Mizoram asks the Assam government to postpone the November 4 boundary negotiations

According to a senior official on Friday, the Mizoram administration has requested in writing that the Assam government postpone the impending border talks between the two neighbouring states scheduled for November 4 in light of President Droupadi Murmu's visit to the northeastern state.

According to Home Department Additional Secretary Lalhriatpuia, they recommended the negotiations be postponed until November 9–11 in accordance with Chief Minister Zoramthanga's directive.

On November 3, Murmu will travel to Aizawl for a two-day stay.

On November 3, she will launch the Indian Institute of Mass Communication North Eastern Regional campus in Aizawl and attend the convocation of Mizoram University (MZU).On November 4, she will also speak to the state assembly.

Lalhriatpuia claimed that they wrote to the Assam administration on Thursday to ask for the border discussions, which were supposed to take place in Guwahati on November 4, to be postponed. "Due to the President's impending visit, we have suggested that the talks take place from November 9 to November 11. We are awaiting the Assam government's response, which will set the new date, he said.

The home minister Lalchamliana, the land revenue and settlement minister Lalruatkima, or the forest minister T.J. Lalnuntluanga, will serve as the leader of the Mizoram delegation, according to him.

He added that the delegation would also include the department's top brass, including home commissioner and secretary H. Lalengmawia.

The impending conversation with Assam is referred to as the "genuine or vital talk," in which the true boundary problem will be thoroughly discussed for the first time, according to another home official.

He claimed that the previous two sessions, which were held in Aizawl, were goodwill trips or components of initiatives to boost confidence.

He said that the ground demarcation of the interstate boundary will be one of the primary topics during the negotiations because the Mizoram government had formally conveyed its claim to its Assam counterpart.

"There is no physical border between Assam and Mizoram. We have authorised a "position paper" to be presented throughout the negotiations and to reference the inner line conserved forest that was announced in 1875. One of the primary subjects will be ground demarcation, according to the official who declined to provide his name.

The official expressed optimism for the next discussions but cautioned that it might take some time before the two states' border disputes find a permanent resolution.

Along with the Assamese districts of Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi, three Mizoram districts—Aizawl, Mamit, and Kolasib—share a 164.6 km long interstate border.The two neighbouring states' border dispute has been an on-going, difficult problem since two colonial demarcations in 1875 and 1933.

While Assam accepted the survey of India's map from 1933 as its constitutional boundary, Mizoram regarded the inner line reserve forest announced in 1875 as its historical boundary.

In July of last year, there were violent skirmishes in the disputed territory close to the village of Vairengte on National Highway 306, which resulted in the deaths of six Assamese policemen and a civilian.

Both states then decided to negotiate a settlement to their border disagreements in order to keep the peace along their shared border.There have already been five virtual meetings between the two parties.

In an effort to find a peaceful resolution to the border dispute, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his Assam colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma met twice in New Delhi beginning last year.