Inter-State Border Conflicts of Assam with Meghalaya: Understanding The Root Causes and Historical Context

The border conflict between Assam and Meghalaya has been a long standing issue which started from colonial era administrative demarcations and following readjustments of seven states in Northeast India. Meghalaya become an autonomous state in 1970 when it was carved out of Assam and then declared a full-fledged state in 1972 leading to disputes between the two states for precise boundary. It has been more than 50 years since the conflict arose. There are various recommendations from academicians, cartographers, non- governmental organisations to resolve the matter through dialogue and advance technology such as satellite mapping. This paper analyses the root causes and historical factors behind the conflicts. Analysis done by the researcher based on the pilot study conducted with the communities living along the AssamMeghalaya border and the data has also been collected from secondary sources.