The Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) and Garo Hills State Movement Committee (GHSMC) have agreed to work together in order to split up Meghalaya.
In a meeting held last week, the two sides decided to form a coordination committee to decide on how best to divide Meghalaya into separate Garo and Khasi-Jaiñtia states. There are significant numbers of Garos who live in West and South West Khasi Hills adjacent to the Garo Hills districts.
The HSPDP has previously joined hands with the Garo National Council (GNC), a minor party in the western range of the state, during the times of the Hoping Stone Lyngdoh and Clifford Marak, both now deceased, HSPDP working president KP Pangniang said today.
The HSPDP and GHSMC will now take up the issue jointly and sent a memorandum to the central government reiterating their demand for the dividing up of Meghalaya.
In the past, Garo militant groups had demanded a ‘greater Garoland’ comprising parts of West Khasi Hills and Assam. This demand had created plenty of distrust between the two tribes, Pangniang added.
“Before submitting its memorandum to the Centre, the HSPDP and the GHSMC will clearly demarcate the boundaries of the respective states as per the present borders that separate Khasi and Garo Hills,” Pangniang said.
Although both Khasis and Garos campaigned together for a Hill State carved out of Assam, the HSPDP leader said that the people were surprised when the name ‘Meghalaya’ was coined for the creation.
Keeping the two tribes together in one state does not match with the practice of creating states along linguistic lines elsewhere in the country, he stated, adding that Khasis and Garos have distinct identities, languages, cultures and to preserve these, both groups will demand for separate states.
