Non-Tribals' Condition in Meghalaya Similar to that of Kashmiri Pandits in 1991, Claims Governor

Shillong, March 7, 2020:

Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy drew a comparison of non-tribals residing in Meghalaya to that of Kashmiri Pandits while speaking on the lines of the recent violence between the tribals and non-tribals along the Assam-Meghalaya border.

While speaking with media persons, he said, "I saw the need to repeatedly talk to ministers and senior civil servants of the State. The non-tribals in the State were in a thoroughly demoralised state and I got the impression their position and status is something like that of the Kashmiri Pandits of 1991 when they had to leave the Kashmir Valley."

It may be mentioned here that three people have been killed and several injured so far in the clash at Ichamati of East Khasi Hills on February 28 when a meeting of the Khasi Students’ Union had convened to discuss Citizenship (Amendment) Act and Inner Line Permit.

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Roy opined that there should not be any discrimination other than the ones stated in the law. “One fundamental thing is that we are Indian citizens, where we are Khasi, Garo, Bengali, Sardar and whatever and we are living in a part of India. There cannot be any discrimination other than what is provided in the law," he said.

Meanwhile, the controversial Roy has also been accused of stoking communal tensions on social media. Yesterday, he uploaded a picture, allegedly of Hindus fleeing persecution, alongwith the caption, "A rare photograph by Sunil Janah. Bengali Hindus on a boat,fleeing Islamic persecution,rape and death in Noakhali (now Bangladesh) in 1946. This happened to Kashmiri Pandits too in 1990. Whose turn next? There is still time. Beware!"

"The law provides for some kind of abridgement of the rights of citizens in the State like you (non-tribal) cannot buy land except in a small part of Shillong. Apart from what is forbidden by law, there should not be any discrimination and people should not be afraid of moving around like free citizens,” he added.

The Meghalaya Governor said that instructions had been given to the authorities to work towards restoring normalcy and the morale of the non-tribal people.

It needs mention here that the law and order situation has been disrupted since February 28 incident. Night curfews continue to be imposed in parts of Shillong and other affected areas of East Khasi Hills district.

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