Mizoram’s delegation will be led by Home Minister K. Sapdanga, while Assam’s team will be headed by Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora.

This will be the first border discussion since the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), led by Chief Minister Lalduhoma, came to power in December 2023. Following the talks, Bora and his team will meet Lalduhoma before returning to Guwahati on Saturday.

Sapdanga expressed hope that the talks will yield a positive resolution, noting that both states have maintained the status quo on disputed areas since discussions began in August 2021.

Delays in talks, originally scheduled with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, were due to scheduling conflicts with the Lok Sabha elections.

The dispute involves three Mizoram districts—Aizawl, Kolasib, and Mamit—and Assam’s Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi districts.

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It stems from conflicting colonial-era demarcations: the 1875 Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) and the 1933 Survey of India map.

Mizoram claims 509 square miles within the inner line reserved forest, while Assam adheres to the 1933 map as its constitutional boundary.

Tensions escalated in July 2021, when gunfire exchanges at the border resulted in the deaths of six Assam policemen and a civilian, with over 60 injured. Since then, several rounds of talks, including three ministerial meetings, have aimed to maintain peace and resolve the dispute through dialogue.

In the latest talks in Guwahati in November 2022, Mizoram was asked to provide details on villages, areas, and demographics within three months to support its claim.

Mizoram has since submitted information identifying 62 villages in the disputed area as part of its territory or within the reserved forest.