SHILLONG: The chief convener of the North East Indigenous People’s Forum (NEIPF), Anup Chetia, has stressed on the need to bridge the gap between the indigenous people on both sides of the border to defuse the ongoing tension along the Meghalaya-Assam border.
“We can form a joint committee of the NGOs from Assam and Meghalaya to visit the inter-state border to understand the ground reality. We need to build relations between the indigenous people of the two neighbouring states,” Chetia said while speaking at the meeting to form the NEIPF Meghalaya chapter that was held here on Tuesday.
He further proposed that they can visit the border areas sometime in April. Chetia said they can organise small meetings among the indigenous people on both sides of the border even as promoting cultural programmes in an attempt to bring them together.
“I strongly feel that good relations will defuse the tension along the inter-state borders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chetia said he had spoked to leaders of Karbi Anglong and they said they had no bad relations with the Khasi people residing along the inter-state border.
The NEIPF chief convener said the tense situation along the inter-state is being created by the district administrations. “The district administrations are adopting the policy of ‘divide and rule’. The district administration would not want the local people residing along the border to live in peace with each other,” he said.
While referring to the tension along the Boko side in Assam, Chetia said the bad situation which had arisen on the Boko side was due to the Nepalese who have migrated to these areas.
“There is no issue among the indigenous people. It is the migrated Nepalese who are creating problems,” the NEIPF chief convener said.
He, however, suggested that the indigenous population in both Assam and Meghalaya can jointly build some infrastructure
to prevent the migrated Nepalese from taking dominance in these disputes areas. “The Nepalese have managed to infiltrate in these areas since none of our people reside in these areas,” he said.
It may be mentioned that the NEIPF Meghalaya Chapter was formed with FKJGP, Wellbirth Rani as the chairman, RBYF president Bipul Rani as the vice chairman, HYNF general secretary Sadon K Blah as the general secretary, FKJGP general secretary Dundee Cliff Khongsit as the general secretary and former FKJGP president Emlang Lyttan as the adviser.
Earlier, Chetia said NEIPF “is not a political forum but focuses on preserving the identity and culture of the people”.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he referred to people in Tripura who have lost their identity and culture in their own motherland, even their political and constitutional rights.
He added that a Tripura-like situation will arise in Assam and all over the region and floated the NEIPF to take a united stand in protecting their culture and identity.
