Shillong, June 18: The Hynñiewtrep Integrated Territorial Organization (HITO) Students’ Wing condemns the demand of the various non-indigenous residents (Bihari, Nepali, etc) of the state for reservations about work and education in the state.
They would like to remind all that Hynñiewtrep individuals do not demand reservations in Bihar, Darjeeling West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh of the respective areas and states of the communities mentioned. If they want to demand reservations, they should do so in their respective homeland.
They should not cross their boundaries by trying to demand such reservations in other communities’ areas. Such demands have no principle and they should abstain from such demands as they have no such right in our respective territory because the entire Khasi & Jaiñtia Hills Districts till today fall under the Khasi States Treaty wherein these territories never signed the Instrument of Merger but signed only the conditional treaty of Accession with special conditions.
They also demand that the state government should not pay heed to their demands as this leads to unnecessary tension. For this reason, there is a strong demand for ILP even though Meghalaya is under the sixth schedule. It is also to be reminded that the Meghalaya Transfer of Land Regulation Act 1971 bars non-tribals from owning land in Meghalaya.
Hence they would not allow others to interfere in our rights and should they try to snatch away our plate, they would be met with stiff resistance. Such demands are provocative and should be avoided.
The non – indigenous communities should know their place about such issues. They must understand that they are only tenants in our land and should respect the decisions made by the indigenous people.
Other non-Hynniewtrep people have no right to make such demands and consider themselves to be the ‘Children of the Soil’ and that the Hynñiewtrep territories are their homeland.
It should also be noted that the certain community demanding reservations is the same community which is creating havoc in the border areas of Meghalaya and Assam by wanting to join Assam ( especially in the Langpih area). It is such an irony that the said communities are now wanting reservations in our state.
Secondly, as per known history, the mentioned communities are responsible for trying to upsurge the rights of the indigenous people namely the Hynñiewtrep people in the years 1978, 1987 and so on.
Thirdly, during the Hill State Movement, none of the mentioned communities participated in the struggle for statehood. So by what right are they demanding reservations now?
They will not tolerate such provocations and demands made by such communities who have no right to make any demands in our territories. The HITO will stand firmly to defend the rights of our people and will not allow such demands to be conceded.
As in the words of a former Law Minister who notified the Land Transfer Act in 1978 late Martin N Majaw – quote “We don’t like outsiders to stay here. We tell them, come here, appreciate the blue sky and the green hills, and then go away.” Unquote.
