Editor,
We condemn in the strongest possible terms the mindless act of cruelty and barbarism of the Assam Police which killed five villagers of Mukroh in West Jaintia Hills. The flare-up of border disputes between states of North East India has been recurring and if not resolved at the earliest will one day escalate into war.
By the Executive Act of the then Assam Government in 1951 two areas of Block I and II were transferred and mechanically tagged with the non-contiguous and truncated Mikir Hills and North Cachar Hills District in spite of the strong opposition of the lone Member of the Legislative Assembly from Jaintia Hills. This was the third partition of Jaintia Hills and till today the sense of irredentism prevails in the political mind of the Jaintias. Many Jaintias from the areas so forcibly transferred were arrested and taken to Nowgong jail and other jails elsewhere for their peaceful opposition to the high-handedness of the then Assam Government. Two of the arrested, namely, Mr. Trod Thaiang and Mr. Pin Thaiang Sariang were beaten to death in Nowgong jail while three other persons were missing and their whereabouts are not known even today. Even militant elements have been used occasionally by the Assam Police to intimidate the Jaintias.
Since 1951 and for the last almost 80 years there were a series of peaceful movements and agitations by various NGOs formed by the Jaintias on the question of retransferring of Block I and Block II areas to Jaintia Hills officially known earlier as the Jowai Sub-division, one of the oldest subdivisions of the then composite state of Assam. The Jaintia people will never accept the government report according to its letter No.POL.78/2010/209 dated Shillong the 8th August 2011 regarding the area to be transferred to Meghalaya in these two Blocks and the separate consideration of the two villages of Khanduli & Psiar which are part and parcel of the two Blocks.
The martyrdom of all those who had sacrificed their lives shall never be reconciled until the restoration of the pre-1951 map of Jaintia Hills is fulfilled by the re-transfer of the detached area of Jaintia Hills; the souls of those who were martyred are still heard crying for the re-transfer of the two areas Block I and II to Jaintia Hills.
We however hope the Meghalaya government would be able to convince Assam to honour this history and to undo its unconstitutional act committed soon after the promulgation of the Indian Constitution, and to agree to the re-transfer. We do accept the five principles as agreed by Assam and Meghalaya viz. historical facts, geographical continuity, administrative convenience, ethnicity, and people’s will, in deciding the boundary issues between the two states.
Yours etc.,
Dr. Omarlin Kyndiah,
Via email
Disturbing news from Meghalaya
Editor
The news from Meghalaya and India has been shocking these last few days. First the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar by her boyfriend (after months of domestic violence), then the killing of Meghalaya citizens by Assam police, then the honour killing in Gujarat. It seems unbelievable that Aftab Ameen Poonawalla’s parents used to visit the couple! Why did they not intervene? It seems unbelievable as well that Assam police, who are supposed to defend the defenseless, have killed Meghalaya citizens in cold blood. When will they learn that Meghalayan lives matter? As you state in your editorial (TST, Nov 23, 2022), there is a clash of civilizations here between Meghalaya and Assam. As for the Gujarat honour killing of a sister by her brother, for allegedly having an affair, which century are we living in? How are young men being raised these days? How are police being trained? All this is incredibly sad.
Yours etc.
Deepa Majumdar,
Via email
Most inhuman attitude
Editor,
The recent shooting incident involving once again the Assam police and its administration at Mukroh situated under Laskeiñ Block of West Jaintia Hills district is a stark reminder that a small spark can break the peace. The adamant attitude of the present state government to take head on the state of Assam shows a lack of firmness, lack of political will and hard stances when it comes to asserting one’s right. The State police has been shamed on various social media platforms which portrays a sad picture of the police department for not acting immediately but possibly certain political strings were being pulled. We have a Home Minister who belongs to a ruling party with no firmness in his statement while his party colleagues are calling for a stronger stand. How well the present government stays the course will be interesting to watch. However, prayers for the fallen victims and remembrance is what we need to have in such trying times.
Yours etc.,
Dominic Stadlin Wankhar
Via emai