Shah assures KSU of Centre intervention in border row, panel soon on Khasi language

SHILLONG, JUN 4: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) that the Centre may intervene in the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute if state-level talks stall, and that a panel of retired Supreme Court judges will soon be set up to decide on including Khasi in the Eighth Schedule, KSU leaders said Thursday.

The assurances came during Shah’s meeting with a KSU delegation in Shillong, where he is attending the 73rd NEC Plenary.

KSU general secretary Reuben Najiar said the Union raised three issues.

On ILP, the union told Shah it remains a “long-pending demand.”

“With mass evictions in West Bengal and Assam, illegal immigrants are not returning to Bangladesh but settling elsewhere. Meghalaya has no law to protect itself. It is high time ILP is implemented to safeguard the microscopic population of Khasis, Jaintias, and Garos,” Najiar said.

On the border dispute, he said Assam had “turned aggressive” in disputed areas.

“In Lapangap and elsewhere, Assam has acted as the aggressor, violating the status quo,” Najiar said. Shah assured him that “if the Centre finds the process is not proceeding through proper channels, the Government of India will intervene.”

On the Eighth Schedule, Najiar said Shah confirmed the matter is in progress.

“A committee of retired Supreme Court judges will be constituted in the coming months. With around 100 languages seeking inclusion, the panel will take a final call,” he said.

Asked if the meeting was fruitful, Najiar said, “Our duty is to present the state’s issues. It is for the state and Centre to examine and implement.”

He added, “ILP has seen years of protests and agitations. It is now for the Centre to clarify why ILP should or should not be granted.”

The KSU remains hopeful. “Manipur got ILP in 2019. We are hopeful Meghalaya will also get it in the coming months or years,” Najiar said.