COMMUNITIES CLASHING, NOT A FIRST
SHILLONG: Meghalaya, the abode of clouds, is not new to skirmishes between communities that inhabit it. But the latest between Khasi and Sikh members, continuing for the past five days, has caught both the state administration and the political class by surprise.
In 1979, there was large scale violence involving attacks on the Bengali-speaking community, most of whom had settled in the hill station after the partition. Lives were lost and properties damaged, resulting in scores of families moving out of Shillong.
In 1987, clash erupted between the locals and people of Nepalese origin. The clashes left several dead, and saw a mass exodus of Nepalese people, most of whom were engaged in raring milch cows and other forms of manual labour. Five years later, in October 1992, trouble surfaced during Durga Puja, though timely intervention by police helped quell the trouble. In the ongoing clashes between the Sikh and Khasi community members, it the same old demand from dominant tribal communities to relocate the members of the Sikh community, located in the Punjabi Line, because of them allegedly “occupying” tribal land in an “illegal manner”. Even though alternate dwellings have been constructed for them, shifting the residents has been a serious challenge for successive governments. community was being targeted. The delegation will meet the community members Tuesday.
The CM also informed that one B Mirsa, who was arrested on suspicion of allegedly assaulting three members of Khasi community, has been formally charged.