Meghalaya's Minority Tribes Demand for Greater Autonomy

SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Indigenous Minority Tribals Forum (MIMTF) of Garo Hills on Saturday demanded the establishment of two regional councils within the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

According to them, these councils would strengthen the Hajong, Koch, Rabha, Boro, Kachari, and Mann tribes and help them achieve their dreams.

The MIMTF has long advocated for these regional councils, believing that they would enable direct funding from the Centre under Article 280 of the Constitution.

The forum recently submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, through former Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha, outlining their demands. In addition to regional councils, the MIMTF also called for satellite councils to cater to the minority tribal communities dispersed across the state.

They claim that the three main tribal groups—Khasis, Garos, and Jaintias—are the primary targets of government schemes, which frequently marginalize and deprive these group.

KC Boro, former minister and forum spokesperson, said, “Regional councils will facilitate the upliftment and all-round development of our communities in education, economy, social welfare, and politics. They will also protect our social, political, and constitutional rights.”

Anubhav Hajong, the forum convener, signed the memorandum, which emphasizes the urgent need for policy interventions to protect the rights and interests of minority tribes in Meghalaya.

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