SHILLONG: Former general secretary of Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and currently the Urban Affairs Minister, Hamlet Dohling said the KSU believes in actions and not words.
He was speaking at the function to pay tribute to late KSU leader, Bull N. Lyngdoh on his 24th death anniversary on Friday at Malki organised by the KSU.
He spoke Lyngdoh as a man of action and of few words. He said, “We don’t need paper tigers. The principle of the KSU is deeds and not hollowed words.”
He compared the KSU to a flowing river saying that the leaders of the KSU may come and go but the KSU will still remain.
At the programme, the minister spoke about the need to resolve the inter-state and international boundary, influx and the setting up of entry and exit point in Ri-Bhoi.
General secretary of Khasi Students’ Union, Donald V. Thabah echoed Dohling and said the members do not have time to create a clamor in newspapers or social even as people may taunt the union members as trouble-makers.
“When we entered KSU, we understood, it is not a life on a bed of roses. We will not speak but our actions will speak louder,” he said.
“To the authorities who arrest us from time to time – the jail is not a place to frighten but jail is petrol that sets ablaze our fighting spirit,” he said.
Recollecting the activities of Lyngdoh in the 80s, he said most of the areas have retained the tag of Khasi majority following the agitations led by him.
Another is the opposition to railway in 1989, Thabah said, “Development should be for the indigenous people and not for illegal migrants. The introduction of railway will facilitate illegal immigrants. Look at what has happen at Tripura and Assam.”
Thabah went on to say that the KSU has not stopped demanding for implementation of laws to tackle influx and to protect and preserve the culture and identity of the Khasi people.
He asserted that the demand for ILP is a long process and the setting up of entry and exit point and other comprehensive mechanism will fill the gap to tackle influx as per the demand of the present situation.
“As long we are getting laws to protect the indigenous the community, it is still better,” he said.
Recalling the heights of agitation over the demand to implement Inner Line Permit in the state in 2013, he said the KSU has not stepped back from demanding ILP even as he said pointed to criticisms that KSU received money to retract from their ILP demand.
HYC
The break-away faction of KSU, the Hynniewtrep Youth Council, (HYC) also paid tribute to the late KSU leader.
President of HYC, Robert Kharjahrin said the organisation will keep demanding for ILP and hinted that they do not need the entry/exit points.
“We do not need the setting up of this and that but we demand the implementation of ILP,” he said.
