Mizoram proposes postponement of border talks with Assam in wake of President's visit

The Mizoram government has proposed postponement of border talks with the Assam government which is slated for November 4 in the wake of President Droupadi Murmu's visit to the northeastern state, said an official on October 28.

The Home Department additional secretary Lalhriatpuia has written a letter to the Assam government proposing the talks be postponed to November 9 to 11.

''We have asked to postpone the talks and scheduled them from November 9 to 11 in the wake of the upcoming visit of the President. We are waiting for a response from the Assam government, which will fix the new date,'' he said.

Notably, President Murmu will arrive in Aizawl on November 3 on a two-day visit.

Murmu will attend the convocation of Mizoram University (MZU) and she is also scheduled to inaugurate the Indian Institute of Mass Communication North Eastern Regional campus in Aizawl on November 3.

Later on November 4, she will also address the state assembly. 

The boundary dispute between the two neighboring states is a long-standing and contentious problem that dates back to two colonial demarcations in 1875 and 1933.

While Mizoram claimed the 509 square mile stretch of territory declared as an inner line reserve forest in 1875 to be its historical border, Assam considered the survey of India's Map to be its constitutional boundary.

Earlier in July, when security personnel from both states exchanged fire in the disputed territory near Vairengte village on National Highway - 306, six police officers and Assamese civilians were killed.