Shillong,Dec 30: Chairman of the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) Samuel B Jyrwa has asked the indigenous community to become self‑reliant and reject dependence on the Indian government or “Aryan” majority.
By paying tribute to Jaintia freedom fighter U Kiang Nangbah on his 163rd death anniversary, Jyrwa highlighted the historical courage of U Tirot Sing and U Kiang Nangbah, stating that they resisted British colonial rule long before India’s broader independence movement began.
He said, “India was not even dreaming of fighting for independence, but U Tirot Sing came and fought against the British rulers to protect our freedom as an indigenous community. India was still dreaming to fight against the might of the British rulers in 1847 through the Sepoy Mutiny, but after a few years, U Kiang Nangbah came forward to fight against the British for attempting to trample upon our rights as an indigenous community.”
By acknowledging recent gestures by the Centre to recognise Khasi and Jaintia freedom fighters as national heroes, Jyrwa criticized the administration for ignoring pressing issues affecting Meghalaya, such as the demand for Inner Line Permit (ILP) implementation and the inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
“Despite this, the Government of India is turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the issues affecting the state of Meghalaya—be it the demand for Inner Line Permit (ILP), inclusion of Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule, or the atrocities and racial discrimination faced by NE people in mainland India.”
He referred to the recent murder of a Tripura student, emphasising that such violence stems from racial prejudice against the distinct facial features of North‑Eastern people.
“The recent incident where a Tripura student was killed just because we are different. Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh have a long international border with Bangladesh. Therefore, NE people cannot be a threat to people in mainland India—socially, economically, or politically—so why are people from mainland India trying to discriminate against us? The reason is because our facial appearances are different from theirs.”
Jyrwa warned that if the community remains vulnerable, it risks being outnumbered by outsiders, and called for vigilance and self‑sufficiency.
“As a small community, we cannot trust the Government of India or people from the Aryan race to be our protectors. We have to ensure that we do not need their help. We must be masters of our land—socially, politically, and economically—by being vigilant and preventing people from mainland India and Bangladesh from outnumbering us”, he said.
