GUWAHATI, March 2 � The Garo National Council (GNC) has demanded satellite autonomy to the Garos living in Assam under the provisions of the Seventh or Eleventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Benedict Areng, president of the Goalpara-Kamrup Committee of the GNC, told this newspaper here that the development council proposed by the State Government for the Garos living in Assam is meaningless, as it is toothless. Such councils do not have administrative powers, they cannot introduce any legislation, and the Constitution of the country has also no mention of such councils.
The Garos, who live in a matrilineal society, inhabit the inaccessible areas of the State. Their traditions are quite different from the other ethnic groups of the State, he argued.
