SHILLONG, MAY 6: The gathering of the traditional heads, regional political parties, and ngos called by the HSPDP have decided to call for ‘office-picketing’, if the state government fails to resolve the imbroglio that arose out of the last year’s Meghalaya high court ruling clipping the powers of the headmen.
The public meeting held in Students” Field in Jaiaw on Wednesday has given a week’s deadline to the state government to resolve the issue or else face the office picketing.
Hundreds of people, including headmen from different parts of the city and outside political parties’ leaders from UDP, KHNAM, KSU and HNYF attended the rally.
“It is time for us to start a non-cooperation movement against the state government’s inability to address this issue which affects the identity of our dorbar institutions and indigenous community,” HSPDP vice president Ardent M Basaiawmoit said at the meeting.
Informing that the deadline served to the government is due to expire on May 12, Basaiawmoit said, “Our agitational programmes will immediately start the following day (May 13) if there is no compliance towards our demand.”
Basaiawmoit said the first stage of protest will be in the form of an office picketing to pressure the government to restore the powers of the headmen and urged all the headmen and residents of their villages to volunteers during the agitations.
Basaiawmoit informed the nature of protests will be those which will have a direct impact on the state government and not the general public.
Maintaining that move to handover the powers of traditional heads to other authority will not be tolerated, Basaiawmoit said, “Therefore, we demand that the government immediately suspend all activities that attracts their (headmen) role in term of issuing birth certificates, schedule tribe certificate, opening of bank accounts, government schemes and others till this stalemate is resolved.”
Basaiawmoit said that the dorbar shnong and the rangbah shnong are the right authority to issue a residential certificate as they know better who are genuine citizens, which the Deputy Commissioner or a Sub-divisional officer doesn’t.
Terming the high court ruling as a wakeup call for streamlining the traditional systems in the state, Basaiawmoit said, “We need a law that will strengthens our traditional institutions in the state. Therefore the government should pass the KHAD (Village Administration) Bill immediately.”
While retruning the bill to the KHADC for the second time, the District Council Affairs department had asked the autonomous district council (ADC) not to prevent non-Khasi to reside in the village which is against article 19 (d) of the Constitution of India (Fundamental Rights).
Rubbishing this stand of the government, Basaiawmoit asked the government to also refer to the Article 19 (2, 3, 4) which empowers the state government to impose reasonable restriction to protect the identity of indigenous community.
Earlier while speaking at the meeting, KHADC chief Adelbert Nongrum reiterated that he will never agree with the ruling of the Meghalaya High Court.
“I have challenged this against Justice SR Sen that never expects that I will agree with the order till my last breadth,” Nongrum said while stating that the order is an attempt to murder the traditional institutions.
Nongrum also informed that the KHADC has also filed an appeal before the judiciary seeking a stay on the High Court order. According to him, development will be useless if the right of the traditional heads is being taking away. – By Our Reporter
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