SHILLONG: The Hynñiewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) on Friday said that they look forward to special constitutional status in the form of Article 371 for better protection.
In a statement issued here, secretary of the central body of HNYF, Sadon Kupar Blah said that as a state of the indigenous people, there must be protection with regard to land, raw materials, identity and long term rights and survival in the challenging circumstances of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Blah expressed gratitude to the MLA of East Shillong, Ampareen Lyngdoh, for raising the history of the Hynñiewtrep nation on the floor the House during its Autumn session which concluded on Friday.
“On this note we hope that our public representatives and the public at large will seriously ponder upon what Lyngdoh has thrown open in the constitutional and public domain of our historical document, that is, the Instrument of Accession (IOA),” he said.
He also urged upon the other members of the House to consider the matter as of prime importance, and also that the government must reconsider its denial to constitute a committee to go through the matter.
He asserted that if the contents of the IOA and Annexed Agreement is materialised in the constitutional provisions like Article 371, it by itself will raise the constitutional status of the legislative assembly of the state.
Blah pointed out that as a reminder to the Indian nation that as the people of Hynñiewtrep have not signed any instrument of merger with the Indian union but the Hynniewtrep land became part and parcel of India through the Instrument of Accession with the belief that the Indian government will accept the accession to the union on the condition of the Annexed Agreement which clearly states that the legislative domain of the Government of India will cover only defence, currency and communication.
“The Instrument of Accession was the interim arrangement for a period of two years, that is, as per the Standstill Agreement, but before the lapse of the interim period, in the name of national integration our land was annexed by totally violating all the terms and conditions of the IOA which includes the Annexed Agreement and the Standstill Agreement,” he said in the statement.
