Tensions have been flaring between Assam and Mizoram over an inter-state border dispute with both states deploying heavy deployment of police personnel along border areas.
Amid the ongoing dispute along the Mizoram-Assam border, a war of words ensued between Chief Ministers of both the states asking for Centre's intervention to bring an immediate end to the crisis.
On July 26, six police officers from Assam were killed and 65 people, including civilians, were injured in the fresh violence that broke out at the disputed Assam-Mizoram border.
Tensions have been flaring between Assam and Mizoram over an inter-state border dispute with both states deploying heavy deployment of police personnel along border areas.
Like always, the recent clash was also a fallout of the altercation that occurred over land encroachment between the people of the two states. The Ministry of Home Affairs has called for a meeting with the Chief Ministers of Mizoram and Assam in a bid to solve the border dispute that dates back to several decades.
Videos shot from either side of Monday’s clash emerged with subtitles under the hashtag, as did maps showing the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) buffer being breached by the contingent of Assam Police.
By Wednesday, ‘#ShameOnAssam’ was one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter, as memes depicting national and regional media’s biases against Mizoram in their coverage began to pour in on social media.
Moreover, the hashtag managed to garner only 2.6 million reaches, which proves that mostly bots were used with the aim to fan internal tension in India.
If one searches the hashtag on Twitter, it can be easily seen that these bots from mostly outside India and some within India have been tactically used to peddle the anti-India narrative. Interestingly, mostly all the Twitter handles posting the hashtag, belonging to non-Indians are unverified with not more than 10-11 followers.
Though it is unclear who might be behind this unscrupulous act, it is sufficiently clear that the recent border clash has been craftily used by propagandists to once again peddle a dangerous anti-India narrative on the microblogging website and bots, which buy legitimacy with fake names and accounts, have been engaged to fan internal conflicts in India.
NOTE: Asianet News humbly requests everyone to wear masks, sanitize, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Together we can and will break the chain #ANCares #IndiaFightsCorona