Editor,
We are in the throes of a big push for introduction of Inner Line Pass, based on an act enacted during the British Period. Regulation 5 of 1873 was a Regulation for the peace and Government of certain districts on the Eastern Frontier of Bengal. It was applicable to the districts of Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur (Garo Hills), Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Naga Hills and Cachar, which came into force on the 1st of November 1873. After 24 years of its implementation, so far as it applied to the Garo Hills Districts, its applicability was repealed by the Repealing Act, 1897 (V of 1897). Now, one has to bear in mind that “We the people of India” gave unto ourselves the present Constitution on the 26th November 1949. Article 13 (1) of our Constitution states : “All laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution, in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall to the extent of such inconsistency be void”. Let us remember that this Article 13 falls under Part III that deals with the Fundamental Rights of its citizens (Articles 12 – 35). Article 19 is the very basis of our fundamental rights. Article 19 (1) (d) & (e) speak about the right to move freely throughout the territory of India; and to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India. However, the Constitution provides a caveat in Article 19 (5) “Nothing in sub-clause (d) and (e) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevents the State from making any law imposing, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the said sub-clauses either in the interests of the general public or for the protection of the interests of any Schedule Tribe.
Now, the various NGOs operating in Garo Hills, have latched on to the bandwagon of Khasi-Jaintia NGOs demanding introduction of ILP without having any social discourse with the Garo Hills civil society. Its elected members, be they MLAs or MDCs are made to look foolish in the light of the present agitation. The NGOs are without any mandate from the people of Garo Hills to speak for the society and surprisingly, only a few uninformed MLAs have expressed any opinion about the introduction of ILP in Garo Hills, based on a repealed and non-existent act. Our Meghalaya State has enacted the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act, precisely to prevent the swamping of our society by non-tribals from the mainland. The Garo Hills Autonomous District Council created for the explicit purpose of protecting the identity and culture of the Tribal society, has also put in place certain enactments for the said purpose. At the same time, we should not condone the many omissions and commissions of the various Govt. agencies and the failure of our Nokmas to protect the Tribal Land from encroachment by illegal immigrants. But the moot point is that we have a law which could be enforced in its letter and spirit.
The other question that should engage the minds of our NGO brethren is, who do they target for implementation of this ILP? Are they concerned about the handful of tourists who flock to our state who spend only a week at the maximum and return to their own place of residence in India or abroad; the workforce who come to earn a livelihood by doing manual work or business; the inter-state immigrants who are mainly tribals searching for greener pastures or any other such vulnerable sections of our society? The civil society in Garo Hills is totally silent on the mushrooming of small hutments in the Araimile area of Tura. Every nook and corner of the area is taken up by migrants who initially set up a small shop by the roadside, gradually convert that into a home and then disappear into the interiors causing a big strain on the civic amenities like water, electricity etc. Next, one finds them driving a posh car claiming to be businessmen or sitting pretty in a Government office. I urge the Garo Hills NGOs to conduct a serious study of this issue, engage with the civil society and its leaders like the elected members of the Assembly or the District Council and then demand whatever they desire in the genuine interest of the tribal society. The writer further endorses the stand of the State Cabinet headed by the Chief Minister who believes in finding alternatives for illegal migration rather than harp on the “ILP or nothing” attitude. Just imagine a situation where any person is proceeding from Garo Hills to Shillong for some work and being stopped at Jorabat for checking of Inner Line Pass or worse merely harassed. The path of agitation will certainly yield knee-jerk reactions from the Government but seldom long lasting solutions.
Yours etc.,
P.L.Sebastian, Advocate
Tura
Delay in implementing ILP- whom to blame?
Editor,
The demand for implementation of ILP in the state started years ago. Through the years we have seen protests and demands by different NGO’s. The issue even got the support of a huge section of the people, yet, till date there seems to be no progress at all. In this case whom do we blame for the delay in implementing of the ILP? Should we blame our Government or our politicians or should we blame ourselves?The reason I am asking this question is because the only reason implementation of the ILP is delayed or not progressing at all is because we have elected law makers who are not at all willing to, or have no interest in implementing ILP. Just last year before the elections to the State Assembly the ILP was a burning issue yet we voted for representatives who are against ILP and voted against those who promised that implementing ILP would be their first priority. We even gave the majority to the party that does not mention ILP anywhere in their manifesto. So how can we expect that it will happen anytime during their tenure? Now we expect a miracle to happen. What exactly happened when we had the chance to bring a change? Who did we vote for? Or did we forget our demands because our basic necessities then were provided by those candidates now turned MLAs? Looks like we now have to wait another five years for ILP to become a reality. This pertains to our other on- going demands too which we conveniently forget during elections. I, hope that five years down the line we will be more sensible while casting our votes and in choosing our representatives otherwise we will only end up in ‘demanding’ for all of the years to come.
Yours etc.,
K Nongkhlaw
Shillong-8
Who is an outsider or insider?
Editor,
The student community here in Meghalaya shall forever be indebted to those self-sacrificing teachers whose invaluable contribution has made a difference to the lives of others. Recalling those wonder years, we were so blessed to have many committed and passionate teachers at St. Edmunds College- Mr. S B Paul, Dr. A S Guha, Mr. Lahiri, members of the Edmund’s Brothers etc. who taught us with zeal and dedication. Besides, there are countless others in different schools/colleges of the city who have made a difference to the student community. It is a fact that most of these wonderful people were not from the indigenous community. Should we forget, be inconsiderate and treat with disdain, those who have contributed so much, just because they do not belong to the indigenous community? At present, we are grateful for these individuals- Bah Phrang Roy, Bah Toki Blah, Bah Barkos Warjri, Fr. Devasia Vazhayil, Bah Vivek Syiem and countless others for their tireless effort in building a better place especially for the innocent young generation. We exhort them to keep up the good work.
Yours etc.,
Macdonald Brando Pyngrope
Via email