SHILLONG, DEC 2: Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) wants the state government to ‘review’ the Meghalaya Job Reservation Policy, an exercise which the party accused the government of avoiding for the past many years.
According to the KHNAM, one of the regional political parties in Meghalaya, it is time that the ‘spirit of competition’ is instilled amongst three tribes of the state – the Khasis, the Jaintias and the Garos.
“We demand that the state job reservation policy be reviewed by the government,” KHNAM general secretary Batkupar Wahlang told reporters on Wednesday.
The job reservation policy was framed as per Clause 4 of Article 16 of the Constitution of India through a resolution passed by the State government way back in the year 1972.
As per the policy, 80 out of 100 per cent are being divided among the three tribes which 40 per cent is for the Khasi-Jaintia tribes, while the other 40 per cent is for the Garo tribe.
Stating that the policy was framed based on India’s 1971 population census of Meghalaya, Wahlang said, “Going by the population, we found there is no justification at all.”
According to him, as per the 1971 census, the population of Garos alone is 325872, Khasis – 380069 while Jaintias – 108289.
Moreover, he argued that the provisions in the policy is also found to be contradicting while on one hand it is saying if one community cannot fulfill the 40 per cent, the same can be given to the other community but on the other hand it is saying if one community cannot fulfill the 40 per cent, then it can carry over or it can fulfill the percentage in the following year.
Wahlang recalled that during the late 90s when the government had conducted a job interview for the LDA posts in the secretariat, many Khasis who were eligible and declared successful were put on the waiting list just because that there less number of Garos, who cleared the examination.
“Due to this, the government had also conducted reexamination for the Garos which has led to depriving those eligible candidates whose names were on the waiting list. Therefore we feel there is no justification on this if the government wants efficient employees to work for the state,” he added.
Meanwhile, the KHNAM leader also informed that as per RTI findings, it has revealed that the reservation policy of the state was never reviewed by the state government since 1972 but has decided to maintain status quo till today.
“Therefore, the failure of the government to review this job reservation policy has led to depriving the rights and chances to many people,” he said.
Lambasting the failure of the regional political parties on the issue, Wahlang said, “The United Democratic Party (UDP) which has got the opportunity to head the state as a ruling party, should have done something on this end, but sadly it did not dare. The same also goes for the Hills State People Democratic Party (HSPDP) for that matter.”
“None of the regional political parties have dared to touch this important issue when they were in power,” he stated.
Stating that the present reservation policy is a huge stumbling block not only job wise but academically also, Wahlang said, “The old policy has affected the future of the people,” adding “In term of reservation for studying medical, engineer and others, a Khasi candidate with 70 per cent is still being kept in the waiting list compared to a Garo candidate who secured only 36 or 40 per cent.”
Maintaining that the issue taken up is not to bring up any communal feelings amongst the tribes, Wahlang said, “We also appeal to the Garo people to take this as a challenge, as we have seen many of the Garos have started to come up in many fields,” adding “As for Meghalaya to shine, the state needs people who are efficient.”
When asked, the KHNAM leader said, “The party is proposing to have cut off percentage which is by allowing the percentage which one community cannot fulfill be carried over to another community for the state to grow.”
In addition to this, KHNAM vice president Adelbert Nongrum however said, “But if this idea is not acceptable and to ensure there is no discrimination, we would be compelled to propose for immediate doing away of reservation policy and let it be open for all.”
“With the present job reservation policy affecting every households in the state, we feel that it is time that we instill the spirit of competition among ourselves, he said.-By Our Reporter
I request KHNAM to file a PIL in our High Court.