By Dominic Sangma
Every time I return to my village after every few months I am confronted by some glaring transformation. It is hard to ignore this transformation without pondering upon the future consequences. But we can no longer remain apathetic because we will have to bear the aftermath of it. If we don’t speak up now our villages will go to Assam.
My village Nongthymmai (Garo) lies on the Assam-Meghalaya border, under Ri-Bhoi district. Its a hillock just behind the Khanapara to Basistha Chariali Highway. During my recent visit, I observed a huge chunk of land being cut and a monstrous building being constructed. I learnt that it belonged to someone from Manipur. The construction is just beside the community forest reserve and graveyard.
The question nobody is asking is – How come people from outside Meghalaya are buying land here? Are they allowed to register the land in their names in Meghalaya? Can our Headman and the Mylliem Syiemship be allowed to issue NOC for land registration? Doesn’t the Deputy Commissioner of Nongpoh have any say on this? In the vicinity of villages that stretch from Killing-Umnawe, Pillangkatta- Maikhuli to Umtrenga, lots of land is being purchased by the hill tribes of Manipur (Naga and Kuki-Zo tribes) that locals generally call “Naga” (that includes Tangkhul, Kuki, Hmar, Mao etc).
The road stretching from Pillangkatta to Maikhuli resembles a mini Manipur. It’s not their fault that they bought land here. In fact it’s the best investment since strategically, these are some of the best places of Meghalaya which the Government of Meghalaya has ignored much to the anxiety of the inhabitants of the border areas. These places are right next to Guwahati, and to get land at throwaway prices in these areas is a bonus for them but myopic on our part.
The Land Transfer Act of Meghalaya says- “No land in Meghalaya shall be transferred by a tribal to a non-tribal or by a non-tribal to another non-tribal except with the previous sanction of the competent authority. “Tribal” here means a person belonging to any of the Scheduled Tribes pertaining to Meghalaya.” In my conversation with a Naga lady from Manipur, she claimed that tribals from other states are allowed to buy land in Meghalaya. Is this true? What does the KHADC have to say about it? I called up the local MLA and MDC, Sosthenes Sohtun and raised my concerns. He says, “It’s more complicated than what it appears and the locals have to be cautious of selling land to outsiders.” I hope he will raise this concern in the assembly and find a permanent solution to this pernicious problem.
Growing up in the border area, I know for sure that allowing non-Meghalayans to buy land in these areas is suicidal. For them, it’s irrelevant whether they belong to Assam or Meghalaya as long as they’re next to the biggest city of North East India because they don’t hold the same sentiments as we Garo, Khasi or Bhoi do to protect the borders from shifting. Since my childhood, I have seen the border shift towards Meghalaya. The roads and fields that once belonged to Meghalaya have gone to Assam. Houses that were in Meghalaya are now getting Guwahati Municipal Council Number. The water pipes and electricity lines of Assam are criss-crossing towards Meghalaya.
When Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was Chief Minister my father lost 1,63,450 sq. ft of paddy field near Pillangkatta, to Assam. It was registered in Meghalaya in 1992. Today I can challenge that no one knows where the border begins and ends. It’s an ongoing dispute that will last for a long time unless Meghalaya Government comes up with a permanent solution. From the Assam perspective they’re not encroaching into Meghalaya’s land; they’re doing what’s good for their state; they’re securing their border. But Meghalaya is not aware that it’s tail is on fire because it can’t feel the heat since the capital Shillong is so far away from the border and the weather is too good to bother about what’s happening in the border areas.
I have learnt that the Assam Government allows its inhabitants in the border areas to register land for free or at a cheap rate to secure the border and expand their jurisdiction. Why is the Meghalaya Government not securing its own territory and enabling land registration of original and permanent Meghalayans? My late father who was one of the main persons to spearhead the fight to protect the border had always said that the best way to protect the borders is to build something infrastructure like big hospitals, some institutions, university, shopping mall, hotels etc., that benefit both the population of Guwahati and Meghalaya. This would have served many purposes. One, it would have been a permanent marker of the border; two it would have generated huge revenue to the state, third it would have generated employment for the people of this are and fourth it would have brought overall development to the state rather than concentrating only on Shillong.
Perhaps it would have been intuitive to create another district headquarter right next to Guwahati because people from this region are completely neglected. For every small work they have to travel to Nongpoh. In my village 80 % of the youth are school drop-outs and about 90 % of them are unemployed. The nearest PHC is in Byrnihat; the nearest Government College is in Nongpoh; the nearest Block is in Umling. So, if the Assam Government is ready to provide better roads, water supply, uninterrupted electricity and other amenities why should the residents of border areas resist and not avail these facilities? Why shouldn’t they sell their land to outsiders. That’s the predicament they face.
About 10-15 years ago people started selling their lands to upgrade their lives and for fear of losing their land to Assam. One reason why the majority of villagers sold their lands to the above-mentioned tribe is because of ethnic and religious affinity. They have bought land in every part of my village; some have bought entire hills. Within a short span of time the demography of this area has completely changed. Pillangkatta- Maikhuli used to be Garo and Khasi village. Now it resembles Guwahati city and Manipur. I don’t recognise the place today. There were attempts to change the names of lanes and by-lanes and they don’t assimilate with our community but try to assert supremacy over the residents. I have myself faced this supercilious attitude.
The mushrooming of buildings along these stretches shows that the new settlers are richer and more educated than the indigenous residents. Villagers who have sold their land and are now tenants. Surprisingly some NGOs have demanded to remove the power of the Garo Headman of the areas as if the Khasis are not involved. Without the NOC of Mylliem Syiemship the new land-owners cannot register their land, so why this hypocrisy? Instead of turning everything into a Garo versus Khasi problem, let’s find a lasting solution.
Tomorrow if the demand of the pressure groups for ILP is granted, where will they erect a gate for checking visitors? Jorabat? Byrnihat? Then what about this stretch of Meghalaya I am talking about? Will they cede it to Assam?
During COVID the check gate was in Umling, which means they were protecting the population of Shillong and even if the residents of these areas had to go to Nongpoh they were not allowed to enter this part of Meghalaya saying we came from Assam. This attitude of Meghalaya beyond Byrnihat will give away the best part of the state.
(The writer is a Filmmaker)