Shillong, July 25:
Brief
– UDP demands implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state
– It seeks inclusion of Khasi and Garo Languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India
– Wants Centre’s intervention for expeditious resolution of inter-state boundary dispute with Assam
– It wants Centre to incorporate all points submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the proposed amendment to the Sixth Schedule in order to preserve the traditional and cultural practices of the indigenous people of the State
– A separate IAS/IPS cadre for Meghalaya
Full Report
The United Democratic Party (UDP) has submitted a five-point memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The memorandum was handed over to Shah by UDP leader and Meghalaya Home Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui at Conventional Hall, Pinewood Shillong.
The five demands of UDP are – implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state, inclusion of the Khasi and Garo Languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, resolving the inter-state boundary dispute with Assam, incorporation of all points raised and submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in the proposed amendment to the Sixth Schedule, and a separate IAS/IPS cadre for Meghalaya.
Inner Line Permit
The UDP has urged the Union Home Minister that due consideration should be given for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state of Meghalaya, which would be in line with other small states of the region viz Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
“Since illegal immigration is a common issue and concern of the indigenous people of the Northeastern region, a more uniform approach instead of a fragmented one would augur well to address this long pending issue of the region as the 60 member of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly had unanimously adopted a resolution on 19th December 2020 Assembly with one voice for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (LP) in the state of Meghalaya,” UDP President Metbah Lyngdoh said in the memo.
Khasi and Garo Languages in the Eighth Schedule
UDP said Meghalaya Language Act was passed in 2005 for recognition of Khasi and Garo languages as Associate Official languages, thereby paving the way to facilitate Khasi and Garo Languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
The state has also fulfilled other criteria such as having sizeable number of speakers of these two languages, the contiguity of the area where the people resides, the recognition at the graduate level by Dibrugarh University in 1919, and now by Calcutta University, Guwahati University and also as the medium of instruction in the state from the primary level to Ph.D level in the North Eastern Hill University, the rich literary works and so on are strong justifications.
Also, the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on 26th September, 2018 adopted a resolution to petition the Government or India to include the Khasi and Garo Languages in the Eighth Schedule of the constitution of India.
Lyngdoh said the state has already fulfilled all the criteria and it is also the long cherished dream of the people of the state to see the inclusion of the Khasi and Garo Languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
Interstate boundary issue
On the issue of boundary dispute, Lyngdoh said they are happy to know that this time the Centre has decided to resolve the vexed boundary disputes between different states of the North Eastern Region once and for all, which otherwise have been lingering for almost 48 years.
He, however, mentioned that despite the efforts made at the level of the Chief Minister of Meghalaya and Assam and also at the level of Chief Secretaries, the outcome or the talks has not yielded the desired results for both the states.
Nonetheless, he was hopeful that this time with the Centre taking the lead, Assam and Meghalaya will be able to find an amicable solution to resolve the boundary issue once and for all.
Amendment to the Sixth Schedule
With regard to the proposed amendment of the Sixth Schedule, the UDP president said that his party is of the view that all the points raised and submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in line with the traditional and cultural practice of the indigenous people, be incorporated for the smooth and effective functioning of the District Councils in the state.
Separate cadre for Meghalaya
On the Meghalaya-Assam Joint Cadre system, Lyngdoh said that although it has its merits and demerits, the system has been a bone of contention which has greatly affected the functioning of the administrative system in the state and many a time forced bureaucrats to be subservient to their parent state.
The UDP is of the opinion that a separate cadre for the State of Meghalaya would ensure that officers would be able to perform better in the state that they are attached with.
