Twelve people were left bleeding on the Assam side of the border. Now, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh is on the phone, making promises.
What Happened at Bodoti
At least 12 people from Assam were injured on Monday after allegedly being fired upon by individuals from the Arunachal Pradesh side of the border in Dhemaji district, at an area called Bodoti in Mingmang. The trigger, according to reports, was a simmering dispute over alleged land encroachment — the kind of slow-burning tension that has defined this border for decades. What happened next, though, was anything but slow. Protests erupted. A blockade went up. And state-level phone calls started being made.
Khandu Picks Up the Phone
Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu — deputed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma specifically to monitor the standoff — confirmed that Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu reached out to him by phone on Wednesday morning. According to Pegu, Khandu assured him that the firing incident would be investigated properly and impartially, and that those found guilty would face action under the law. Pegu passing along Khandu’s words rather than Khandu saying them publicly himself is worth noting. It’s a careful, measured kind of diplomacy — the kind that keeps things from escalating while also not committing too loudly.
Blockade and Boiling Anger
Back on the ground, the mood is far from diplomatic. The Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), the apex student organisation of the Mising community, launched an indefinite economic blockade against Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday, demanding concrete action over the firing. A blockade is a serious step. It signals that communities in the region have run out of patience with assurances that don’t translate into accountability. The people who were shot at aren’t ministers. They’re ordinary residents living along a boundary that has never quite been settled.
Committees, Dialogue and 1,200 Disputes
Pegu said both sides agreed on the importance of continuing dialogue through joint regional committees, and that the Assam Cabinet had already reconstituted these committees at its Tuesday meeting, bringing in new ministers and senior officials. That sounds encouraging on paper. But here’s the context: the two states share an 804.1-km inter-state boundary, with the boundary having around 1,200 points of dispute. And as recently as July this year, Assam was informed in the state Assembly that over 16,144 hectares of land claimed by the state were under the control of Arunachal Pradesh. That’s not a minor administrative overlap — that’s a deep, structural problem that committees alone won’t fix.
A Promise Is Not Justice
Pegu’s appeal to residents to maintain peace and avoid actions that could damage relations between the two states is fair and reasonable. Nobody wants this to spiral. But the families of the 12 injured — people who were shot, not in a conflict zone, but near their own homes — deserve more than a phone call relayed through a minister. Pema Khandu’s promise of legal action is a starting point. Whether it becomes anything more than words depends entirely on what Arunachal Pradesh does next. The Northeast has heard many promises along this border. It’s still waiting to see one fully kept.
HASHTAGS
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