SHILLONG, Dec 30: The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisation (CoMSO) chose the 158th death anniversary of legendary freedom fighter, U Kiang Nangbah to reiterate its demand for the implementation of Inner-Line Permit (ILP) in the State.
The British-era ILP is in force in four north-eastern states – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.
A few thousand members of pressure groups comprising CoMSO took to the streets on Wednesday shouting “No ILP, no rest” as they marched from Shillong Polytechnic to Motphran carrying torches and waving flags.
As the crowd at Motphran swelled, CoMSO secretary Roy Kumar Synrem said: “U Kiang Nangbah was a freedom fighter of the Hynniewtrep people hailing from Jaintia Hills. By carrying out this torch rally on his death anniversary, we wanted to convey our displeasure to the Central government that is adamant on our demand for ILP.”
He recalled Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave Manipur ILP as a gift even though the state did not ask for it.
“We want to ask the NDA government why it has adopted a step-motherly attitude towards the people of Meghalaya,” Synrem said.
“We have been asking for ILP for a long time and the state Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution, more than once, to impress upon the Centre for implementing ILP in Meghalaya,” he added.
Synrem said the torch rally has set the stage for CoMSO to launch the pro-ILP movement on a larger scale in 2021.
The CoMSO asked the state government to expedite the process of setting up entry-exit points in other parts of the state.
Leaders of constituent groups such as KSU and Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) warned of an agitation if more such points are not set up soon.
“We need entry-exit points in Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills fast,” FKJGP president Wellbirth Rani said.
Biangbor Paliar, vice-president of KSU’s Central Executive Council said the government should come out with laws to protect the interest of the indigenous minorities of Meghalaya.
KSU president Lambokstarwell Marngar slammed the government for going slow on the Harijan Colony issue.
“We are demanding ILP, not a separate flag or constitution. We also want some political will to resolve the Harijan Colony conflict (in 2018),” he said.
The city administration had arranged adequate security and deployment of officials during the rally. CoMSO members had pitched in to manage the traffic and the crowd at Motphran.