From Our Correspondent
TURA, March 27: Congress leader and former South Tura MLA John Leslee K. Sangma on Friday asserted that the Meghalaya government’s recent gazette notification making a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate mandatory for candidates in Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections is not enough to fully safeguard the political and land rights of the indigenous Garo people.
The notification, which received the Governor’s assent earlier this week, was celebrated by the ruling NPP with Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma terming it a historic victory for indigenous rights. This demand had been pending for over seven decades since the formation of the Autonomous District Councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
However, the former MLA described the move as disputable and only a partial, superficial measure that fails to address deeper structural issues in the existing legal framework.
In a video statement issued to the media, Sangma argued that merely requiring an ST certificate does not resolve the underlying contradictions in the old rules. He pointed out that the broad definition of “tribal” cited by the government, which includes approximately 11 tribes and 37 sub-tribes, could still allow many non-indigenous groups from outside the Garo Hills to participate in the elections.
“I do not think we won. We merely closed the door but kept the windows open,” Sangma remarked. “Asking for an ST certificate is not enough without changing the old laws. This will only bring contradiction and ambiguity.”
The former MLA specifically highlighted observations made by the Meghalaya High Court while hearing challenges related to the notification. The Court had indirectly advised the government to amend the Assam and Meghalaya Autonomous Districts (Constitution of District Councils) Rules, 1951.
He stressed that two key provisions need urgent overhaul. Rule 8(c) currently qualifies anyone entitled to vote as eligible to contest elections, while Rule 128 allows permanent residents within the territorial limits of the Council to vote, even if they do not belong to the Scheduled Tribes specified in the Presidential Order of 1950 as applicable to Meghalaya.
Sangma suggested that Rule 8(c) should be amended to restrict both voting and contesting rights exclusively to indigenous tribals of the Garo Hills who hold customary land ownership rights. He further demanded that Rule 128 be revised to explicitly bar members of ST communities not native to Meghalaya from participating as voters in GHADC elections.
On the recent arrests of Civil Society Organisation (CSO) leaders in Tura, Sangma praised the activists as “true heroes” for leading the sustained movement to protect tribal rights. He urged the government to immediately drop all charges against the CSO leaders. At the same time, he maintained a firm stand against anti-social elements who indulged in looting or violence during the protests, stating that the law must take its due course against those who exploited the agitation for criminal purposes.
