Shillong, Aug 02: The Jaintia Students’ Movement (JSM) has threatened to resort to ‘drastic action’ if the United People’s Front of Karbi Longri (UPFKL) continues to harass the Pnar community in Block-I area.
In a letter to the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday, JSM president LS Rymbai said, “(We) vehemently urged you to impress upon your counterpart the Chief Minister of Assam to ensure high level of security cover to the Pnar community in Block-I as the JSM will not hesitate to resort to any drastic actions if the United People’s Front of Karbi Longri (UPFKL) extort or harass the Pnar community in Block-I.”
Rymbai said the Assam police had recently arrested two cadres of the UPFKL in West Karbi Anglong District and there is strong possibility that this new Karbi militant outfit will again extort from the Pnar community in Block-I and terrorize them in one form or the others so that the Pnar community will not dare to voice their demand for return to Meghalaya like the previous Karbi militant outfits.
He also recalled that in 1951 for administrative convenience, Block-I & II under then Jowai Civil Sub Division were tagged to United Mikir Hills, District by the then Governor of composite Assam and due to unknown reasons, there was no decision to retransfer/return Block-I & II to Meghalaya, when it was created in 1972.
“Since 1951, the Pnar community have been subjected to numerous harassment and atrocities either at the hand of the law enforcing agency or the Karbi militants outfit making their life miserable on the one hand and strengthening their spirit for demanding the return of their villages to Meghalaya,” the JSM president said.
In 2004, several hundred people from the Pnar community migrated to Sahsniang under Laskein C&RD Block, West Jaintia Hills District for fear of their lives from the Karbi militant outfits, who subjected the Pnar to various forms of tortures and harassment including extortion and elimination of Pnar people for petty reasons, he said.
Block I and II in Jaintia Hills are one of the disputed areas between Assam and Meghalaya, which has witnessed massive conflict in the past. The terrorism by the Karbi militants is a major issue in the area and the Pnar (Jaintia) people have been demanding that the area be included into the territory of Meghalaya.
Besides Block I and II, Khanduli and Langpih are other highly charged areas between the two states where conflicts are common and have escalated in the past to make their impact felt across the States.
Assam and Meghalaya are taking up all these areas with conflicts and complexities in phase 2 of border talks to resolve the border issues once and for all.
