Arunachal Pradesh Home and Border Affairs Minister Mama Natung on July 26 reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to resolving the long-pending interstate boundary dispute with Assam through dialogue, while urging people living along the border to maintain peace and brotherhood.
Speaking on the Papum Pare-Assam boundary issue, Natung described Assam as the “elder brother” and the other Northeastern states as “younger brothers”, emphasising the importance of cordial relations between neighbouring states.
Quoting former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s well-known remark, “We can change friends but not neighbours,” the minister said neighbouring states must coexist with mutual respect and harmony.
Natung also referred to the historical background of the boundary dispute, including the 1951 notification associated with Gopinath Bordoloi, the Chatterjee Committee report and the Namsai Declaration. He thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for taking a keen interest in resolving interstate boundary disputes across the Northeast.
The minister noted that the matter remains sub judice but said the governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are continuing discussions to settle disputes involving several villages through mutual consultation.
“I urge the denizens to maintain brotherhood,” Natung said.
His remarks came during a high-level consultative meeting with senior government officials and student leaders to review the law and order situation and security concerns along the Tarasso border following the recent friction at Sango village.
Participants at the meeting stressed that the Sango-Tarasso tension and other boundary-related issues should be resolved through bilateral dialogue with the Assam government rather than through escalation.
A formal joint meeting between officials of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh is expected to be held soon as part of ongoing efforts to reach a lasting settlement of the boundary dispute.
The Arunachal Pradesh government also appealed to local communities and all stakeholders to maintain peace, exercise restraint and uphold the status quo along the interstate border until a mutually acceptable resolution is reached.
