Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has called for peace after reports of clashes along the border with Arunachal Pradesh emerged on Thursday.
Fresh clashes erupted between protestors from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in Dhemaji district, reported news agency PTI.
The escalation prompted Arunachal police to fire into the air to control the mob as the protest over an indefinite economic blockade against the Himalayan state entered its second day.
"When the blockade was going on, some people from Arunachal Pradesh indulged in stone pelting on protesters from Assam, and some persons sustained minor injuries. This led to a scuffle between the two sides," an official told news agency PTI.
Assam CM urges for ‘peace and harmony’
Addressing the clashes, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged for peace and calm.
"I appeal to the people of Assam and Arunachal to maintain peace and harmony. Boundaries may define our States, but they can never divide our hearts," he wrote on X.
Along with the chief minister, MPs from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh also called for peace and calm in the region.
{{/usCountry}}Along with the chief minister, MPs from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh also called for peace and calm in the region.
{{/usCountry}}“We must live together harmoniously as brothers and sisters and settle any land dispute through peaceful negotiation only,” said union parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju in a video message on X.
What led to the clash?
The Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), the apex student organisation of Assam's Mising community, launched an indefinite economic blockade against Arunachal on Wednesday against the alleged firing in which 12 indigenous people from Assam were injured over land-encroachment issues.
Along with TMPK, other local social groups like Mising Mimag Kebang (MMK) and Takam Mising Mahila Kebang (TMMK) have supported the blockade and stopped all vehicles, barring emergency and school transportation, from coming or going to Arunachal Pradesh at the entry points.
The organisations have called for an early resolution of the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border dispute, action against the "miscreants" who had fired and an end to alleged encroachment on Assam land.
The conflict between Assam and Arunachal also dates back to 1987, when Arunachal attained full statehood.
After Arunachal Pradesh became a state, a tripartite committee was appointed, which recommended that certain territories be transferred from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh.
In 2022, chief ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma and Pema Khandu signed the Namsai Declaration to narrow down disputes from 123 villages to a manageable subset through regional committees.
Referring to this, Sarma wrote on X: "Only 52 villages remain, and both Governments will continue discussions in the same spirit to resolve the dispute completely."
(With inputs from PTI)