Many shops and business establishments are expected to remain shut on Monday following a call by the Shillong Citizens’ Forum (SCF) to show solidarity with the victims of last week’s Pahalgam terrorist attack and to condemn the incident.
Merchants and shopkeepers have extended support to the SCF in its call for a complete shutdown of all shops and business establishments across Greater Shillong. Today, the SCF organised a candlelight vigil in Khyndailad here for the victims.
However, the call for a shutdown is not being supported by all quarters.
In a release today, the Hynñiewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO) said that it has written to the Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi Hills and spoken to its opposition to such a move given that it will harm small shopkeepers and those who depend on daily wages.
HITO said that while it deeply shares the grief of the bereaved families and extends prayers for the swift recovery of those injured, true solidarity must be voluntary and not through orchestrated shutdowns. The pressure group added that it held a similar point of view after the Mukroh Massacre of 2022 along the Assam-Meghalaya border.
HITO also questioned the “legal standing” of the “so-called” SCF, whether it is registered and who its members are. It then claimed that the organisation is controlled by a businessman in Police Bazar “who resides primarily in Kolkata and remotely dictates actions through a few cronies”.
Calling for such shutdowns is not new to Meghalaya, with it being a regular tactic of pressure groups in the past, though the frequency has declined following a decade-old High Court ruling.
“We demand that the sponsors and enforcers of this so-called shutdown be treated no differently from other pressure groups that violate the law – and stringent legal action, including imprisonment, must be initiated against them without delay,” HITO said. “We trust that necessary steps will be taken to ensure that law-abiding citizens are protected and allowed to go about their livelihoods without fear or intimidation.”
