Garo State demand gains momentum
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network

Shillong, April 27 2013 : The demand for a separate Garo state gathered momentum with a public rally in the town of Resubelpara in Meghalaya sponsored by the Garo Hills State Movement Committee organizing the programme to gather support for the movement.

The rally saw the presence of people from all regions of Garo Hills with the attraction being the presence of the Garo National Council (GNC) MLA from Chokpot, Clifford R Marak.

Incidentally the GNC is the oldest regional party in the state started in the year 1946 .

The rally was held at Resubelpara School Ground with a public meeting and then a rally to conclude the programme, which ended exactly where started.

The rallyists, who numbered about 3000 stood in the hot April sun to hear the leaders who appeared on the dais to put forward their reason for the demand for a separate state.

Clifford said that a separate state had now become a necessity as the development of the region had been hampered due to the fractured nature of politics in the whole region.

He said all within the region needed to unite to get what they had been missing for many years - development.

He said the united nature of Khasi society had meant that the MLAs spoke in the same language as the people of the region, whereas the same was not applicable in the case of Garo Hills, where divisions made development extremely slow.

There was hardly any development to speak of.

The GHSMC president, Nikman Ch Marak, said that the under development of the complete Garo belt had led them to restart the agitation for a new state.

They had restarted the demand from the month of March last year and were now gaining the support of the other local tribes, the Koch, Rabhas, Hajongs and even the Nepalis had pledged support for the movement.

They were now trying to gather support from all the other residents of Garo Hills to ensure the movement was all inclusive.

Augustine Marak, the secretary of the committee said that the under development of the whole Garo Hills region was the main reason for their demand for a separate state as they believe the condition of the people can only change once they have a state of their own.

For this, he said they would continue struggling peacefully till the demand was met.

Comment