The Achik Youth Welfare Organisation (AYWO) has demanded reinstatement of the original indigenous names of important localities in Tura, West Garo Hills district to safeguard the ancestral legacy and cultural sovereignty of the Garo people
Stating that Tura, which is the heart of the Garo culture and historical ethos is facing an “insidious assault” through imposition of “alien and capricious” the AYWO in a letter to the Deputy Commissioner said it is imperative that the indigenous toponyms should be restored.
The organisation pointed out that the Hawakhana, Dermile, and Araimile stand localities are stark testaments to the cultural desecration by external forces who have no regard for the land’s storied heritage, its people, and their ancestral sanctity.
“These foreign appellations are not merely incongruous; they are profoundly offensive, effacing the authentic Garo nomenclature that has defined these places for generations,” AYWO general secretary Chankey R Marak said.
He said Araimile, rightfully Goanang, is enshrined in the venerable Goanang Baptist Church, an enduring institution that bears irrefutable witness to the area’s true identity while Hawakhana, ancestrally known as Balnangkol Achura, resonates in the soulful strains of Garo retro songs since the 1970s.
“The term Hawakhana—a crude Hindi-derived epithet meaning “wind-eating place”—was imposed by outsiders, debasing a culturally hallowed site into a trivial caricature. This locality also encompasses William Point, named in homage to Meghalaya’s first Chief Minister, Captain Williamson A. Sangma, a designation that must be preserved with utmost reverence,” he said.
Further, Dermile was historically known as Rong’ka A’ding, which derived its name from the Rong’ka Chiring stream that courses through it. Adjacent areas still bear this name, affirming its authenticity beyond dispute, he added.
“Testimonies from elders and lifelong residents of Tura confirm that these distortions emerged only in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period marked by deliberate attempts by non-indigenous entities to supplant Garo identity and assert unwarranted dominion over our ancestral lands,”
He also referred to the emergence of non-indigenous names such as “Supari Colony and Mahindra Colony” and said this signaled an alarming escalation of cultural annihilation. “Unchecked, this cultural vandalism threatens to sever future generations from their roots, legitimizing the dispossession of indigenous lands and eroding the very soul of Garo identity,” the organisation said.
The AYWO said that the Garo community should draw inspiration from the Khasi community’s triumphant reclamation of Ka Phan Nonglait Park (formerly Lady Hydari Park) and the restoration of Sohra over Cherrapunjee. “These were not mere cosmetic changes but bold acts of decolonization and cultural reaffirmation. Garo Hills must now rise to this same mantle of resistance,” it said.
The organisation has called for reinstatement of the three localities, Araimile to Goanang, Hawakhana to Balnangkol Achura (including William Point) and Dermile to Rong’ka A’ding and that they must be enshrined in all government records, cartographic representations, public signages, and official correspondence.
It asked the district administration to constitute a committee of indigenous scholars, community luminaries and government representatives to identify and rectify all instances of cultural erasure.
Further, the AYWO wants the DC to hold campaigns, engage revered elders, historians, and youth collectives, to create awareness on the profound significance of the toponyms and to erect commemorative plaques and markers elucidating the historical and cultural import of each restored name.
