Tura, Sept 30th: The arrest of 25 GHSMC activists has caught a lot of people on the wrong foot due to the suddenness of the act that happened. In time, the GNC came out in support of the arrested activists along with quite a few people who were unhappy with the arrests as well as blaming some of the NGOs being hand in glove with the administration in the whole episode. The GNLA has been a late entrant in the field of supporting the arrested Garoland activists. The GNLA not only called a bandh to support the activists, they also threatened the GSU in particular of being antagonistic to the demand and siding with the administration. The GSU today came out in defence of their actions and clarified what had happened from their point of view.
The GSU said clarified that the demand from them has always been the formation of a Greater Garoland state unlike what was happening. They said that they had never opposed the demand for Garoland, but were against the common people suffering due to the Indefinite Bandh calls by the GHSMC in their fight for Garoland. The scheme known as Greater Garoland had been initiated by Sonoram R Sangma from 1899 to 1916. It had then been pursued by Singgan Shira until the outbreak of the 2nd World War.
Giving a lesson in the history of the struggle for Garoland, Tengsak G Momin, the President of GSU said, “The fight for a Greater Garoland has been a long one. The first call was made by Sonaram Sangma before the 1st World War, when he tried to get the Garos of Assam, especially the Goalpara and Kamrup districts, as well as the people living in Khasi Hills, together with the Garos of the Garo Hills region. Even during the time of the former CEM of GHADC, P K Sangma, when he was the President of GSU, the fight was restarted by the team. When have we said that we were against Garoland. We just did not want the people of Garo Hills, especially those that have been living hand to mouth to suffer any more and as such we opposed the Indefinite Bandh calls”.
The GSU had also made demands for a separate state in the year 2010 and 2011 during the time of the then President Andreas T Sangma. According to the GSU, the GNC had imitated them but the thought was lost during the upcoming elections.
The demand was continued even when the districts of Kamrup and Goalpara were incorporated into Assam and Assamese made a compulsory language. According to the GSU, in Oct 1974, the Garo National Zonal Council had formed an action committee to merge the contiguous parts of Assam Meghalaya. The GSU clarified that it had no other option but to continue the demand for a Greater Garoland.(SP News)
