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Aug 27, 2026

Rubber Saplings, a Forest Gate and Old Wounds: Fresh Clashes Erupt on the Assam-Nagaland Border at Merapani

Fresh clashes have broken out along the Assam-Nagaland border in Golaghat district's Merapani sector this week, after a Forest Department vehicle check at No. 2 Negheribil escalated into an armed confrontation, a police complaint, and warnings of an economic blockade against Nagaland-side villages. The flare-up is the latest in a string of incidents in the area since Assam launched a large eviction drive earlier this year targeting more than 2,000 Bengali-origin Muslim families settled inside the Rengma Reserve Forest along the disputed frontier. Background The Assam-Nagaland boundary dispute dates back to 1963, when Nagaland was carved out of Assam under the Nagaland State Act, 1962, which defined the new state's borders according to a 1925 colonial-era notification. Nagaland rejected that delineation, arguing that Naga-dominated tracts of forest land — including areas around Merapani — historically belonged to Naga tribes and should fall within its territory. The dispute has never been formally settled: Assam approached the Supreme Court in 1998, and the case remains pending even as periodic ceasefire and status-quo arrangements have tried to keep the peace on the ground. Merapani itself carries a violent history. In June 1985, a three-day confrontation between Assam and Nagaland's state police forces left dozens dead — Assam government figures put police casualties alone at 28, with other estimates of total deaths running into the hundreds — and destroyed large parts of the settlement inside the Doyang Reserve Forest. In the aftermath, both states were forced to withdraw their armed police from the area, which has since been patrolled by central paramilitary forces rather than either state's own police. That arrangement is precisely why the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), not Assam or Nagaland police, was the first responder to this week's clashes. The current round of tension has a more immediate trigger. Earlier this year, the Assam government launched one of its largest eviction drives in the Golaghat district, aiming to clear roughly 15,000 bighas (about 4,900 acres) of the Rengma Reserve Forest in the Uriamghat area, where an estimated 2,700 families — mostly Bengali-origin Muslims — had settled. Because Uriamghat sits inside one of the long-disputed sectors of the Assam-Nagaland boundary, the eviction immediately reverberated across the frontier: Nagaland placed its side of the border on high alert, deploying police and district officials to prevent evicted families from crossing over, while Naga civil society groups, including the Dimapur Naga Students' Union and a faction of the NSCN(K), publicly accused Assam of using the evictions as cover to permanently entrench police presence on disputed land. Key Details This week's specific flashpoint was at a checking gate set up by the Assam Forest Department at No. 2 Negheribil in the Merapani sector. Tuesday's incident: An argument broke out at the Forest Department's checking gate after Naga residents objected to officials stopping a vehicle carrying rubber saplings/rolls bound for a recently evicted stretch of land. Escalation: According to local residents, around 30-40 people — described as arriving from the Mikirang and Lugayum/Longayim areas on the Nagaland side and led by Hussain Lotha, chairman of the Longayim and Mikirang villages — entered Negheribil carrying sharp weapons, intimidating residents. Wednesday's follow-up: Two Naga individuals allegedly involved in Tuesday's disturbance returned to the spot, triggering a fresh heated argument that turned into a physical scuffle before CRPF personnel and Merapani Police intervened and dispersed the group. Separate protest-site clash: In a related flashpoint reported at the same border sector, Nagaland police personnel who arrived to dismantle a protest stage and remove banners set up by local demonstrators were confronted and chased back toward the Nagaland side by protesters who outnumbered them, before Assam Police arrived to restore order. Police complaint: Residents of No. 2 Negheribil have filed a formal police complaint alleging assault, intimidation and unlawful entry by the Nagaland-side group. The Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), an organisation representing the Mising community with a presence in the affected villages, has warned of an economic blockade against Nagaland-side villagers bordering Assam if the matter is not resolved through dialogue. A TMPK representative was quoted saying: "The miscreants must face legal action and we demand the two councils to sit for discussion with local residents of Mising village and TMPK and find a resolution through deliberation. If they fail to do so, we will be compelled to undertake economic blockade." Separately, farmers in Assam's Merapani area have also lodged a complaint against Nagaland's Agriculture Department, adding an administrative dimension to the dispute beyond the immediate street-level clashes. District officials in Golaghat have appealed for calm and said fresh talks are being arranged with Nagaland counterparts to de-escalate the situation, while local residents have vowed to continue their protest until they receive clear assurances that Assam's territorial claims in the sector will be protected. At a Glance Episode Year Scale / Outcome 1985 Merapani Incident 1985 Three-day inter-state police confrontation; dozens to over 100 dead by various estimates; both states' armed police withdrawn from the area Rengma Reserve Forest eviction drive 2026 (earlier this year) ~2,700 families, ~15,000 bighas (4,900 acres) cleared in Uriamghat; triggered high alert on Nagaland side No. 2 Negheribil clashes This week (August 2026) Forest-gate dispute over rubber saplings escalates to armed confrontation, police complaint, blockade threat Local Impact For residents of border villages like Negheribil, Merapani, Mikirang and Longayim, the practical impact is immediate: heightened fear, disrupted daily movement across a porous frontier that many families on both sides have historically crossed for farming, trade and social ties, and now visibly increased security presence. Farmers whose land or produce routes intersect the disputed checking-gate area — such as those transporting rubber saplings, a cash crop increasingly cultivated in Upper Assam — face direct economic disruption when gates are contested or shut down amid unrest. The TMPK's blockade threat, if carried out, would cut off trade and movement for Nagaland-side villages that depend on the Assam side for market access, escalating an already fragile local economy built on cross-border interdependence despite the political dispute above it. More broadly, the recurring nature of these flare-ups — this is far from the first Merapani-area clash in recent years — means border communities live with a low but persistent hum of insecurity that periodically spikes into acute crisis, disrupting schooling, local commerce and administrative services each time paramilitary forces have to be deployed to restore calm. What Happens Next Golaghat district officials say fresh talks with Nagaland counterparts are being arranged to de-escalate the immediate situation, and security has been tightened in the Merapani sector to prevent further incidents. At the state level, Assam's Border Protection and Development Minister has previously said talks are ongoing at the Chief Minister level with Nagaland even as the underlying boundary dispute remains before the Supreme Court, where Assam's original 1998 petition is still pending. Given the pattern of past incidents, a durable resolution is unlikely to come from this round of local talks alone; residents and officials on both sides are expected to continue treating each flare-up as a separate crisis to be managed rather than a symptom of the unresolved 434-km boundary dispute between the two states, which covers roughly 66,000 hectares of contested land in total. Frequently Asked Questions What triggered this week's clash at the Assam-Nagaland border? An argument at an Assam Forest Department checking gate in No. 2 Negheribil, after officials stopped a vehicle carrying rubber saplings bound for a recently evicted area, escalated when a group of 30-40 people from the Nagaland side reportedly entered carrying sharp weapons. Why did CRPF, not state police, respond to the clash? Since the deadly 1985 Merapani Incident, both Assam and Nagaland have kept their armed state police forces withdrawn from the immediate Merapani area, leaving central paramilitary forces like the CRPF as the primary security presence there. How is this connected to the Rengma Reserve Forest evictions? Earlier this year, Assam evicted roughly 2,700 families, mostly Bengali-origin Muslims, from about 15,000 bighas of the Rengma Reserve Forest in nearby Uriamghat, which lies in a disputed boundary sector. That drive put Nagaland's side of the border on high alert and heightened cross-border tension that has continued to surface in incidents like this week's. What is the Takam Mising Porin Kebang threatening? The TMPK, representing the Mising community in the affected villages, has warned it will call for an economic blockade against Nagaland-side border villages unless the two sides' local councils sit down for dialogue and resolve the dispute. How old is the Assam-Nagaland border dispute? It dates to 1963, when Nagaland was carved out of Assam and given borders based on a 1925 colonial notification that Nagaland has long disputed. Assam took the matter to the Supreme Court in 1998, and the case remains pending. How much land is in dispute between Assam and Nagaland? Roughly 66,000 hectares of land is disputed along the two states' 434-km shared border, according to Assam government figures. Has there been any progress toward resolving the dispute? Assam's Border Protection and Development Minister has said talks are ongoing at the Chief Minister level, and the Nagaland Assembly has previously adopted a resolution supporting settlement talks, but no final boundary agreement has been reached and the Supreme Court case continues. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[ {"@type":"Question","name":"What triggered this week's clash at the Assam-Nagaland border?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"An argument at an Assam Forest Department checking gate in No. 2 Negheribil, after officials stopped a vehicle carrying rubber saplings bound for a recently evicted area, escalated when a group of 30-40 people from the Nagaland side reportedly entered carrying sharp weapons."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Why did CRPF, not state police, respond to the clash?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Since the deadly 1985 Merapani Incident, both Assam and Nagaland have kept their armed state police forces withdrawn from the immediate Merapani area, leaving central paramilitary forces like the CRPF as the primary security presence there."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"How is this connected to the Rengma Reserve Forest evictions?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Earlier this year, Assam evicted roughly 2,700 families, mostly Bengali-origin Muslims, from about 15,000 bighas of the Rengma Reserve Forest in nearby Uriamghat, which lies in a disputed boundary sector. That drive put Nagaland's side of the border on high alert and heightened cross-border tension that has continued to surface in incidents like this week's."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"What is the Takam Mising Porin Kebang threatening?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The TMPK, representing the Mising community in the affected villages, has warned it will call for an economic blockade against Nagaland-side border villages unless the two sides' local councils sit down for dialogue and resolve the dispute."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"How old is the Assam-Nagaland border dispute?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It dates to 1963, when Nagaland was carved out of Assam and given borders based on a 1925 colonial notification that Nagaland has long disputed. Assam took the matter to the Supreme Court in 1998, and the case remains pending."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"How much land is in dispute between Assam and Nagaland?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Roughly 66,000 hectares of land is disputed along the two states' 434-km shared border, according to Assam government figures."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Has there been any progress toward resolving the dispute?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Assam's Border Protection and Development Minister has said talks are ongoing at the Chief Minister level, and the Nagaland Assembly has previously adopted a resolution supporting settlement talks, but no final boundary agreement has been reached and the Supreme Court case continues."}} ]} Sources The Assam Tribune Sentinel Assam Pratidin Time Northeast Now Scroll.in

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Census 2027 Duty Pulls Teachers From Classrooms, Leaves Assam Schools Racing to Finish Syllabus

News

Aug 27, 2026

Census 2027 Duty Pulls Teachers From Classrooms, Leaves Assam Schools Racing to Finish Syllabus

Government schools across Assam are struggling to keep regular classes running as thousands of teachers have been pulled out of classrooms for Census 2027 duty, leaving syllabi incomplete just weeks before half-yearly examinations begin in mid-September. The disruption has hit primary schools hardest, many of which operate with just one or two teachers on their entire staff, and has triggered formal appeals from teachers' associations for the state government to review how the door-to-door enumeration exercise is being staffed. Background India's Census 2027 is being conducted for the first time as a fully digital exercise, and Assam's schedule has placed two of its most staff-intensive phases squarely inside the academic calendar. Self-enumeration, where residents could submit basic household details online, ran from August 2 to August 16. That was immediately followed by the Houselisting and Housing Census, a physical, door-to-door survey that began on August 17 and continues through September 15 — the same window in which schools are expected to complete their first-half syllabus and prepare students for half-yearly exams. As with previous census cycles and state elections, the government has drawn heavily on school teachers to staff this exercise as enumerators and supervisors, a practice that has long been standard in India's administrative machinery but one that becomes acutely disruptive when it overlaps with the school calendar rather than a vacation period. Training for supervisors and enumerators has already begun in areas such as the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) region, according to the Assam Tribune and Sentinel Assam, both of which have tracked the rollout closely through August. Key Details The scale of the teacher deployment has left many schools functioning with a skeleton staff during school hours. According to the Assam State Primary Teachers' Association, the average primary school in Assam has only about two teachers on its rolls — meaning that pulling out even one or two of them for weeks of census work can effectively shut down normal classroom instruction for entire cohorts of young students. Self-Enumeration phase: August 2 – August 16, 2026 (online household submissions) Houselisting and Housing Census phase: August 17 – September 15, 2026 (door-to-door physical survey) Half-yearly school examinations: scheduled for mid-September, directly overlapping the tail end of the housing census Hardest-hit tier: primary schools, most of which run on a staff of one to two teachers Next flashpoint: the Population Enumeration phase of Census 2027 is set to begin in early 2027, a period teachers' bodies warn will again collide with examinations and the state's Gunotsav school-assessment programme, this time in its third phase Ratul Chandra Goswami, general secretary of the Assam State Primary Teachers' Association, has been among the most vocal voices flagging the disruption, telling reporters that the shortage at the primary level is especially severe given how thin teaching staff already runs in rural and semi-urban schools. In Guwahati, the Kamrup Mahanagar Zila Madhyamic Sikshak Aru Karmachari Santha has formally urged the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup Metropolitan District to review the current deployment pattern, warning that it could severely affect classroom teaching in the state's most densely populated district. Safety has emerged as a second, related concern. Teachers deployed for door-to-door enumeration have reported hostile encounters in the field: in Bongaigaon district, a teacher on census duty was threatened with a sharp implement, while in Dergaon, a woman teacher was injured in a dog attack while visiting households. Teachers' associations have raised both incidents with the state government as evidence that field deployment needs better safeguards, not just staffing adjustments. On the administrative side, the General Administration Department (GAD) has directed that officials and teachers already engaged in Census 2027 duties not be transferred until their assigned work is complete. The order followed a specific concern raised by the Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur, after a transfer order threatened to pull a teacher already mid-way through census fieldwork away from the district altogether. Separately, Assam's Directorate of Elementary Education (DEE) has ordered mutual transfers of teachers who are not on census duty to join their new postings immediately — an apparent attempt to backfill some of the gap left by colleagues deployed to enumeration work, though teachers' bodies say this is, at best, a partial fix. At a Glance Census 2027 Phase (Assam) Dates Academic Calendar Overlap Self-Enumeration (online) Aug 2 – Aug 16, 2026 Regular classes in session Houselisting & Housing Census (door-to-door) Aug 17 – Sept 15, 2026 Syllabus completion period; half-yearly exams scheduled mid-September Population Enumeration (next phase) Early 2027 Expected to coincide with exams and Gunotsav's third phase, per teachers' associations Local Impact For students, the most direct consequence is an unfinished first-half syllabus heading into exams that determine promotion and academic standing for the year. Parents in rural blocks, where a single-teacher absence can mean a school effectively closes for the day, have reported children being sent home early or held in unsupervised classrooms while the one available teacher manages census paperwork. For teachers themselves, the burden is dual: many are simultaneously trying to prepare lesson plans, grade assignments, and complete government-mandated enumeration targets within the same working day, often with little additional compensation or logistical support such as transport or safety escorts in remote and border-adjacent areas. The Kamrup Mahanagar teachers' body's intervention signals that the disruption is not confined to remote rural pockets — it is being felt in Guwahati's own municipal core, where school density is highest and administrative attention is usually sharpest. That the state's most visible teachers' associations are now raising the issue publicly suggests the problem has moved from an operational inconvenience to a policy question the Education Department can no longer defer. What Happens Next With the Houselisting and Housing Census phase running until September 15, schools are expected to continue operating with reduced staff for at least another two to three weeks from the current date. Education Department officials have not announced a state-wide staffing intervention beyond the DEE's mutual-transfer order, and no public commitment has yet been made to exempt a minimum number of teachers per school from census duty during exam-preparation weeks. Teachers' associations are expected to press their case further as the Population Enumeration phase approaches in early 2027, arguing that the state must build a staffing plan that does not once again default to pulling teachers out of classrooms during a period that overlaps exams and Gunotsav assessments. Whether the government revises its deployment model before the next phase, or continues the current approach with administrative patches like transfer freezes, remains to be seen. Frequently Asked Questions Why are teachers being deployed for Census 2027 duty in Assam? As in past census cycles and state elections, the Assam government has drawn on school teachers and other government employees to serve as enumerators and supervisors for the Houselisting and Housing Census, which requires a large door-to-door workforce to survey households across the state. When does the current phase of Census 2027 end in Assam? The Houselisting and Housing Census phase runs from August 17 to September 15, 2026, according to the state's published schedule. Why are primary schools particularly affected? The Assam State Primary Teachers' Association says the average primary school in the state has only about two teachers, so removing even one for weeks of census duty can leave a school severely understaffed or unable to hold regular classes. Have there been safety concerns for teachers on census duty? Yes. Reported incidents include a teacher being threatened with a sharp implement in Bongaigaon district and a woman teacher being injured in a dog attack while conducting door-to-door enumeration in Dergaon. Has the state government responded to teachers' concerns? The General Administration Department has barred the transfer of teachers and officials on census duty until their assignments are complete, following a specific case raised by the Lakhimpur Deputy Commissioner. The Directorate of Elementary Education has also ordered mutual transfers of teachers not on census duty to fill gaps, though associations say this only partially addresses the shortage. Will this disruption repeat in 2027? Teachers' associations have flagged that the Population Enumeration phase of Census 2027, expected in early 2027, may again overlap with school examinations and the third phase of Gunotsav, Assam's school assessment programme, raising the same staffing concerns. Who has raised these concerns publicly? The Assam State Primary Teachers' Association, led by general secretary Ratul Chandra Goswami, and the Kamrup Mahanagar Zila Madhyamic Sikshak Aru Karmachari Santha, which has formally written to the Kamrup Metropolitan District Commissioner, are among the bodies that have raised the issue. Does this affect private schools as well? Reporting on this issue has focused on government schools, which are the primary source of the teaching staff deployed for census enumeration duties under state administrative directives. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[ {"@type":"Question","name":"Why are teachers being deployed for Census 2027 duty in Assam?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"As in past census cycles and state elections, the Assam government has drawn on school teachers and other government employees to serve as enumerators and supervisors for the Houselisting and Housing Census, which requires a large door-to-door workforce to survey households across the state."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"When does the current phase of Census 2027 end in Assam?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Houselisting and Housing Census phase runs from August 17 to September 15, 2026, according to the state's published schedule."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Why are primary schools particularly affected?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Assam State Primary Teachers' Association says the average primary school in the state has only about two teachers, so removing even one for weeks of census duty can leave a school severely understaffed or unable to hold regular classes."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Have there been safety concerns for teachers on census duty?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes. Reported incidents include a teacher being threatened with a sharp implement in Bongaigaon district and a woman teacher being injured in a dog attack while conducting door-to-door enumeration in Dergaon."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Has the state government responded to teachers' concerns?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The General Administration Department has barred the transfer of teachers and officials on census duty until their assignments are complete, following a specific case raised by the Lakhimpur Deputy Commissioner. The Directorate of Elementary Education has also ordered mutual transfers of teachers not on census duty to fill gaps, though associations say this only partially addresses the shortage."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Will this disruption repeat in 2027?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Teachers' associations have flagged that the Population Enumeration phase of Census 2027, expected in early 2027, may again overlap with school examinations and the third phase of Gunotsav, Assam's school assessment programme, raising the same staffing concerns."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Who has raised these concerns publicly?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Assam State Primary Teachers' Association, led by general secretary Ratul Chandra Goswami, and the Kamrup Mahanagar Zila Madhyamic Sikshak Aru Karmachari Santha, which has formally written to the Kamrup Metropolitan District Commissioner, are among the bodies that have raised the issue."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Does this affect private schools as well?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Reporting on this issue has focused on government schools, which are the primary source of the teaching staff deployed for census enumeration duties under state administrative directives."}} ]} Sources The Assam Tribune Sentinel Assam Pratidin Time

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