BDF compares Khasi Students' Union with ULFA, demands action; Warns Barak Bandh against partiality in recruitment

The Barak Democratic Front calls for a 12-hour strike on November 18 from 5AM to 5PM in the entire Barak Valley to express their discontent and to protest against the alleged discrimination faced by the candidates of Barak Valley in the recently held government examinations.

This strike is also a mark of demand for clarification from the Meghalaya state government against the heinous crimes and acts of intolerance against the non-tribal people in the state.

In a press-conference held in Silchar Pensioners Bhawan on November 9, the chief convenor of the Barak Democratic Front (BDF), Pradip Dutta Roy said, “ The state government has been partial against the candidates of Barak Valley. This simply is not acceptable that out of thousands of candidates appearing for the exam, only 3% of them were selected. The students of Barak valley are not in any way less meritorious than the rest of the state. Stating them incompetent is an insult to the valley. We cannot agree with the BJP leaders that our students are not capable of bagging a position because if it were to be true, how can 12 people from Barak Valley qualify the Assam civil services examinations? My question to the Chief Minister is where is the promise that he made to the unemployed youth of the valley of getting them jobs? This discrimination in the qualifying list will also lead to a biased decision making in the personal interview rounds as well. We cannot accept this. Where will the people of Barak Valley go if the state continues to show such prejudice against the valley’s people?”

He further added, “Within the next seven days the government should come up with a fresh set of list displaying the number of vacant posts and the marks obtained by advertising in the media and to start the procedure for Barak based recruitment separately and alloting a minimum of 1000 seats to the local applicants. If the state fails to do so, we will be calling a 12 hour Barak Bandh on November 18 to protest against the same. The government’s attempt to suppress the strike will be in vain as the members of the BDF are ready to even go to jail for the welfare of the valley.”

BDF Media Cell Convenor, Joydeep Bhattacharjee further added, “Hate crimes against the non-tribal groups including Hindu-Bengalis, Marwadis, Nepalis and Sikhs have been rising at an alarming rate all over the north-east. In the light of recent activities in Shillong, we demand clarification from the state Government of Meghalaya. Such attacks on Bengalis and other non-tribal people is not a new occurrence. The increasing rate of such crime and the reluctance of the police clearly supports the fact that the state and central governments are actively involved in this. The Tribal Appeasement Policy further adds aid to the hate crimes happening in the state for the last 60 years. How can any union be so audacious to publicly write ‘we are Khasi by blood, Indian by accident’ in a sovereign country like India? If organisations like the ULFA and Kashmiri terrorists can be labelled as anti-national, then why not the the Khasi Students’ Union? Why are no actions taken against them? Why are such radical anti-nationlist organisations not forbidden? We will call for a bandh unless these questions are settled by the government”.

Hrishikesh Dey, another convenor of the BDF said, “50 Hindus were brutally killed in the riots of 1979 in Meghalaya and the oppression has continued since then. More than 25-30 miscreants were responsible for the recent attacks in Shillong but only 4 were taken into custody by the police, who will surely be granted bail after sometime stating absence of evidence. We want to see if law and order is still in force in Meghalaya, and we demand exemplary actions to be taken against them so that no such incidents take place in the future.”

“It is shameful that the elected members of the valley have opted to put lock in their mouth and not say a word in support of the welfare of their own voters. They have put self-interest above their responsibilities towards the citizens. Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha is the only protesting voice in this matter and we highly appreciate this”, said Ainul Haque Mazumder, a newly appointed member of the BDF. Another Convenor, Khaidem Kanta Singh said, “ not only Bengalis, but all the other oppressed groups of people deserve justice and the BDF will incessantly work towards the betterment of the valley”.