Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for various development projects worth thousands of crores in Manipur, marking his first visit since ethnic violence broke out in the state. The visit includes interaction with internally displaced persons and the launch of infrastructure projects across multiple sectors.
By ensuring Myanmar remains dependent on Chinese economic and military assistance, Beijing indirectly exerts pressure on India's North Eastern states, making New Delhi's regional security strategy even more complex.
At least five Assam Police personnel were killed while defending the "constitutional boundary" of the state with Mizoram and more than 60 people injured, including an SP, as the festering border dispute between the two northeastern states erupted into a bloody conflict on Monday.
During the three-day mourning period, the national flag will fly at half-mast and there will be no public entertainment, a notification issued by the Assam government said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 8,500 crore in Manipur on September 13. This visit marks his first since the outbreak of ethnic violence in May 2023.
More than 600 Meiteis have left Mizoram due to fear of tension after a video two tribal women being paraded naked by a mob in Manipur surfaced online recently, a senior police officer said on Thursday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the chief ministers of Assam and Mizoram, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Zoramthanga respectively, and urged them to ensure peace along the disputed border and find an amicable settlement.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk called off his hunger strike as protests for Ladakh statehood and Sixth Schedule extension turned violent. The BJP office was set on fire, vehicles were torched, and clashes erupted, leading to the imposition of prohibitory orders.
The meeting also decided that the two states will 'work out arrangement in coordination' with the centre to facilitate the functioning of the central peace-keeping force besides agreeing to continue talks to resolve the border dispute, according to top Mizoram officials.
'Around 15,000 people will be gathering.'
The situation along the Mizoram-Assam border has been on the boil since June-end when Assam Police allegedly took control over an area known as 'Aitlang hnar' about 5 km from Vairengte, accusing the neighbouring state of encroaching on its territory.
One more body was recovered on Thursday, taking the toll in multiple landslides in Mizoram's Aizawl district to 28, a police officer said.
Mizoram's director general of police Anil Shukla held a high-level meeting on Sunday to assess the security arrangements, a statement said.
The government's assurance came amid reports of Meiteis fleeing the state following an 'advisory' by an ex-militant's association of Mizoram asking them to leave due to tension triggered by the viral video of two women being paraded naked by a mob in Manipur.
Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) leader Lalduhoma will take oath as the Mizoram chief minister on Friday, Raj Bhavan sources said.
It's a single phase polling in Mizoram while first phase of assembly elections is underway in Chhattisgarh.
'If inner line permit was in place in Meghalaya, the details of the three people who allegedly murdered Raja would have been on record.'
The Air Force official from Nagaland had gone to Coimbatore in the first week of October from Mohanbari Air Force Base in Dibrugarh district of Assam to participate in a 21-day training course at the IAF administrative college in the textile city of western Tamil Nadu.
It said all necessary security arrangements would be made to ensure the security of people attending the Shirui festival.
The Centre has summoned to New Delhi the chief secretaries and directors general of police (DGPs) of Assam and Mizoram for a meeting on Wednesday while the restive inter-state border was calm, a day after armed clashes left six dead and over 50 injured, officials said.
Several others are feared trapped at the site, as 35-40 workers were present when the incident occurred around 10 am, about 21 km from Aizawl, they said.
The labourers, who are said to be of Nepali origin, were engaged in the construction of a hotel.
It said there is anger among Mizo youths, who are deeply anguished over the "barbaric and atrocious act of Meiteis" against Zo or Kuki ethnic people in Manipur.
India conducted nationwide civil defence mock drills simulating multiple hostile scenarios like air raids, fire emergencies, and rescue operations across several states and union territories. The drills, dubbed 'Operation Abhyaas,' aimed to enhance emergency preparedness in light of recent terror attacks. The exercises involved coordinated efforts by various agencies, including civil defence personnel, police, fire and emergency services, and the military. Mock drills were conducted at various locations, including railway stations, malls, and high-rise buildings, showcasing the response capabilities of authorities in different emergency scenarios. The drills highlighted the importance of public awareness and cooperation in dealing with real-time emergencies.
Chief Minister Zoramthanga, deputy CM Tawnluia, ministers, and MLAs of the state cutting across party lines took part in the massive protest rally in Aizawl.
Recalling his detention during Hiteshwar Saikia's tenure as Assam Chief Minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that during the Congress government in Assam, he was beaten up and had jail food for seven days in the state.
An order issued by the Home and Political Department's Commissioner and Secretary M S Mannivannan said in view of the joint statement by the representatives of the governments of Assam and Mizoram, "the travel advisory issued on July 29 is withdrawn".
In a letter addressed to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Mizoram Home Secretary Lalbiaksangi said that National Highway 306, the state's lifeline that connects it with the rest of the country, has been blocked in Assam since July 26.
Noting that the border disputes go back to the British era, Sarma in an said Assam has been holding talks with other states too and faulted the previous Congress governments for not clearly demarcating boundaries while carving out new states.
All the 26 people working there were from the Malda district of West Bengal.
While Mizoram alleged that personnel of the Assam police fired on its civilians injuring one, the neighbouring state claimed that the men in uniform only returned the fire after miscreants from the other side of the border sprayed bullets on them.
The situation in and around Lailapur, which was rocked by deadly violence, along the interstate border remained calm with a large number of Central Reserve Police Force troops patrolling the National Highway-306, they said.
His appeal came when certain organisations of the neighbouring Barak Valley region of Assam observed a 12-hour bandh on Wednesday and have been staging an economic blockade on the National Highway-306 that connects Mizoram with the rest of the country since July 26, disrupting transportation of goods to the state.
The Assam government also decided to revoke an advisory issued earlier against travel to Mizoram, they said.
The travel advisory is perhaps a first of its kind issued by any state government
The funeral of 12 Kuki-Zo youths, including 10 killed in a gunfight with the CRPF in Jiribam district, will take place in Churachandpur on Thursday. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) has called for a complete shutdown in Churachandpur in honour of the deceased men. The funeral will be attended by Mizoram Chief Minister's Adviser H Ginzalala.
Of the deceased, five were from West Bengal, two each from Jharkhand and neighbouring Assam and one from Mizoram's Lunglei district, the official said.
The Medal for Gallantry recipients also included Humayun Bhat, a deputy superintendent of police who was one of four officers to lay down their lives during an encounter with terrorists in south Kashmir's Kokernag in September 2023.
Assam CM said the police case filed against two senior Mizoram government officials - Deputy Commissioner of Kolasib district and Sub-divisional Police Officer of Vairengte - will be withdrawn.
Mizoram shares a 510 km long porous border with Myanmar's Chin state and most of the Myanmarese nationals who have taken refuge in the state belong to the Chin, also known as the Zo, community. They share the same ancestry and culture as the Mizos of Mizoram.
