Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga has asked the Assam Rifles to shift its base from the heart of State capital Aizawl to Zokhawsang at the earliest besides stepping up vigil along the border with Myanmar to check drug-trafficking.
Zokhawsang is about 15 km from Aizawl’s Treasury and Zodin Squares where one of Assam Rifles’ oldest battalions is spread out. The place was identified a few years ago, and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2019 asked the Assam Rifles to shift there.
The Mizo National Front (MNF) government in 1988 asked the Assam Rifles to shift from Aizawl after the killing of 12 civilians in an “encounter”.
The MNF returned to power in 2018 and the issue of shifting was taken up at a meeting between Mr. Zoramthanga and Lt. Gen. Sukhdeep Sangwan, the Director General of Assam Rifles (DGAR), to ease a stand-off over the paramilitary force’s alleged violation of COVID-19 protocols and boycott of the Independence Day celebration.
“The DGAR called on the Chief Minister yesterday (Wednesday) and they underlined the need for healthy cooperation between the two entities. The Chief Minister urged Lt. Gen. Sangwan to shift their base to Zokhawsang at the earliest and also to help check drug-trafficking along the India-Myanmar border,” a Mizoram government spokesperson said on Thursday.
Mizoram shares a 404 km border with Myanmar. Drug abuse has been a major issue in Mizoram as the State is a conduit for narcotic substances such as heroin and methamphetamine brought in from Myanmar for delivery in Bangladesh or elsewhere in India.
The DGAR also met Mizoram’s Chief Secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo for discussing the ongoing cold war between the government and the paramilitary force, India’s oldest established in 1835 as the Cachar Levy.
The stand-off between the Mizoram government and the Assam Rifles began on August 18, when 15 personnel of the force’s 46th Battalion alleged forced their way into the State ignoring the safety protocols laid down by the government to check the spread of COVID-19.
On August 24, the Chief Secretary wrote to the MHA complaining about the alleged violation of the safety protocols and the I-Day “boycott” by the paramilitary force .
The administrative control of Assam Rifles lies with the MHA while the Defence Ministry wields operational control.
Shifting of Assam Rifles bases from urban centres in the northeast has been a sentimental issue, as the paramilitary force is seen as a reminder of many a conflict.
A long-pending demand in Manipur was fulfilled in November 2004 when the Assam Rifles moved out of State capital Imphal’s Kangla Fort , from where Manipuri kings ruled for 2,000 years. The paramilitary force had occupied the fort for 113 years.
