Shillong, Mar 19: The Meghalaya unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a right-wing student organisation affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has come out in favour of non-tribal exclusion from the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections.
The issue led to an explosion of communal violence in Garo Hills last week, with Garo groups pushing for exclusion, while non-tribal communities – mainly Muslim – sought to defend their right to participate. Accusations, without proof, have been levelled that many in the Muslim community residing in the plains area of West Garo Hills are illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
The ABVP repeated this allegation in a statement yesterday as it called for strict protection of tribal rights in the GHADC elections, “in line with the constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which protect the identity, land, customs and governance systems of indigenous communities.”
The violence resulted in at least two deaths as well as damage to property. A curfew is still in place in West Garo Hills and tensions remain high.
The ABVP Meghalaya also raised alarm “over the alleged involvement of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in violence, intimidation and destruction of property belonging to indigenous communities.” Voting in local elections by illegal migrants “poses a serious threat to the demographic balance, security and cultural identity of the Garo people, especially in a border state like Meghalaya,” the ABVP said.
