
Merina Y. Chishi
Dimapur | November 20
The vital documents comprising details of boundaries of Nagaland state which had gone “missing” is yet to be recovered, said Nagaland Commissioner HK Khullu. Speaking to this reporter on the sidelines of a public function today, the commissioner disclosed that the Local Commission, which has been hearing the case between Assam and Nagaland, has been given unrestricted access to archives across the country in order to hasten the process of locating the original documents.
It may be mentioned that the original documents, which include a valid map of Nagaland, were kept with the Ministry of Home Affairs first and then the Assam Government but ‘could not be traced’ during the crucial meeting of the Local Commission hearing the decades-old Assam-Nagaland border dispute. The Nagaland government held the Assam government responsible for carelessness leading to the documents going missing while the Assam government claims that they were not “original” but photocopies.
Speaking to The Morung Express, Khulu was hopeful that the vital documents and maps containing details of Assam-Nagaland’s border would be found soon. Although there is no clarity of border demarcation, Khulu said the government has a firm footing on its retrieval and will definitely solve the long-pending border issue between the two states. As per available details, the Sundaram Commission had submitted an “unofficial report” on the borders of Assam and Nagaland where the 42nd annexure, containing the documents and some maps was sent to the Home Ministry.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has stated on record that the case of the missing documents was a serious matter “since Nagaland has to make claims before the local boundary commission for re-drawing of boundaries on the basis of those documents”. Rio had told the State Assembly earlier that if the documents remain untraceable, whatever claims to re-draw inter-state boundaries must be valid and legal. Even the Congress Legislature Party leader Chingwang Konyak had raised the issue on the floor of the Assembly terming it as serious.