Assam group condemned for fanning flame of religious intolerance
SHILLONG, Jan 23: Finally breaking his silence three days after a violent clash between villagers and police on Monday over the construction of the Ramakrishna Mission ME School on a disputed site in Mawkynrew village, sitting MLA, Banteidor Lyngdoh on Thursday said he has taken steps to resolve the conflict among the residents of Mawkynrew and Mawlein areas.
Lyngdoh told The Shillong Times that the main contention of a section of the villagers and members of the Mawkynrew Sports Club is over a football ground allotted to the club which is adjacent to the site where the construction of the RKM School is under way.
He said he is trying his best to bring everyone on board to resolve the issue amicably and hoped for an early solution to the stalemate.
The MLA said he has urged the East Khasi Hills district administration to lift the curfew in the area, assuring to take full responsibility to prevent any untoward incident if the curfew is lifted.
Lyngdoh also slammed Assam-based Hindu group Kutumba Suraksha Parishad for fanning communal tension on religious lines in his constituency.
He asked the Hindu group to verify the facts before making such misleading statements.
“I would appeal to the KSP to refrain from interfering into the internal matters of the state and my constituency. We will not tolerate if they continue to poke their nose into our matters,” the Mawkynrew MLA warned.
The Khasi Jaintia Christian Leaders Forum has expressed outraged at the “insidious claim” by KSP that the recent incidents in Mawkynrew are caused by “religious intolerance” shown by the local Christian believers there.
“From the news reports and visuals in the media, no church or Christian institution initiated the trouble but the local citizenry of those areas were engaged in the altercations related to the issues that concern them. The KSP has no right or basis to make the claims of ‘intolerance’ on religious lines particularly against the Christian community in our state. This is a provocative act to stoke the fires of fundamentalism and exclusion in our diverse and secular country,” KJCLF said in a statement.
The Forum urged the authorities to take timely steps against such organisations in order to prevent acts of communal and religious fanaticism in the state.
Echoing similar sentiments, the Shillong All Faith Forum (SAFF) snubbed the Hindu group for making attempts to create friction on divisive and fundamentalist aspects of religion.
“From media reports it is seen that the crowd engaged in the incidents at Mawkynrew are not identified by their religious affiliations and it is wrong for the KSP to cast aspersion and accuse the Christian community in this manner,” SAFF said.
The HYC also registered its strong objection to the KSP’s statement that “religious intolerance” and “opposition by Christian group” led to the clashes at Mawkynrew.
HYC president Roy Kupar Synrem said such statements by KSP are nothing but an attempt to sow the seed of communal tension in the state and painting a wrong picture of the whole events without verifying the facts.
“They should refrain from making such irresponsible statements as this would have far reaching repercussions on the peaceful coexistence of people from different faith and communities in our state. In fact KSP should not view everything that happens in Meghalaya as anti-Hindu and conclude that it is a conspiracy by some religious groups against other religions,” he said, asking the KSP to stop meddling into the affairs of the state.