TURA: Peeved at the failure of the state government to pass the Garo Customary Law (GCL), which, it termed, is a demand of the majority of the Garo population, the A’chik Holistic Awakening Movement (AHAM) on Friday staged a sit-in at the entrance of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
Members of the movement, while holding placards and posters, sat in front of the GHADC office entrance during Friday’s protest in their efforts to get the concerned authorities’ notice.
The organisation said that although the GCL was sent for the Governor’s approval, it was returned twice despite the fact that 99 per cent of the community was in favour of it and wanted it to become an Act. It added that while appeals have been made for the implementation of the GCL, the government has been delaying the process. “If the state government truly feels the pulse of the indigenous people, they should have passed the law by now. We have been repeatedly meeting the government and it has been more than six months since a reminder was submitted, but GCL is yet to see the light of day,” the vice president of the movement, Georgeprince Ch Momin, said.
The organisation reminded that the GHADC was still functioning based on oaths and ordeals rather than a written law even after more than 50 years of its establishment and said that coding of the GCL would be the first steps towards preservation and protection of the indigenous Garo people.
“The demand for the GCL Act will continue amidst all political flings. The interests and protection of the indigenous Garo people will remain our hardcore agenda,” it resolved.