There is anger and angst in the Sweeper’s Lane, after the State government announced that it is taking over the land with the residents declaring, “We will die in our home here rather than be forcibly evicted.”
In a statement here today the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) has rejected the announcement and vowed that it was ready to give the State government “sleepless nights”.
“We have examined the latest development and let me say with all the authority at my command that we will give sleepless nights to the government. The assurances of the government do not cut the ice; in fact, they are full of loopholes and obfuscation of facts and figures. Let it be known to all concerned that this is a fight for our survival and habitat and we will spare no effort to win this battle of honour, dignity and legitimate rights,” HPC Secretary, Gurjit Singh said.
The Meghalaya government had recently announced taking possession of the 12,444 square metres of land at Sweepers Lane/Ïewmawlong. This was done in pursuance of a tripartite lease executed between the Meghalaya government (first party), Syiem of Mylliem (second party) and Shillong Municipal Board (third party) on March 31.
The HPC had yesterday convened a general body meeting to discuss on the announcement. Singh informed that several resolutions were passed to socially, legally, religiously and politically challenge the intentions of the State government.
The residents in their first resolution stated that the tripartite agreement between the government of Meghalaya the Acting Syiem of Hima Mylliem and the Shillong Municipal Board is patently illegal, malafide and a clear violation of the constitutional and fundamental rights of the residents of Punjabi land, whose forefathers came here some 200 years ago and served Meghalaya honestly and diligently doing manual scavenging and other menial tasks.
“It is ironic that instead of acknowledging the work of our people, the thankless government of Meghalaya and some groups are hell-bent on throwing us out without taking our opinion and forcing its policy merely because the area now falls into a central part of the city,” Singh said.
The three chiefs of the religious institutions—Gurdwara Sahib, Hindu temple and Church of North India have also decided to petition the Governor of Meghalaya to seek his intervention. The HPC said the government plans the “blasphemous vicious” move to demolish these places of worship located in the area is for their “petty pecuniary” ends.
Singh who is also the President of the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar also said, “Religious places of worship are sacrosanct and cannot be demolished under any circumstances. I shudder to think of the consequences, should the Meghalaya government make a misadventure in this direction.”
Singh further reiterated that the HPC is legally in a strong position as the status quo orders of the Meghalaya High Court have been violated by the State government.
The HPC has also approached the National Commission of Minorities, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Safai Karamcharis and the National Human Rights Commission. Singh said they are expecting them to reach Shillong to listen to their grievances.
Stating that there is now growing interest amongst Sikhs across the globe, who assured the HPC that they will join this “holy fight” with the government of Meghalaya to save their homes and hearth, Singh asserted, “The battle has begun, not ended.”
