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GUWAHATI, AUGUST 11: Tensions have increased along the Assam–Meghalaya border in Cachar district following reports that Baikam Khasi Punji, a tiny village in the Assam’s Katigorah Assembly constituency, may be added to Meghalaya as part of interstate boundary talks.
On Sunday, students of the All Assam Adivasi Students’ Association and the All Barak Valley Karbi Students’ Association organised demonstrations, promising to resist any attempt to transfer Assam’s land.
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The organisations have accused Khasi residents from over the border of constantly trespassing on farms, threatening local farmers, and interfering with agriculture in Baikam Khasi Punji. They cautioned that officially transferring the village would increase tensions and lead to bloodshed, especially if these claimed provocations continue.
Locals expressed fears that the relocation would change the demographic makeup of the area, consolidate the influence of the Khasi community, and shatter centuries-old social equilibrium. “If the government relinquishes this land, our lives and sources of livelihood will be threatened,” said a villager, continuing that more than 800 families from surrounding regions such as Malidahar, Gumra Tea Estate, and Jalalpur depend on the land for sustenance.
The agitating groups asked Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Cachar district administration to step in and stop any transfer of land. They also warned of further intensification of agitation if officials go ahead with the plan.
The unrest is a part of the decades-long Assam–Meghalaya border dispute, where 12 disputed stretches along the two states’ 884.9-km shared border are in play. In March 2022, the two states had signed the first phase of an agreement on six disputed areas, but controversial zones in districts such as West Khasi Hills and Cachar are unresolved.
With second-round discussions ongoing, concerns remain that Baikam Khasi Punji village might be part of the forthcoming round of territorial realignments, although Cachar district authorities have not announced any official proposal for the village.
