SHILLONG: The Grand Council of Chiefs of Meghalaya has sought the prime minister’s intervention in extending the application of memorandum of Settlement — Assam Accord of August 15, 1985, to Meghalaya as this will ensure implementation of NRC.
John F Kharshiing, chairman of the Grand Council of Chiefs of Meghalaya and spokesperson for the Federation of Khasi States, has submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Meghalaya governor on Saturday.
According to the memorandum, the recent publication of the Assam Draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a serious matter of concern especially for the citizens of Meghalaya.
Kharshiing said as per the Assam Accord-Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) of August 15, 1985, the Foreigners issue: Section 5 refers that for purpose of detection and deletion of foreigners, January 1, 1966, will be the base date and year and secondly all persons who came to Assam prior to January 1, 1966, including those among them whose names appeared in the electoral rolls used in 1967 will be regularised.
According to Kharshiing, the foreigners who came to Assam after January 1, 1966, and up to March 24, 1971, will be detected in accordance with the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1939.
The Assam Accord also states that the names of foreigners so detected will be deleted from the electoral rolls.
Such persons will be required to register themselves before the Registration Officers of the respective districts in accordance with the provisions of the Registration of Foreigners Act 1939 and the Registration of Foreigners Rules 1939.
Kharshiing said though there was much relief in Meghalaya over the Assam Accord, the Indigenous Khasi, Jaintia and Garo people of Meghalaya were shocked to have been neglected the just, proper and constitutional claims of extending the Assam Accord to Meghalaya who are faced with the identical problems as the Assamese.
“It is a known fact that on January 1, 1966, which is the cut off year or base year, the three hill districts which now form Meghalaya were then a part of the composite Assam”, Kharshiing said.
The problem of foreign nationals in Meghalaya was directly inherited from Assam and hence the Centre should have applied the same principles to Meghalaya as have been laid down in the Memorandum of Settlement or Assam Accord. Meghalaya has an Indo–Bangladesh border of 443 km whereas that of Assam is only 262 km.
Kharshiing said the non-inclusion of Meghalaya within the then Memorandum of Settlement by the Centre violates the provisions of Article 14 (Equality before the Law) and Article 29 (threat to our unique and distinctive way of life as tribal’s).
Kharshiing urged the Prime Minister to correct the wrong so that the continued apprehensions about the influx of foreign nationals to Meghalaya and North East and the fear about the adverse affects upon the political, social, cultural and economic life of the state is urgently addressed.
