Representative image Assam sees drop in child marriage rates by 81 per cent: Report Mizoram, Assam to hold crucial border talks on Friday Aizawl: Mizoram and Assam will hold ministerial-level talks to resolve a long-standing border dispute between the two northeastern states on Friday, an official of Mizoram home department said on Thursday.  The delegations of both states will hold a meeting at the state guest house in Aizawl at 4 pm, the official said.  The Mizoram delegation would be headed by Sapdanga, while the Assam team would be led by its border protection and development minister Atul Bora, who will be accompanied by home department officials from the neighbouring state, he said.  The Assam delegation will arrive in Aizawl on Friday afternoon, he said.  Both the delegations will also jointly address a press conference at 6 pm, according to the official.  This will be the first border talks between Mizoram and Assam after the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) headed by chief minister Lalduhoma came to power in December last year.  Bora and his team will also pay a courtesy call on Lalduhoma before departing for Guwahati on Saturday, the official said.  Mizoram home minister K. Sapdanga had earlier expressed optimism that the upcoming border talks may yield positive results to bring an amicable solution to the vexed border dispute.  He had also said that both states adhered to the status quo on the disputed areas after the border talks began in August 2021. Although Lalduhoma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma had met in Guwahati in February and agreed to hold talks between the two states in March, discussions have been delayed due to the Lok Sabha elections and other reasons, according to officials.  Three Mizoram districts-Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit- share a 164.6 km border with Assam's Cachar, Karmganj and Hailankandi districts. The border dispute between the two neighbouring states stemmed mainly from two colonial demarcations - 1875 and 1933. Mizoram claims that 509 square miles area of the inner line reserved forest, notified in 1875 under the  Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) 1873, falls within its territory, while Assam, on the other hand, regarded the map prepared by the Survey of India in 1933 as its constitutional boundary. Vast areas within the inner line reserved forest now fall under Assam. Similarly, a certain extent of the area, as per the 1933 demarcation, is now on the Mizoram side. There is no ground demarcation of boundaries between the two states. The border dispute between Mizoram and Assam had taken an ugly turn in July 2021 when police forces of the two states exchanged fire at the inter-state boundary, leading to the death of six policemen and a civilian from Assam. More than 60 people were also injured in the violent clash that took place in the disputed area near Mizoram’s Vairengte village. The violent clash took place during the rule of Mizo National Front (MNF),  an ally of the BJP, which is currently in power in Assam.  The two states have held several rounds of talks, including three ministerial level meetings since August 2021 and agreed to maintain peace along the boundary and resolve the dispute through dialogue.   In the last border talks held in Guwahati in November 2022, both delegations had decided that Mizoram will furnish the list of villages, their areas, geo-spatial extent, and ethnicity of the people and other relevant information within three months to support its claim which can be examined by setting up regional committees from both sides to arrive at an amicable resolution to  the vexed border issues. Accordingly, Mizoram submitted its claim identifying 62 villages in the disputed area as being located within its territory or within the extent of  the  inner line reserved forest. 
Representative image.

Guwahati: The Assam government on Thursday announced to launch ‘Mission for Prevention of Child Marriage’ in the state with a budget allocation of Rs 200 crore.

Speaking to the media, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “We have allocated Rs 200 crore for a mission against child marriages. We have reiterated that whoever will go for child marriage, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 will be imposed and provision of prohibition of child marriage will also be imposed on them.”

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“At least 3000-4000 arrests will take place every six months in the state. Over and above, we are going to start a mission for the rehabilitation of the victims. We will also initiate a 24-hour call centre, and a lot of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) will support affirmative action against child marriage, Sarma said.”

“We have started some arrests with an outlay of Rs 200 crore in this year’s budget and this will be further augmented by 2026. We will ensure that not a single child marriage takes place in the state,” said Sarma.

“Our action and our mission against child marriage will continue more vigorously. This is not communal and we want to approach the issue completely from a humanitarian point of view,” Chief Minister Sarma added.

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In response to the development, Leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia said, “The Chief Minister said that conviction on child marriage act is five per cent but in spite of that, he is saying the POCSO Act will be implemented. “

“The Assam government had used IPC 376 against sexual abuse cases for child marriages but no victim ever said they have been raped. The POCSO Act is for different purposes and the court has observed and imposed the facts. The government is trying to terrorize the issue,” Sarma added.

On the other hand, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Karim Uddin Barbhuiya said, “The Assam government should take steps for awareness against child marriage. Institutions should be set up where child marriage is more frequent and birth control programs should also be organized. “

“Universities should be set up in Barpeta, Dhubri, Hailakandi and Karimganj. We all accept that child marriage should not take place but the Assam government is trying to politicize the issue. The solution to this problem should be discussed and implemented,” he added.

In a massive crackdown by the Assam government against child marriage, over 3,000 people who are allegedly linked with such marriages have been arrested across the state so far.

There have been widespread protests against the action of the government by the wives and relatives of those who have been arrested.