Welcome and Inaugural Keynote Address

09:00 - 09:50 AM: State of Mizoram- Peace, Pressure and the Porous Borders  

Context
Mizoram remains one of India’s most successful peace stories since the 1986 Mizoram Peace Accord, yet now faces intense pressure from the Myanmar conflict, refugee inflows, and narcotics routes across its borderlands. This session will frame the dialogue around preserving this “quiet peace” under external shocks, moving beyond a narrow focus on conflict containment to a broader conversation on resilience and cooperative security.

Guiding questions

• How have refugee inflows and the Myanmar conflict changed the risk profile of Mizoram in the last 3–4 years?

• What does the Centre expect from Mizoram as India’s stable borderland and potential overland gateway to Southeast Asia?

Speaker 1: 09:00 - 09:50 AM

• Lt Gen (Retd) Shokin Chauhan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM
  Former Director General, The Assam Rifles

• Dr. Shanthie Mariet D'Souza
  President, Mantraya Institute of Strategic Studies
  Faculty, Naval War College, Indian Navy
  
  

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10:00 - 11:40 AM: Borderlands at Crossroads- Security, Kinship and Refugees

Context
Mizoram hosts tens of thousands of displaced people from Myanmar, with fresh influxes pushing the total Myanmar-origin refugee population towards 40,000 and straining local capacity. At the same time, biometric enrolment and registration have advanced rapidly but face questions of completeness and trust.

Guiding questions

• How can Mizoram balance humanitarian obligations rooted in ethnic kinship with long‑term security and governance needs at the border?

• What has worked or failed in refugee registration (biometrics, documentation), and how can data integrity be improved without alienating host communities?

• How should state police, Assam Rifles, and civil administration share roles in camp security, intelligence, and community liaison?

Speaker 1: 10:10 - 10:50 AM

• Lt Gen (Retd) P C Nair, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, Ph.D
  Former Director General, The Assam Rifles

Speaker 2: 11:00 - 11:40 AM

• Prof. (Dr.) Henry Zodinliana Pachuau
  Department of Social Work
  Mizoram University
  
  
  

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11:45 - 13.00 PM: Preying the Predator: Countering Narco-Trafficking, Transnational Organised Crimes, and Local Overground Networks 

Context
Mizoram has become a major transit corridor for narcotics from Myanmar, with recent joint operations seizing consignments worth hundreds of crores and leading to the destruction of seized drugs along the border. The state has launched large anti-narcotics drives such as “Operation Jericho” alongside community campaigns.

Guiding questions

• What are the new patterns in narco‑routes, synthetic drugs, and local facilitators along the Mizoram–Myanmar frontier?

• How can inter‑agency operations between Mizoram Police, Excise & Narcotics, Assam Rifles, and central agencies be institutionalised beyond episodic drives?

• What is the right mix of deterrence, asset seizures, financial investigations, and rehabilitation to undercut both supply and demand?

Speaker 1: 11:45 - 12:30 PM

• Brigadier Puspender Sorayan,
  DIG, HQ 23 Sector, The Assam Rifles

• Colonel Laldinpuia,
  Commandant, 34th Battalion, The Assam Rifles

Speaker 2: 12:30 - 13:00 PM

• Ms Jayantika Rao
  Research Associate, Delhi Policy Group (DPG)

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13:00 - 14:00 PM: Youth at the Frontline: Employment, Drugs and Community Leadership

Context
Mizoram is grappling with a serious drug addiction challenge, prompting the Young Mizo Association and others to launch a “war against drugs” and mobilise communities for de‑addiction and safer streets. At the same time, Territorial Army companies with local Mizo youth have been discussed as a way to tackle narco‑trafficking and provide employment.

Guiding questions

• What is the real picture of youth unemployment, addiction, and petty crime in urban and rural Mizoram, and how is it evolving?

• How can schools, churches, YMA, and youth bodies coordinate with the state to expand prevention, counselling, and reintegration pathways?

• Are hybrid models like Mizo Territorial Army units, community policing, and youth entrepreneurship programmes viable tools for both security and livelihood?

Speaker 1: 13:00 - 13:45 PM

• Prof (Dr.) Sreeradha Datta
  Professor of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University (JGU)

Speaker 2: 13:45 - 14:00 PM

• Ms Sirsha Gupta
  Researcher, International Relations and Peace Studies, Nalanda University

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14:00 - 15:00 PM: Information Battles:  Online Radicalisation, Cross Border Influence, and Social Cohesion

Context
National agencies have highlighted online radicalisation and AI‑driven propaganda as emerging counter‑terrorism concerns, calling for a “whole of government and whole of society” approach. Even in a largely peaceful state like Mizoram, the combination of youth unemployment, digital penetration, refugee presence, and external information campaigns creates a complex information environment.

Guiding questions

• What are the plausible radicalisation vectors and influence operations relevant to Mizoram (religious, ethnic, transnational, criminal, or issue‑based)?

• How can state police, cyber cells, churches, student unions, and civil society establish early‑warning mechanisms for online radicalisation?

• What legal, technological, and community‑level tools are realistic for a small hill state to deploy against disinformation and extremist narratives?

Speaker 1: 14:00 - 14:40 PM

• Mr. Ankit Tewari
  Director, Counter Terrorism Division, Centre for Internal Security Analysis (CISA)

• Mr. Pratikshit Tiwari
  Director, Counter Terrorism Division, Centre for Internal Security Analysis (CISA)

Speaker 2: 14:40 - 15:00 PM

• Ms. Sanchaly Bhattacharya
  Research Fellow, Jindal School of International Affairs (JGIA)

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15:00 - 16:20 PM: Gateway to the East:  Connectivity, Trade, and Local Interests under Act East Policy 

Context
Analyses have long argued that Mizoram is a natural overland gateway for India’s Act East Policy, given its relatively peaceful environment and short routes to Myanmar and beyond. Key projects like the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project road, the Zokhawthar land customs station, and the Bairabi–Sairang rail line are central to this vision.

Guiding questions

• How can Mizoram leverage emerging rail and road links to create local employment, logistics hubs, and value‑addition rather than remaining a mere transit corridor?

• What safeguards are needed so that connectivity does not accelerate trafficking, environmental degradation, or social disruption?

• What institutional arrangements (Act East cells, cross‑border chambers, local stakeholder forums) are required to align central projects with Mizo community interests?

Speaker 1: 15:00 - 15:30 PM

• Mr Constantino Xavier
  Senior Fellow
  Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP)

Speaker 2: 15:30 - 16:20 PM

• Ambassador (Retd) Riva Ganguly Das
  Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)

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16:20 - 17:00: PM: Land Ports as Gateways of Act East: Trade, Connectivity and Secure Border Infrastructure in Mizoram

Context

Mizoram’s role in India’s Act East Policy depends not only on large connectivity projects, but also on the development of secure, efficient and locally responsive land-port infrastructure. As projects such as the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, Zokhawthar border trade point, Kawrpuichhuah Land Port and emerging rail-road connectivity reshape Mizoram’s regional position, land ports can serve as critical gateways for formal trade, logistics, passenger movement, employment and border security. This session will focus on how LPAI can help convert connectivity into a structured border economy while addressing emerging challenges related to informal trade, trafficking, cross-border instability, difficult terrain, local livelihoods and community interests.

Guiding questions

• How can land ports strengthen Mizoram’s role as a practical gateway under India’s Act East Policy?

• How can LPAI infrastructure support projects such as Kaladan, Zokhawthar, Kawrpuichhuah and emerging rail-road connectivity?

• How can land ports promote formal trade, logistics services, local employment and value addition rather than making Mizoram only a transit corridor?

• What safeguards and coordination mechanisms are needed to balance trade facilitation with border security, environmental sensitivity and local community interests?

Speaker 1: 16:20 - 17:00 PM

• Shri Debasis Nandi
  Regional Coordinator, Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI),
  Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)