SHILLONG: The Garo Hills State Movement Committee (GHSMC) has welcomed the stand of NPP leader Purno A Sangma to renew the demand for Garoland state, while addressing the first election rally in A’dokgre recently.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, Nikman Ch. Marak, chairman of GHSMC, said that the party appreciated the stand of NPP for the inclusion of Garoland demand in their election manifesto.
“The statehood demand is a political one and since only the Parliament of India can deal with the matter, if a veteran leader like P.A. Sangma is elected, he would sincerely work towards fulfilling our hopes of seeing a new Chief Minister and Governor in Garo Hills,” Marak said.
According to Marak, the creation of Garoland state is the only solution to retain peace in Garo Hills.
“Hundreds of our Garo brothers have sacrificed their lives for the motherland but the Government did not take the sentiments of the Garos seriously,” he said, adding “the Government underestimated the pressure groups by questioning why a handful of Garo people needed a separate state.”
The GHSMC leader reminded that two MPs – one in India (Garo Hills of Meghalaya) and another in Bangladesh – had made the Garo people known worldwide.
“Besides this, Garos are living in West Bengal, Nagaland, Tripura, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong, BTC districts of Assam, but we are divided politically,” he said.
He reminded that it was a long standing demand of the Garos led by Sonaram R. Sangma, the first political leader of the Garos in 1900s during the British rule. He added that the first political party of the Garos, the Garo National Council, was formed in 1946 to pursue the matter.
On May 16, 1947, the GNC submitted a memorandum to Gopinath Bordoloi, the then Chairman of the Constituent Assembly Sub-Committee, to include the Garos living outside the Garo Hills District Council in the list of Scheduled Tribes.