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States » EastPosted at: Nov 17 2020 8:58PM


Bengali residents seek minority rights in Meghalaya

Shillong, Nov 17 (UNI) The Bengali residents of Meghalaya have written to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma urging him to take steps to ensure rights of minority non-tribal communities residing in the State, even as they highlighted the recent vilification campaign against a particular community.
The signatories to the memorandum which included former members of parliament Prof. B.B.Dutta and former State Education Minister, Manas Chaudhuri, maintained that there was apprehension in the minds of the minorities, who had been living in harmony with the majority population of the state and had also taken an active part in the movement for the Hill State.
The memorandum also sought certain rights for the minorities as is the case elsewhere in the country, in keeping with the provisions in the Constitution.
In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister which was signed by over 80 prominent members from the Bengali community urged that fundamental, constitutional and legal rights “guaranteed under Article 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 29, 30 and 300A” be secured to all citizens residing in Meghalaya.
“These rights should be ensured so that the absolute rule of the law” is ensured and bring about an end to the untold harassment and discrimination of the citizens,” the memorandum read.
The signatories also urged the Chief Minister to “craft a clear cut policy commensurate with the letter and spirit of the Constitution in respect of the rights and privileges of all ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities residing in Meghalaya.”
The Bengali residents also urged the State government to constitute an official body for the protection of the linguistic, ethnic and religious minorities’ rights like in Assam.
They also urged the State Government to “lay down a specifically reserved quota for the ethnolinguistic minorities” residing in Meghalaya in Government jobs, State Civil Service and State Police Service.
Recalling the immense contribution of the community for the State, the memorandum said the Bengali community has supported the hill state movement and served in the state legislature, administration, judiciary, health care, media trade and commerce for years.
On the banners recently hoisted in the State Capital by the Khasi Students’ Union branding “all Bengalis residing in Meghalaya as Bangladeshis”, the signatories said, “We are deeply hurt by the provocative narrative of certain elements describing all Bengalis as Bangladeshis. This is an insult to our long and historical relations with our hill brethren and our pride as citizens of India.”
“Such a description is an “open threat” to the very existence of the community in the State,” the memorandum read, even as it mentioned about the 1979 communal riots targeted against the community in which “50 precious lives were lost uprooting hundreds of families and bigoted rioting left houses, shops and business establishments plundered or burnt down.”
“The tragedy which has left a deep scar in our collective psyche has gone without any reparation for the victims, while the perpetrators of the crimes were never brought to justice,” the memorandum stated, adding that this a negation of the “solemn commitment of the hill leaders made to the Government of India” during the reorganization of the northeastern states in 1971 to “protect and safeguard the non-tribal minority residing in Meghalaya.”
The memorandum pointed out that the first Chief Minister of the State WA Sangma had committed in the Assembly in March 1973 to allot 15 per cent State jobs for the non-tribals.
The signatories also sought that the State Government prevail upon the Autonomous District Councils to “strictly adhere to laws in force mandated under the sixth schedule of the Constitution” while dealing with the non-tribals in respect of trading licenses. The memorandum also requested the Chief Minister for an enactment of laws or enforcement of existing laws to curb hate speech or incitement of communal antagonism spread "through the media electronic or print."
We earnestly solicit that the Government of Meghalaya takes all positive and proactive measures for ensuring safety, security and reassurance of the life and livelihood of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities living in the State,” the signatories of memorandum said.
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