SHILLONG, May 12: A consortium of five pressure groups demanded that the National People’s Party-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance Government should review and set aside the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Meghalaya and Assam for resolution of the interstate boundaries by referring to the Independence Act of 1947 and Article 294 of the Constitution.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, the five pressure groups – KSU, FKJGP, HNYF, Khasi Women Welfare and Development Association (KWWADA) and Social Organisations of Meghalaya Against Land Alienation (SOMALA) – stated that Section 7 of the Independence Act, 1947 provided for constitution of the Dominion of India whereby the suzerainty of the British monarch over Indian territories and all treaties and agreements signed with the princely states lapsed.
They observed that the Independence Act, 1947 made the erstwhile Khasi states free from the control of the Dominion Central Government and the Dominion Provincial Government.
“The Khasi States were brought within the Dominion of the India by means of the Instrument of Accession and Standstill Agreement in 1948. The agreement contains items which were listed in which the Dominion Government will have power over the Khasi States but land was not in the list of items,” they stated. According to them, the Dominion Central Government of India as well as the provincial Government of Assam had no power, right or jurisdiction over the land of the Khasi States.
“In other words, lands of the Khasi States are not within the jurisdiction of Dominion of India and Assam. The Government of Assam cannot claim or encroach upon the land of the Khasi States without violating the provisions of the Independence Act, 1947 and Article 294 of the Constitution of India,” the five pressure groups stated.
They observed that with the enforcement of the Constitution on January 26, 1950, the Republic of India came into existence and the Khasi States were brought within the ambit of the Sixth Schedule.
According to them, the Independence Act, 1947 freed the Khasi States from the control of the British monarch and the lapse of the treaties and agreement released certain areas which combined with the Khasi States to form the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills district.
The five pressure groups stated that certain Khasi states have a boundary with Assam namely, Mylliemship at Khanapara.
“The Khasi States have a crucial role in the boundary dispute and should be at the helm of affairs as far as Meghalaya is concerned,” the statement said.
“Boundary is a legacy of the past and not a thing of the present time. The Syiem of the Hima Mylliem and the Autonomous District Councils are absent from the task of framing the MoU signed between the chief minister of Meghalaya and Assam which makes the document incomplete,” they pointed out.
According to them, the MoU promotes the policy of ‘give and take’ which is unconstitutional.
“In view of these circumstances, the MoU may be reviewed or set aside in the interest of the people of Meghalaya,” they added.
