KSU vows to take on economic invasion

Staff Correspondent

Shillong, April 4: The Khasi Students Union today organized the tiol Awakening Day in Shillong to mark the great patriot Tirot Sing Syiem’s first attack against the British for alleged deceit. It was the day when British officials were slayed by the army of Khasi chiefs.

However, new ideas to fight through economic entrepreneurship to contain the heavy inflow of outsiders and to check the central government’s alleged nefarious plan to exploit the uranium deposits in South West and West Khasi Hills district were the cornerstone of the speeches made by the leaders of the powerful students’ body.

It is for the first time that the KSU leadership spoke about economic invasion as another threat to the indigenous population.  In their elaborate speeches, the KSU leaders dwelt on the importance to prevent economic invasion to save the indigenous people of the State from being swamped by “outsiders”.

Chairman of the North Eastern Students Organization (NESO) and former president of the KSU, Samuel Jyrwa stated at the gathering at Mothphran on Saturday, “If we don’t have control of our own economy, the space will sooner or later be taken over. It will have a severe impact on the survival of our indigenous people”.

Jyrwa remind that the economy of our State has long been controlled by people from outside the State boundaries and it is imperative that our own indigenous people start initiating the process to take over from those corporate classes of people that has subjugated the local populace.

General secretary of the KSU Augustar Jyrwa spoke on similar vein and added, “It is time that we should scramble, be it in education or in terms of business, so that we could overwhelm those who tried to conquer us”.

The KSU leaders also decried the attempt of the Union Government to mine the uranium deposits in the State. They were in unison in describing the attempt as a means to reap the harvest of the ore at the cost of public. KSU preswident Daneil Khriem said, “KSU does not believe in words but in actions. We don’t have a big mouth, but our actions will speak in protecting the interest of the Hynniewtrep people”.

“We have showed it recently by stalling the registration of suspected people in the electoral rolls and we will go head on from now onwards,” Khryiem said in an emotiol speech that was greeted by huge drumming and cheers from the gathering.   

Talking about influx, the speakers reiterated that the Day should be taken as an occasion to protect the rights and security of the indigenous people. “We don’t want to be another Tripura or Assam where the people from outside the State will rule or determine our future,” state Augustar Jyrwa.