Five years after deadly clash, Vairengte hosts Assam-Mizoram border fest

People, officials and police from Assam and Mizoram gathered at Vairengte on Friday for a joint border festival, a striking scene at the town that was the site of the deadliest inter-state police clash in the Northeast five years ago.

The festival at the Joint YMA Field in Vairengte, in Mizoram's Kolasib district, was organised jointly by the district administrations of Kolasib and Cachar in Assam. It featured cultural performances, friendly matches and discussions on improving coordination along the boundary.

Who attended

Mizoram Deputy Speaker and Kolasib MLA Lalfamkima was the chief guest. Dholai MLA Amio Kanti Das, Cachar Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar Gupta, Cachar Superintendent of Police Partha Protim Das and Kolasib Superintendent of Police Lalrinpuia Varte also took part.

Teams from the two districts played futsal, volleyball, badminton and table tennis, and cultural troupes from both sides presented traditional dances.

'Boundaries divide us, cooperation must not'

Lalfamkima said administrative boundaries should not get in the way of peaceful coexistence, and that the two states had to work together for mutual benefit. He warned against misinformation and said the greed of a few should not be allowed to spoil good relations.

SP Varte said police on both sides now keep in daily contact and are working together against inter-state drug trafficking and the movement of contraband along sensitive routes. DC Gupta spoke about the close economic and social ties between the Barak Valley and Mizoram and said boundary questions should be settled through dialogue, not escalation.

The 2021 clash

On July 26, 2021, a long-running dispute over the boundary near Vairengte and Lailapur turned violent when police forces of the two states exchanged fire. Six Assam Police personnel were killed and more than 50 people were injured. The firing was followed by an economic blockade on the highway into Mizoram and months of tension along the Barak Valley-Mizoram corridor, before the two governments agreed to keep talking.

The 164.6-km boundary between Mizoram and Assam's Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi districts remains disputed, and officials of the two states have held several rounds of talks since then. The next round of border talks between the two governments is expected in Aizawl in mid-November. Friday's festival was the latest effort at the district level to build trust among communities living on either side of the line.