Stop instigating and harassing border population, warns Garo bodies
TURA, Aug 7: In a major slap on those organisations and certain political parties that have been formenting trouble over the recent border agreement between Assam and Meghalaya, Garo organisations from Assam region have asked them to stop instigating groups and formenting distrust which is only leading to oppression of families and distrust among members of the community.
The Garo organisations have also expressed concern over the eviction of Garo inhabitants from the Hojai district of Assam.
In the same meeting at Dudhnoi town, leaders representing the Garo Students’ Union (GSU), the Garo National Council (GNC), the Garo National Union (GNU), Inter State Border Association, the Achik Socialist Youth Front of India (ASYFI), the Garo Sahitya Sabha (GSS), All Garo Gaonbura Association (AGGA), the Dudhnoi College Garo Students’ Union (DCGSU) and others raised strong concerns over the instigation on the border agreement and the eviction in Hojai.
Leaders of the NGOs present at the meeting issued a joint statement saying that there should not be any conflict between or among the Garo people themselves as to which side they will remain, be it Meghalaya or Assam.
In a strong snub to certain groups and political parties that are trying to make it into an election issue due to next year’s assembly polls in Meghalaya, all major Garo bodies of Assam stated that, “No individual or family should be forced or harrassed simply by taking the border issue. Other NGOs should not instigate the villagers living in the border areas with bad intention of bringing inter village enmity or to create any misunderstanding among the members of the villages.”
With some Garo Hills based organisations joining the opposition and the All India Trinamool Congress party led by former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma raising the tempo and demanding cancellation of the agreement, the GSU Assam State Zone along with all Garo NGOs’ of Assam have appealed to political parties from both the states not to politicize the issue and take political mileage out of border dispute considering that Garos reside on both sides of Assam and Meghalaya.
The Assam based tribal organisations have also expressed worry over the eviction of Garo villages from Paglabasti andDekabasti villages under Hojai district of Assam.
“The Government of Assam must take the responsibility to speed up the rehabilatation works to the evicted victims belonging to the Garos and other tribal people,” demanded these organisations from Assam.
