Shillong, August 24: The Regional Democratic Alliance, comprised of the UDP and the HSPDP who were also part of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance in this Collation government met the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and submitted memorandum on three issues, Railway, Boundary dispute and inclusion of Khasi and Garo language in the eight schedule of the construction of India.
In the memorandum, mention that, the Regional Democratic Alliance (RDA), being a major constituent of the present State Government and comprising of the UDP, HSPDP and Associate members of the UDP, would like to put forth the following pending but pertinent issues concerning the people and the state which we feel needs to be pursued judiciously and with utmost sincerity.
Boundary Dispute ,This issue has been lingering for almost 48 years and despite the efforts made at the level of the Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya and also at the level of the Chief Secretaries, the outcome of the talks have not yielded the desired results for both the states.
Instead, unpleasant skirmishes keep erupting periodically as had happened recently at Langpih and Balakhawa under Hima Nongspung.
Inspite of earlier decisions taken to maintain status quo, the area of differences witnessed sporadic incidents which mounted tensions from time to time.
The RDA is of the view that the border talks between Meghalaya and Assam needs to be revived and resumption of dialogue be initiated at the earliest to find an amicable and a lasting solution to this problem. In this regard, the Consultative committee constituted earlier needs to be activated to solicit views and opinions from important stakeholders.
Railway Line, Pending the solution to bring about an effective mechanism to address the issue of influx and illegal immigration in the state of Meghalaya which has incurred huge losses due to the intermittent agitations and upheavals.
The RDA strongly oppose the move on the part of the Government to facilitate the railway line to Ri Bhoi District and also other parts of the state. The fear and apprehension on the part of the indigenous population of the state of being overwhelmed by the influx of outsiders cannot be ignored.
Inclusion of Khasi and Garo Language in the VIII Schedule, The people of the state of Meghalaya were overjoyed when the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on 26th September 2018, adopted a resolution to petition the Government of India to include the Khasi and Garo Languages in the Eight Schedule of the constitution of India.
This has been the long cherished dream of the indigenous population of the state. When the Meghalaya State Language Act 2005 and rules made thereunder in 2008 for recognition of Khasi and Garo languages as Associate Official languages, it was felt at that time, that this has paved the way to facilitate the inclusion of these two languages in the VIIIth Schedule.
Besides, the other criteria for inclusion, such as number of speakers of these two languages, the contiguity of the area where the people reside, the medium of instruction from the primary level to PhD level, recognition by Calcutta University since 1919, the rich literary works and so on, are strong justifications.
In connection with the above, the RDA are optimistic that with your able leadership, the above long pending issues and concerns will be addressed appropriately at different levels and we are hopeful that if we are persevere and focus we will be able to realized the objectives of our commitment as partners of this Government. The memorandum was sign by Bah Renikton L. Tongkhar, secretary and Bah Metbah Lyngdoh as Chairman.
