The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has renewed its push for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya, expressing hope that the long-pending demand of the indigenous people of the State would be fulfilled in the coming months or years. The demand figured prominently among the issues raised by a KSU delegation during its interaction with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the sidelines of the 73rd Plenary Session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong. Besides seeking the implementation of the ILP, the student body urged the Centre to facilitate the speedy resolution of the Meghalaya-Assam border dispute and pressed for the inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
A delegation of the KSU submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister outlining the organisation’s concerns on issues it described as critical to the protection of Meghalaya’s indigenous communities and interests.
Speaking after the meeting, KSU General Secretary Reuben Anderson Najiar said the organisation had impressed upon the Union Home Minister the urgency of introducing the ILP in view of growing concerns over illegal immigration and its potential impact on the State’s demographic composition.
“The first issue being the inner line permit, we have addressed to the Home Minister that the ILP has been a long pending demand of the people of Meghalaya,” Najiar said.
The KSU argued that Meghalaya lacks adequate legal safeguards to regulate the influx of undocumented migrants and stressed that the ILP was necessary to protect the interests of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo communities. The memorandum also claimed that recent eviction drives in neighbouring States had heightened concerns over the movement of illegal immigrants into Meghalaya.
“But we have hopes, we have seen in 2019 Manipur has got ILP and we are hopeful that we will surely get ILP in the next coming months or years,” The KSU General Secretary said.
While refraining from assessing the outcome of the meeting, the KSU maintained that its responsibility was to place before the Centre the concerns and aspirations of the people of Meghalaya. The organisation reiterated that the ILP has remained a central demand for several years and has been backed by sustained public campaigns and protests.
On the unresolved Meghalaya-Assam border issue, the student body urged the Centre to accelerate the second phase of boundary talks and act as a facilitator in ensuring peace in the remaining disputed areas. While appreciating the progress made in resolving the first six areas of difference, the KSU expressed concern over recurring tensions in sectors that continue to remain under dispute.
“In that regard the Union Home Minister has assured that this is the dispute between two states and if there is anything the union see that not going in a proper channel then the union government will intervene,” he said.
The KSU also sought the Centre’s support for the inclusion of Khasi in the Eighth Schedule. According to Najiar, the Union Home Minister informed the delegation that the process was moving forward.
