Not competition, but collaboration
By Georgeprince Ch. Momin
The recent demand by the Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU) to declare Jowai as the Summer Capital of Meghalaya, in response to the ongoing call for Tura to be granted Winter Capital status, has stirred an important conversation. While every community has the right to voice its concerns and aspirations, the tone and intent of such demands matter just as much in a democracy.
Let’s be clear from the outset: Meghalaya is a democratic state, not a totalitarian regime. In a democracy, every community—be it Khasi, Jaintia, or Garo—has equal rights to advocate for their people’s development, recognition, and representation. However, those demands must come from a place of understanding, not as reactions to another community’s long-standing aspiration.
The call to make Tura the Winter Capital is not a sudden or isolated request. It stems from decades of administrative marginalisation and infrastructural neglect faced by the people of Garo Hills. Residents of this region often travel hundreds of kilometers to Shillong just to avail basic state-level services. Establishing a winter capital in Tura is not an act of favouritism—it is a strategic step toward decentralisation and inclusive governance.
Moreover, the distance from Shillong to the two district headquarters of Jaintia Hills—Jowai and Khliehriat—can be covered within two to two and a half hours, making it easily accessible for administrative work and official purposes. This proximity ensures that the Jaintia region already benefits from logistical convenience. In contrast, people from Garo Hills often spend an entire day just traveling to Shillong, making routine state-level tasks burdensome and time-consuming. Therefore, I would urge our Jaintia brethren to support our genuine cause, which is based on the longstanding issues and unmet aspirations of the people of Garo Hills.
In contrast, the JSU’s recent statement appears less about genuine regional development and more about balancing perceived political scales. Democracy doesn’t work that way. Fairness doesn’t mean giving the same thing to everyone regardless of their need or context—it means ensuring that every region gets what it genuinely requires to thrive.
More importantly, the warning tone used by JSU—threatening agitations if Jaintia Hills is left out—does little to strengthen the democratic spirit. It’s disheartening to see youth bodies, which should ideally lead through vision and dialogue, resort to language that divides rather than unites.
This is not a race or a rivalry. Garo Hills asking for a Winter Capital does not take away from Jaintia Hills’ right to demand better roads, healthcare, or educational institutions. If Jowai genuinely needs greater administrative importance, that case must be built on facts, not on friction.
Let’s also remember, the idea of seasonal capitals isn’t new. Jammu and Kashmir followed this model for practical and geographic reasons, not to appease regional sentiments. If Meghalaya were to follow suit, the decision must be grounded in administrative logic and regional equity—not communal arithmetic.
All three major tribes of Meghalaya—the Khasis, the Jaintias, and the Garos—are partners in the state’s future. But partnership means we uplift each other, not pull each other down. True equality is not when everyone demands the same thing at the same time, but when everyone understands the different challenges we face and support each other in overcoming them.
Hence, instead of issuing counter-demands and threats of agitation, let’s embrace what democracy actually calls for: constructive engagement, respectful discussion, and shared goals. If Jaintia Hills has unmet needs, let’s highlight them with clarity and confidence, not as a rebuttal to Tura’s case, but as a cause worth standing for on its own merit.
In the end, democracy is not about getting even—it’s about getting better, together.