Stating that the appointment of Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla as the new vice chancellor of the North Eastern Hill University was an act of ‘betrayal’, the Khasi Student Union (KSU) today said that the Central government has no regards to the minority Khasi.
“This step was taken by the GOI clearly shows that it has no regard towards the minority Khasi population and their demands,” KSU general secretary, Donald V Thabah said.
Thabah said that the Government of India has been oblivious to the demands of the people in Meghalaya and that he doubted that it will even pay heed to the demand for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP).
He said that the KSU has been demanding appointment of a home-grown local qualified professor from NEHU as the new vice chancellor ever since they learnt that the tenure of Prof SK Srivastava ended.
“After we learnt that the Selection Committee shortlisted Dr. SM Sungoh for the post of the VC, our members went up to Delhi and met the MPs and Union Ministers including Vincent Pala, nominated MP, Rajya Sabha Rakesh Sinha, Union Minister of Sports, Kiren Rijiju, and Agriculture Union Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar and urged them to apprise the GOI to appoint Dr. Sungoh, but all went in vain,” he lamented.
Stating that NEHU services and employment opportunities to the native population are minimal, Thabah said since 1973, only one Khasi was appointed as the VC in B. Pakem. He said that the culture and ethos of the region (Meghalaya) should be one of the key considerations in the selection of the new VC and that Prof. Sungoh is a person with a background in education and being an experienced educationist.
Recalling that they had earlier demanded appointment of Dr. David Reid Syiemlieh as the VC, Thabah said this also went in vain, which shows that “Delhi never pays heed to the aspirations of the people of Meghalaya especially the KSU.”
