Curfew re-imposed in Shillong, SAD wants Communal Violence Bill

Curfew was re-imposed on Shillong, the Meghalaya capital, from 4 pm on Monday following clashes reported on Sunday evening. Every evening for the past five days, people from outside Shillong have been defying the curfew and descending on the capital. On Monday also, there were reports of people trying to hold a rally against ‘outsiders’ and hence the decision to impose curfew.

While Internet has been switched off, mischievous and fake WhatsApp messages claiming that the local Khasi boys assaulted by Sikhs had died, added to the tension. The three Khasi boys were actually discharged from the hospital.

As reported earlier, the violence was triggered last week after a few Punjabi women fetching water were subjected to eve-teasing and lewd talk. A bus conductor was apparently assaulted by the women, which snowballed into a major confrontation later in the evening.

Since then, hordes of people from West Khasi Hills and adjoining areas have been pouring into Shillong every evening and hold rallies against ‘outsiders’. Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma claimed that the police had found many of the protestors to be inebriated and consuming expensive whiskey. The chief minister, Conrad Sangma, also said that the police would name people who have been financing the agitation at an appropriate time.

Shillong’s Punjabi Lane has been there for at least half a century, if not more. Dalit Punjabis had migrated to Shillong and rebuilt their lives. While the predominantly residential area has transformed into a commercial area, local residents claim that the area has become unsafe and turn into gambling dens in the evening.

A group of Khasi women meanwhile burnt copies of Shillong Times for allegedly publishing one-sided reports. The Editor of Shillong Times, Patricia Mukhim, in a Facebook post said, “ I recall that in 1979 - 1984-1992 a few politicians and leaders who made provocative statements were placed under preventive detention. Why is this not happening today,” she wondered aloud.

SAD asks Modi govt to pass Communal Violence Bill

A delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which visited Shillong, returned to New Delhi and briefed the party and the community on Monday. The four-member team to Shillong said that the ongoing trend of mob violence against minorities needed to be arrested.

Shiromani Akali Dal has called on the Narendra Modi government to pass the Communal Violence Bill to check incidents of mob violence against minorities. Introduced by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the proposed law was dropped by Parliament in 2014 after facing stiff resistance from opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The demand by BJP’s junior ally at Centre, SAD, was made at a press conference in New Delhi on Monday.

“The Communal Violence Bill would afford special status to minorities. It is high time that the government does something to arrest the growing trend of mob violence against minorities in the country. Minorities like ours can be easily suppressed and outnumbered in similar situations,” SAD’s national spokesperson Manjit Singh GK, also part of the four-member team, told media persons.

“The Congress had tried to pass the Communal Violence Bill, but the opposition back then had some reservations about several of its provisions,” noted GK. Asked by NH what made him so certain that the BJP-led government would accept the demand now, as the party had opposed the Bill tooth-and-nail while in Opposition, GK replied, “There are many other bills that the BJP had passed when they were in Opposition. But they eventually went on to pass the same bills when they came to power.”

The SAD team informed reporters that Meghalaya’s Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, whose National People’s Party (NPP) is in power in the state with the backing of two BJP MLAs, was doing a commendable job in ensuring that the situation does not spiral out of control.

Another member of the team, Kuldeep Singh Bhogal, said that none of the seven gurudwaras (Sikh Temples) in the state had been attacked during the spate of violence.

“There was an incident of fire reported near the gurudwara in Punjabi Lane. The appeals on social media that the local Sikh community members have run out of food and other essentials are not correct,” said Bhogal, adding that a land dispute between the authorities and the Sikh community was at the heart of the dispute.

“We have heard reports that the administration wants to build a mall on the land where the Sikh settlement is. We took this up with the local administration and the CM Sangma during our talks with him. He has assured us a speedy resolution of the dispute,” said Bhogal.

Claiming that names of instigators would be out in the open soon, he added that the role of local MLA, Adelbert Nongrum from the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement, or KHNAM, be scrutinised.