Shillong, Oct 29: Hynniewptrep Integrated Territorial Organisation ( HITO) on Saturday joined the rally in Tura for a separate state for Garos.
In his address at the rally, HITO president Donbok Dkhar said the organisation is fully in support of the Achik people demanding a seperate state.
If Mizoram with a population of Rs 12 lakh and Sikkim with Rs 6.71 lakh can be seperate states, Garo land and Khasi area can also be divided into seperate states, he said.
Reasons
According to HITO, a few important reasons why Khasi states need a seperate state with special provision in the constitution are below.
1. The Khasi states signed only the Instrument of Accession and did not sign the instrument of merger as signed by all the 565 principle states of India. This caused a constitutional anomaly within the constitution till today as the Khasi states were wrongly inserted till today within First Schedule under Assam
2. The Standstill arrangement in clause 1 of the Annexed Agreement (AA) has not yet been implemented.
3. As per IOA & AA, judiciary, land, forest, minerals, boundary, and importantly legislation are to be as per IOA &AA, however all these were violated since last 74 years (1948-2022) by the MHA and Parliament of India.
4. The citizens of the Khasi states have a distinct ancient language.
5. The citizens of the Khasi states in Khasi and Jaintia Hills have distinct customary and social laws.
6. The Khasi states are based on consensus and referendum not based on first past the majority of India which has divided the people.
7. The Khasi states have special boundary demarcation which is documented and respected even by the British rulers.
8. The Khasi states are based on clans and kinship and the residents are a matrilineal people very different from the rest of India.
9. Unlike the rest of the 500 plus Maharaja and rulers of India who have all merged and lost their identity our Dorbar Kur, Dorbar Shnong, Dorbar Raid and Dorbar Hima are very much active and alive and unfortunately due to betrayal in last 74 years these indigenous institutions of self government have not found place within the Constitution of India.
10. We are very unhappy that the Government of India only listens to violent agitation and bloodshed, why the official resolution of Meghalaya Assembly on Forest in 2000 and Coal in 2015, 2017, 2018 has not been accepted by Indian Government. Are we not in India or are we a separate country, when constitution says we are secular and federal in structure how and why the voice of the people through the Assembly of Meghalaya is not implemented by GOI, why this insult. That is why our forefathers saw and already that the majority community of India will always try to deny us our rights and that’s why they made such and agreement under the IOA & AA.
10. That convinced with the facts and evidence presented by the Grand Council of Chiefs of Meghalaya, (comprising othe Federation of Khasi States, the Sirdarship, the Dorbar Ki Dolloi, and the Council of Nokma) the National Commission for Schedule Tribes (NCST) after indept hearing passed a directive under Article 338A from the NCST to the MHA, GOI since 26 April 2012 and with reminder upto 2014 for incorporating the IOA & AA into the Constitution of India however till date this directive is pending. We continue to pursue this and we are grateful to the leadership of the Grand Council of Chiefs of Meghalaya and the Federation of Khasi States, the Council of Nokmas for there continuous reminders to the GOI.
“We are here to fully support the Achik people in demanding a seperate state and we should all jointly come together in one platform and also call all the organisations, and prominent people, political parties of Meghalaya to join as one for a joint petition to demand for Garoland state and Khasi state.We also call on all the political parties to make their stand clear by passing a unanimous resolution through a special resolution in the Meghalaya Assembly and the three District Councils for creation of two seperate states i.e. Garoland and Khasi state”.
