Residents of the Laban Nongpyllut Elaka, an area under the control of Assam but claimed by Meghalaya, are repeatedly subject to a variety of terrible crimes, include rape, kidnapping, extortion, looting, killing of livestock and physical assault by Karbi-based militants.
This was stated by the Hynniewtrep Border Dispute Resolution Forum (HBDRF) in a representation submitted today to the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (MHRC).
Speaking to reporters, HBDRF chairman Chandame Sungoh highlighted three key issues raised with the MHRC.
The first issue concerns the confiscation of their ancestral land in the area known as Labang Nongpyllut Elaka. He said that this area has been held by the community for generations but was transferred to the Karbi Anglong District Council (now Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council) when it was established.
The area was part and parcel of the erstwhile Jaintia kingdom before British rule but in 1951, Assam (which then included Meghalaya) “unfairly” detached the area from the Jaintia Hills and included it in what is now Karbi Anglong.
Sungoh stated that conditions have deteriorated over the past 10 to 15 years due to the emergence of militant groups that have severely violated human rights by extorting money from every household annually. Furthermore, they have engaged in unlawful activities, including harassing residents, shooting livestock without compensating the owners and committing morally reprehensible acts such as looting food and clothing.
“Women and children have been kidnapped and raped. Others are beaten brutally. Due to the torture and harassment of the Assam Police, the people of this area had to quit their homes and run away for refuge to Barato and Mukroh villages in 1972… Between the years 2000 and 2017-18, the people of Labang Nangphyllut faced a lot of aggression by the Karbis militant groups, who would demand Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 from every household as ‘House Tax’ every year. They also highly demand from those having paddy field land and cattle, etc. They are also engaged in sexual harassment of women and children, beating and assaulting young boys and elders,” he said.
Some refugees have returned but found their homes and farms destroyed and yet never received assistance from the Assam government. The villages in that area also lack educational institutions and “98 percent” of the people are illiterate, Sungoh added while calling for the National Human Rights Commission to intervene.
