Assam Meghalaya Border Dispute

Recent killing of six people in Assam police firing comes ahead of the second phase of talks between the Assam Meghalaya Border Dispute resolve their boundary, posing a threat to derail the talks.

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What is the Assam Meghalaya Border Dispute Agreement

About the dispute: Assam and Meghalaya have a longstanding dispute in 12 stretches of their 884-km shared border.
The 12 locations: Upper Tarabari, Gazang reserve forest, Hahim, Langpih, Borduar, Boklapara, Nongwah, Matamur, Khanapara-Pilangkata, Deshdemoreah Block I and Block II, Khanduli and Retacherra.
Major Point of Contention: A major point of contention between Assam and Meghalaya is the district of Langpih in West Garo Hills bordering the Kamrup district of Assam.
- Langpih was part of the Kamrup district during the British colonial period but post-Independence, it became part of the Garo Hills and Meghalaya.
- Assam considers it to be part of the Mikir Hills in Assam.

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History: During the British rule, undivided Assam included present-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
- Meghalaya was carved out in 1972, its boundaries demarcated as per the Assam Reorganization (Meghalaya) Act of 1969, but has held a different interpretation of the border since.
- In 2011, the Meghalaya government had identified 12 areas of difference with Assam, spread over approximately 2,700 sq km.
- Some of these disputes stem from recommendations made by a 1951 committee headed by then Assam chief minister Gopinath Bordoloi.

Assam Meghalaya Border Dispute Latest News

Assam Meghalaya Border Dispute UPSC

Border disputes of Northeast India mainly include inter-state conflict between Assam–Mizoram, Assam–Arunachal Pradesh, Assam–Nagaland and Assam–Meghalaya.
Between 2019 and 2022, many steps have been taken to establish peace in the North East region like- the NLFT agreement (2019), the Bru-Reang agreement (2020), the Bodo agreement (2020), the Karbi-Anglong agreement (2021), and the recent Assam-Meghalaya border agreement.