Shillong, Aug 20: The Garoland State Movement Committee (GSMC) met Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram in New Delhi yesterday to submit a memorandum seeking the creation of a separate state of Garoland under Article 3 of the Constitution of India.
The memorandum emphasised the historic and longstanding demand for Garoland, dating back to 1895 when Matgrik Sonaram R Sangma, a patriotic Garo leader, first raised the cause for a separate homeland during British rule.
The demand was later carried forward by Mody K Marak and Emonsing M Sangma, who sought the unification of Garo-inhabited areas in Assam and the Mymensingh region (now in Bangladesh) within the Indian Union.
The GSMC delegation also highlighted several pressing issues, including the salary crisis in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), infrastructural requirements, cultural recognition and preservation of traditional institutions.
The Union Minister reportedly assured the GSMC that the matters raised would be carefully examined and considered by constitutional provisions and due procedure.
