Violence in the hills

Violence in the hills

Shilliong unrest, north east

News:

• Curfew was imposed in some parts of Meghalaya’s state capital Shillong following a clash that broke out between the police and a violent mob in the city’s Motphran area.

Important facts:

• Issue involved:
• There was a scuffle between members of the Mazhabi Sikh community, long-time settlers in the Punjab Lane area of the city, and a Khasi youth.
• The “settlers” have been in Shillong for more than a century and a half, having been originally brought there by the British colonials to work as manual scavengers.
• Spokespersons of the Khasi Students’ Union, whose members were part of the agitation, continue to insist that the Punjabi Lane residents be moved from Shillong’s commercial heart to its outskirts.
• The Meghalaya High Court had stayed an order by the District Commissioner to evict the residents from Punjabi Lane (also known as Sweepers’ Colony) in 1986.
• Today, there are enough provisions of affirmative action for the tribal people — 80% reservation for the Khasi, Jaintia, Garo and other tribes in jobs and professional studies.
• Yet, discontent persists over the lack of adequate jobs in the State, especially in urban areas.
• Labour Bureau report on employment:
• A Labour Bureau report on employment in 2015-16 found Meghalaya to have among the highest urban unemployment rates (13.4%).
• Discontent over lack of opportunities in the past had led to incidents such as the violent targeting of the Bengali community in 1979 and Nepalis in 1987, many of whom then fled the State.
• Suggestions:
• To prevent a repeat of those incidents, the government must stand by and protect the Sikh residents, and not give in to the nativist arguments of the protestors.
• Meghalaya’s politicians and civil society leaders must forge a more inclusive vision of the State’s demographics.