Various civil bodies of Garo Hills, under the banner of the All Garo Hills Joint Action Committee (AGHJAC) met the deputy speaker of Assam, Dr Numal Momin to discuss the matter of job reservation for Garos in the state of Assam.
Further the AGHJAC also sought the upgrade of the Garo Development Council to that of an Autonomous Council for the sake of development of the Garos in the state of Assam.
Currently there are more than 8 lakh people of the Garo tribe residing in Assam.
The AGHJAC comprises many NGOs from the Garo Hills area of Meghalaya including the GSU, GSMC, FAF, etc.
The AGHJAC members submitted a memorandum to Dr Momin besides having a long discussion on the issue of reservation and the autonomous council demand.
“Dr Momin, who is the lone Garo legislator from Assam, during the discussion, felt that the tribe should be given an autonomous council on a satellite basis that will cover all the Garo villages in Assam. He expressed his interest in ensuring people from the community were uplifted and promised to work on their behalf,” said Balkarin Marak, convener of AGHJAC.
The delegation also sought an amicable solution to the ongoing border issue with Assam which the deputy speaker promised to hold talks on with the Assam chief minister soon.
“We also discussed the job reservation issue and demanded special recognition and privilege to our deprived Garo community. We have got a very positive response from Dr Momin on the matter and he has promised to address the issue soon,” said adviser to the AGHJAC, Rogerbenny A Sangma.
The meeting was held at the official residence of the deputy speaker in Guwahati.
