We are permanent residents of M’laya, not illegal settlers, Harijans tell govt

SHILLONG, April 23: The residents of Harijan Colony have made it clear that they were permanent inhabitants of Meghalaya and not illegal settlers. They also condemned Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong for making “callous remarks” against them and for “distorting facts”.
Reacting to Tynsong’s statement that the state government will take the High Court route on the issue of relocation of the residents from Them Iewmawlong, Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) secretary Gurjit Singh said, “It is a very casual and callous response and I am surprised that the Deputy Chief Minister of a state should resort to stating facts in an incorrect manner.”
“We are always ready for talks as mentioned in our earlier reply and it is a position which we have stated many times to the government and to the High Court of Meghalaya. We have stated on many an occasion that the solution to this vexed problem can be only through talks in a spirit of give and take as well as in recognising the rights of each and every citizen of the area, without pressure, duress and misrepresentation,” he said.
Singh said that the Deputy CM is saying “we will present details to the High Court.” “I think these details should have been presented earlier. The question we have posed and to which the government has now reacted, why the details of that were not presented earlier?” he asked.
“It is unbecoming of the leader to misrepresent facts to the public through media. The blueprint presented to us is incomplete, there is no time line, there are residents living there, the proposed homes are pigeonholes, the question of title to the area to be given to families has not been specified,” Singh rued.
“How can we play a blind game with the lives of hundreds of families – men, women and children?” he added.
“It is another shocker that the Deputy CM, who had earlier recognised that we are not illegal settlers, is now asking how it is possible that we are staying there for 160 years. May we remind the Deputy Chief Minister and the people of Meghalaya that we are here since 1863 and we are in possession of authentic documents under the name and seal of the Syiem of Hima Mylliem?
“In a letter issued in 2008, the Syiem of Hima Mylliem has said that the plot of land was allotted to them long time back by the predecessors of Syiem of Hima Mylliem. In another document dating back to 1954, it is categorically mentioned that the land belongs to the residents of the Harijan Colony,” he said.
“Also, there are many other historical references as to how our forefathers were brought here by the then British army higher-ups from Gurdaspur and Amritsar districts of Punjab,” he iterated.
“In fact, by virtue of the fact that we are here for more than two centuries, makes us also historical residents and by virtue of tradition and culture, we too become indigenous peoples,” stressed Singh.
“By asking them for an appropriate accommodation, we are demanding our rights and not seeking a merciful largesse from the government. Let it be known to everyone, loud and clear that we are legitimate residents of the Punjabi Lane,” he said.