GUWAHATI: The United Garo Autonomous Council Movement Committee will launch a fresh round of agitation to push for its long-pending demand for a separate autonomous council, with a rally-cum-dharna at Dudhnoi in Goalpara district on Monday.
“We want the Assam government to call us for discussions in regard to our autonomous council demand and thereafter take a decision at the Cabinet meeting at the earliest,” UGACMC (Assam state) general secretary, Thengsil Sangma told The Shillong Times on Sunday.
The committee members and supporters will be taking out a procession from Shiluk playground to Dudhnoi Chariali (Traffic Point) under Dudhnoi police station before staging the dharna on Monday afternoon.
“We will push for creation of a separate autonomous council by exclusion of all the 374 Garo-inhabited villages in Kamrup and Goalpara districts which are currently under the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC). Therefore, we want the separate autonomous council for Garos prior to grant of Sixth Schedule status to RHAC,” Sangma said.
The Goalpara district administration meanwhile has given permission to the UGACMC for resorting to a peaceful rally and dharna from 12 pm to 2 pm on Monday even as the committee had earlier requested for a four-hour programme.
The administration has asked the committee members and supporters to refrain from making any provocative speeches or raising slogans which may disturb peace and order. Restrictions have been put in regard to the number of participants in the protest rally as well.
“If there is no response from the state government after the rally tomorrow, we shall be compelled to intensify our agitation after Magh Bihu, which will also include a protest march to Dispur,” Sangma said.
The Assam government had recently decided to constitute autonomous councils for Koch-Rajbongshi, Moran and Matak communities, instilling hope among people of the Garo community in the state for a separate council, a demand which they have been raising since the year 2003.
The committee has maintained all along that only a separate council on satellite basis can determine the development goals and redress the imbalance and backwardness of the areas inhabited by the Garo community in Assam.
The committee is also on the verge of completing a population survey of Garos in Assam across the 33 districts of Assam. So far the population in 21 districts covered has already exceeded 5 lakh.