre border having several disputed areas. Despite multiple rounds of talk, the border dispute remains unsolved.
On September 24, 2014, a meeting was held between the officials of Assam and Mizoram in which the two states had agreed to maintain a status quo along the border. But since October 2020, several incidents of torching and encroachment have been reported along the inter-state boundary. In November 2020, alleged miscreants from Mizoram blew up two government schools in Cachar adjoining Haliakandi.
In January 2024, the Mizoram government established a border committee to resolve border disputes with Assam, chaired by Home Minister K Sapdanga, with Forest Minister Lalthansanga as vice chairman and Home Secretary H Lalengmawia as member secretary.
In March 2024, Suzam Uddin Laskar, MLA of Katlicherra constituency, alleged that some Mizos have erected approximately twenty houses within Assam's territory, causing insecurity among locals. Despite repeated appeals, Laskar and local residents claim, the police remain inactive in controlling the alleged encroachment along the border.
Laskar appealed to both the Chief Minister and Governor to address this longstanding border issue. Last year, he had petitioned the Assam Governor to take measures to reclaim 10,000 bighas of Assam land encroached upon by Mizos in Hailakandi district.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for legal recognition of land rights
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand to resolve the long-standing border dispute
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common and Private
Forest and Non-Forest
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Residential area
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
No
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Land record discrepancies
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
No
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Torching of houses
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
No
Reported Details of the Violation:
Alleged miscreants from Mizoram reportedly torched two abandoned houses in the disputed border area.
Date of Violation
June 3, 2021
Location of Violation
Gutguti-Gallacher
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Office of the Deputy Commissioner Hailakandi, Assam; Office of the Deputy Commissioner Kolasib, Mizoram
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
No
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
Sarup is a researcher and doctoral student in Political Science at the North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong. His research interests lie in the area of ethnic and land conflicts, political ecology and development and urban spaces of Northeast India. He has a Masters’ degree in Development Studies from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. He has previously done research/internships with NABARD, Oxford Microfinance Initiative (renamed Oxford Development Consultancy) and CSDS (Lokniti Programme).
