From the Meghalaya capital to Ukraine, members of the Assamese and Khasi communities have come together to raise their voice against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
On Monday, a protest was organised by the Shillong Socio-Cultural Assamese Students’ Association where men and women joined in, along with activists of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU).
Association adviser D. Bhuyan said the indigenous people of the region stand threatened because of the act while alleging that the government was trying to divide the people on the basis of language and culture. “We cannot let this happen,” he told reporters.
He also demanded the implementation of the inner-line permit in Assam and across the Northeast.
Purabi Barua, a protester, said the act was a “big threat” to the indigenous communities of the region.
“We are with the indigenous people of Meghalaya to show our support in the ongoing protest against the law. It is an illegal act, which ignores the Constitution’s basic structure. We are also opposing the law because foreigners will find it easier to settle in the region,” she said.
“Like Tripura and Assam’s Barak Valley, we will lose our own identities in our own motherland,” Barua warned.
KSU general secretary Donald V. Thabah recalled the moments in history when the Assamese and Khasi communities worked together — from resisting the Mughal invasion to the anti-foreigners’ movement.
“The act should be exempted from the Northeast because if Assam feels the pain, Meghalaya would feel it too. The sacrifice made by the people in Assam during the ongoing protests will not go in vain,” Thabah said.
While informing that North East Students’ Organisation has filed a petition against the act in the Supreme Court, he said protests would continue.
Shillong-based lawyer Peter Dohkrut said he, along with a few others, had filed a petition in the apex court on Monday demanding the scrapping of the act as it violates the Constitution.
In Ukraine, students from Assam and Meghalaya assembled to protest against the act, and the imposition of bans on mobile internet service, which has made it difficult for them to contact their families back home.
Internet ban still on
The Meghalaya government has refused to lift the ban on mobile Internet services while imposing limits on the number of text messages that can be sent even though relative calm has returned to the state.
A senior government official said on Monday that mobile Internet services will be shut for another 48 hours. The official said the government has, however, allowed five text messages (SMS) to be sent from each phone number in a day while also allowing OTPs (one-time passwords) to be transmitted to phones for banking services.
Since December 12, a ban was imposed on mobile internet and SMS facilities following volatile situations erupting in view of the protests.
The situation across Meghalaya and its capital has witnessed relative calm as markets at Iewduh and Khyndailad were flooded with people busy shopping for Christmas. Roads, which were largely deserted during the past few days, are now seeing traffic snarls.
Curfew hours: Curfew in select areas of the Meghalaya capital has not been lifted by the East Khasi Hills district magistrate. On Tuesday, curfew in areas falling under Lumdiengjri and Sadar police stations and their outposts and beat houses will be relaxed from 6am to 7pm. .
