Dimapur, July 18 (EMN): Reacting to the recent proposal of the Assam government to establish armed police battalions along the inter-state boundary, the United Naga Tribes Association on Border Areas (Untaba) has berated the state government for its indifferent attitude on the long-pending border issue by proposing to deploy more personnel in few BOP (border observation posts).
A Untaba’s statement issued by its chairman, Hukavi T Yeputhomi, and the general secretary, Imsumongba Pongen, claimed that the chief executive member and his team of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) had offered enough plot of land at Daldali Reserved Forest adjacent to Indisen, Aoyimkum and Rangapahar Army Cantonment area to the government of Assam for the establishment of battalion headquarters and training centre for special forces and commandos of armed Assam police.
The association stated that such a move would create more disharmony and friction between the various tribal communities living peacefully as neighbours between the two states. It added that the Naga people might be compelled to resist fiercely against such a move so as to maintain peaceful coexistence among the people.
Untaba also claimed that aforementioned areas purely fall under the rightful ownership of the Naga people that were unilaterally transferred to the then Nowgong district for administrative convenience by the British India government in the late 19th and early 20th century.
“While the government of Assam has proposed to establish armed police battalions along the inter-state boundary line, the government of Nagaland proposing to deploy more personnel in few BOPs (border observation posts) is too little too less which shows how serious the government of the day is on the long pending border issue,” the statement read.
Untaba, therefore, demanded the government to immediately bring the existing battalions along the border lines, if it cannot open new battalions.
While taking serious note of the fragile situation in the border areas, Untaba has submitted certain proposals to the state government for immediate consideration.
It has asked the government to immediately initiate a chief ministerial level meeting in order to conduct comprehensive review of the Interim Agreements of 1972 and 79 so as to (i) adopt appropriate step to de-notify the infamous ‘Dispute Area Belt’ (DAB) and remove the ‘DAB’ tag from all the ancestral and historical Naga lands bordering Assam; and (ii) adopt appropriate step to remove ‘neutral forces’ of para-military forces (CRPF) and assume directly the civil and police administrations in all those areas.
It also asked the government to persuade the Assam government to withdraw the infamous ‘Civil Suit No. 2 of 1988’ from the Supreme Court of India so that the inter-state boundary of two states could be settled on historical basis for all times to come.
Untaba further reminded that the traditional and historical boundary between the two states is ‘Dhodhar Ali’ or ‘Naga Bund’ that runs from Golaghat to Upper Assam and from Golaghat downward runs from Daigurung river to Kaliani river then to Kopili river down to Barak river. It added that there could never be permanent peace between the two states until an inter-state boundary solution is brought about on the basis of historical facts.
