News Agency
\nPATNA
\nTensions have started to calm in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, six days into a curfew following clashes over India\u2019s new citizenship legislation. But despite the relative peace, sporadic incidents of violence have still been reported.
\nThe tiny hilly region has been in turmoil since Saturday, when supporters of the controversial citizenship law clashed with a local tribal group demanding settlement restrictions for outsiders.
\nMeghalaya has been in a state of tension since mid-December when the central government enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which seeks to grant fast track citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who arrived in India on or before Dec. 31, 2014.
\nThe law has led to nationwide protests and anxiety among the country\u2019s Muslims, who fear it may render them stateless. But in northeastern areas of India, fears are rising that Hindu Bengali settlers from Bangladesh, who are seen as the main beneficiaries of the CAA, could overwhelm the region\u2019s indigenous population.
\nThe biggest northeastern state, Assam, has been boiling for the past two months, as protesters demand immediate revocation of the law to \u201cstop the indigenous Assamese from turning into a minority in their own state.\u201d Similar concerns have been raised in Meghalaya, which borders Bangladesh.
\nSaturday\u2019s clashes broke out between the Khasi Students Union (KSU), a powerful local group representing the state\u2019s indigenous population, and nontribal groups near the Ichamati River, which forms a natural boundary between India and Bangladesh.
\nThe KSU were holding a protest against the CAA and demanding the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) to restrict entry and settlement to outsiders.
\nThe violence claimed three lives and the curfew was imposed in several places, including Shillong, Meghalaya\u2019s capital. It was relaxed for a few hours on Thursday.
\n\u201cMarkets were closed for many days and today for a few hours we relaxed the curfew, however some sporadic incidents of violence took place,\u201d said Matsiewdor War Nongbri, deputy commissioner of Shillong.
\nLambokstar Marngar, president of the KSU, told Arab News: \u201cThe only solution is the Inner Line Permit, otherwise the situation might turn from bad to worse.
\n\u201cThis is the demand of not only by the KSU but the whole state. This is the question of the rights of the indigenous people of the state.\u201d
\nThe Meghalaya government in December last year passed a resolution that the central government impose the ILP.
\nShillong Times editor and political analyst Patricia Mukhim told Arab News: \u201cthe conflict started at the place which borders Bangladesh where there are many non-tribal settlers.
\n\u201cI think the protest must be threatening to many who are living in India without papers,\u201d she said, adding that the CAA has sparked fear among people.
\n\u201cUnlike the rest of India where Muslims feel threatened by the CAA, here in Meghalaya the tribal population feels threatened by all outsiders, be they Hindu or anybody else. They don\u2019t want any non-tribal settlers to come here. They want to say that there is no space for any outsiders here.\u201d
\nAfter the passing of the CAA, New Delhi assured Meghalaya that it would be insulated from its impact with the IPL. But the permit measure has yet to be implemented.
\n\u201cThe IPL is a regressive colonial instrument in this modern era. But people have limited understanding of the issue. The government is very scared of the local pressure group,\u201d Mukhim added.
\n\u201cThe CAA has unleashed an ugly situation with more mistrust among people. Meghalaya has always had ethnic conflicts. This has created more fear and tension in society, which could destabilize it. The ruling party in Delhi is to be blamed for this sad state of affairs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Agency PATNA Tensions have started to calm in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, six days into a curfew following clashes over India\u2019s new citizenship legislation. But despite the relative peace, sporadic incidents of violence have still been reported. The tiny hilly region has been in turmoil since Saturday, when supporters of the controversial citizenship […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-111026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n