TURA, May 30: The newly-formed Meghalaya Indigenous Minority Tribes’ Forum (MIMTF) on Tuesday lamented that none from indigenous minority communities was included in the committee reconstituted by the state government to discuss the proposed review of state reservation policy.
The MIMTF, which represents Rabha, Boro, Hajong, Koch and Mann tribes, was constituted on May 29 to take up the issue and seek the inclusion of the communities in the panel’s discussions. The meeting for the MIMTF’s constitution was held at Garobadha in West Garo Hills.
Garo Hills Autonomous District Council’s Barengapara MDC, Pramod Koch expressed unhappiness over the snub to these smaller tribes. “We learnt that a panel for taking views and opinions from different organisations, political parties, stakeholders etc with regard to the review of job reservation policy has been constituted. However, I am surprised that no invitation or intimation was given out to the indigenous minority tribes,” Koch said.
He requested Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to invite these stakeholders so that they can also share their views and opinions.
ACL wants 4% job quota for ‘Desi Muslims’
The Anti-Corruption League (ACL), based in the plains belt of Garo Hills, shot off a letter to the CM on Tuesday, requesting him to include representatives from the minority community in the discussions. The organisation also sought a 4 per cent share of quota for the community
“When Meghalaya was created in 1972, its non-tribal population was about 20 per cent. There is no denying the fact that non-tribals, especially the indigenous ‘Desi’ Muslims of the plains belt of Garo Hills, took active participation in the Hill State Movement under the leadership of Captain Williamson Sangma and other tribal leaders,” the ACL said.
It further said that despite being a part of Assam and the Assamese culture for centuries, the Desi Muslims extended their support for a separate Hill State with high hopes that their rights and socio-economic aspirations would be protected and accommodated in the new state.
“In the historic tripartite meeting among Central government representatives, non-tribal leadership led by the then MDC Late Akramuz Zaman and the tribal leadership led by Captain WA Sangma, the non-tribals were assured of equal opportunities and fair play by the tribal leaders. It was also promised that our rights and aspirations, our growth and development will be given equal priority and importance as that of the tribal people of Meghalaya,” the ACL said.
It lamented that the assurances were never fulfilled.
“The basic idea of reservation is an affirmative action by the state towards a group of people who were deprived of opportunities or suffered inequalities in the past. We strongly believe that reservation is a great social equalizer. We also strongly support the rights of reservation of our Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and other tribal brothers and sisters of Meghalaya,” the ACL said.
It felt that the present reservation system not only deprives the meritorious but has also created another group of people who are subjected to injustice and widespread inequalities in the availability of and access to educational facilities, government jobs and other opportunities. “In other words, the reservation policy of Meghalaya, in order to protect the deprived among the tribals, created a new deprived group of people i.e., the non-tribals and pushed them aside by denying the right to opportunities and access to education and livelihood,” the ACL said.
It urged the government to rectify the matter.
