Meghalaya Violence News: Has electoral politics again provoked caste conflict in Meghalaya? Tribal-non-tribal clash over nomination for GHADC elections turns into violence in West Garo Hills. 2 deaths in police firing, curfew imposed and army flag march – will Meghalaya election tension increase?
Meghalaya Tribal vs Non Tribal Conflict: The situation suddenly worsened regarding the local council elections in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. Violent clashes between tribal and non-tribal groups led police to open fire, resulting in the death of two people. Seeing the situation becoming serious, the administration imposed curfew in the entire area and the Army was called for a flag march to maintain law and order. The incident occurred during the ongoing nomination process for the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections. There was tension in the area for the last few days regarding this election.
Why did violence suddenly erupt over GHADC elections?
According to the information, this incident happened in Chibinang area. When candidates were filing nominations for the GHADC elections, a dispute broke out between tribal and non-tribal groups. Within no time this dispute turned into a violent clash. Police said that when the illegal crowd was being removed to control the situation, the situation went out of control and the police had to open fire. During this period two people died. Both the deceased people are said to be residents of Chibinang area.
Why such a big controversy regarding non-tribal candidates?
Actually, the demand of the protesting people was that non-tribal people should not participate and contest in the GHADC elections. Tension was increasing in the area for the last few days regarding this issue. On February 17, the Executive Committee of GHADC passed a resolution. According to this proposal, candidates contesting elections will be required to show valid Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate. After this decision the controversy increased further.
How did the attack on former MLA become a major reason for violence?
It is being told that this dispute escalated further when former Phulbari MLA Estamur Momin was allegedly attacked by the protesters. Momin had reached the Deputy Commissioner office in Tura, where he was about to file his nomination for the GHADC elections. After this incident, tension increased in the area and within no time the situation turned into violence.
What steps did the government take to control the situation?
After the violence, the district administration took immediate action and imposed a 24-hour curfew. Along with this, mobile internet service was also stopped for 48 hours to stop rumours. Seeing the situation, the civil administration sought help from the army. After this, army troops were deployed in the area and flag march was started. The aim of the army is to restore trust among the people and prevent any new violence.
What did the Meghalaya High Court say?
Meghalaya High Court has also expressed concern on this matter. The state government assured the court that additional security forces would be deployed to make the nomination process safe. The court has fixed the next hearing of this case on March 17.
Can tension increase again before the elections?
Nominations for the GHADC elections will be filed till March 16, while scrutiny will take place on March 17. In such a situation, the biggest challenge before the administration is to maintain peace in the area before the elections. Experts believe that there has been a long-standing tension between tribal and non-tribal communities in Meghalaya over resources, identity and political representation, which often comes to the fore during elections. At present, the administration, army and local officials are trying to ensure that the situation becomes normal soon and the elections can be conducted peacefully.