In the wake of the recent clash at Lapangap that claimed one life and left several injured, former Meghalaya Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Dr. Mukul Sangma has alleged a serious intelligence failure on both sides — Assam and Meghalaya — blaming the absence of a “robust preventive mechanism” for the escalation of violence.
The Leader of Opposition’s reaction came a day after a clash broke out between Karbi and Pnar villagers along the Assam–Meghalaya interstate border, resulting in the death of one person.
Dr. Sangma said, “Let us be more practical and realistic, now we all know that we had this issue which is required to be resolved by both the states, it is not an issue which is a new issue but at the same time let us also look at pre-2018.” Recalling his tenure, he added, “We definitely had areas of differences pertaining to the areas where we have these areas of differences which are identified, but we managed to ensure that there was a robust system put in place involving the authorities of both the Governments at the district level with district administration of both sides, their counterparts and at the chief secretary level.”
Condemning the incident, Dr. Sangma said such violence was “preventable” and reflected a lack of timely action from both Assam and Meghalaya. “So there was a robust mechanism available all the time and we had a robust mechanism of input collection if there is any amount of tension which is giving rise to this kind of likely conflict and therefore know where to somehow intervene and prevent this kind of unfortunate incidents. Here again you look at the loss of precious life, it’s very painful to see this — these are preventable,” he stated.
The former Chief Minister questioned whether the authorities of both Assam and Meghalaya were deprived of crucial intelligence that could have averted the tragedy. “We know that there is some kind of environment which is definitely quite vitiated and has the potential of leading to this kind of situation. Was the government of both sides deprived of inputs as far as the intelligence input is concerned to understand the likelihood of this kind of unpleasant situation? Here we have lost a precious life and a number of them are injured, including our police personnel,” he remarked.
Extending condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the injured, Dr. Sangma said, “I convey my sympathy and condolences to the members of the bereaved family and wish and pray that all these injured people who are now receiving treatment have a speedy recovery. I pray for their complete recovery and also for complete restoration of peace so that our people from both sides of the interstate boundaries — from Assam and Meghalaya — can restore this conducive environment which enabled our forefathers to mutually coexist.”
Reflecting on earlier efforts to contain tensions, Dr. Sangma noted that previous administrations in both states had successfully prevented escalation through strong inter-state coordination. “There may be some other factors which may be triggering this kind of tension of this level because earlier we did not see this kind of tension of this level,” he said, pointing out that both governments earlier maintained “a collective endeavour” to avert such clashes.
Calling the latest incident “a failure of intelligence collection by both the states,” Dr. Sangma asserted, “It is a failure to understand that this may have this kind of unpleasant fallout leading to the loss of precious life and injury to many. It is a failure.”
He urged both state governments — Assam and Meghalaya — to ensure transparency in negotiations and greater engagement with border communities. “When we engage in bilateral discussion, it is very important for us to clearly indicate our intent to all the people who are affected by any outcome of this negotiation. There should not be any lack of clarity — there should be complete clarity,” he said, adding that the absence of such clarity “may be creating this sense of insecurity amongst the people from both sides.”
Emphasizing the need for “multi-level and multi-layered engagement,” Dr. Sangma stressed, “It is a matter which should be immediately attended to by both authorities of both the governments at multiple levels, not at one level alone. It cannot be resolved at just one level — it has to be multi-level, a multi-layered endeavour. That’s why to have that complete clarity of understanding of the complexity of the problem is necessary.”
