SHILLONG, April 27 � The demand for a separate Garo State gathered momentum with a public rally in Resubelpara in Meghalaya sponsored by the Garo Hills State Movement Committee.
The rally saw the presence of the Garo National Council (GNC) MLA from Chokpot, Clifford R Marak. Incidentally, GNC is the oldest regional party in the State started in 1946.
The rallyists, who numbered about 3,000 stood in the hot April sun to hear the leaders who put forward their reason for the demand for a separate State.
Clifford said that a separate State had now become a necessity as the development of the region had been hampered due to the fractured nature of politics in the State. He said all within the region needed to unite to get what they had been missing for many years � development.
He said the united nature of Khasi society had meant that the MLAs spoke in the same language as the people of the region, whereas the same was not applicable in the case of Garo Hills, where divisions made development extremely slow. He said that recent incidents of the Telangana State Movement had given them the inspiration to intensify the movement.
The GHSMC president, Nikman Ch Marak, said that the under development of the Garo belt had led them to restart the agitation for a new State. They had restarted the demand from March last year and were now gaining the support of the other local tribes � Koch, Rabha, Hajong and even the Nepalis had pledged support for the movement.
They were now trying to gather support from all the other residents of Garo Hills to ensure the movement was all inclusive.
Augustine Marak, the secretary of the committee said that the under development of the Garo Hills region was the main reason for their demand for a separate State as they believe the condition of the people can only change once they have a State of their own. For this, he said, they would continue struggling peacefully till the demand was met.
SHILLONG, April 27 � The demand for a separate Garo State gathered momentum with a public rally in Resubelpara in Meghalaya sponsored by the Garo Hills State Movement Committee.
The rally saw the presence of the Garo National Council (GNC) MLA from Chokpot, Clifford R Marak. Incidentally, GNC is the oldest regional party in the State started in 1946.
The rallyists, who numbered about 3,000 stood in the hot April sun to hear the leaders who put forward their reason for the demand for a separate State.
Clifford said that a separate State had now become a necessity as the development of the region had been hampered due to the fractured nature of politics in the State. He said all within the region needed to unite to get what they had been missing for many years � development.
He said the united nature of Khasi society had meant that the MLAs spoke in the same language as the people of the region, whereas the same was not applicable in the case of Garo Hills, where divisions made development extremely slow. He said that recent incidents of the Telangana State Movement had given them the inspiration to intensify the movement.
The GHSMC president, Nikman Ch Marak, said that the under development of the Garo belt had led them to restart the agitation for a new State. They had restarted the demand from March last year and were now gaining the support of the other local tribes � Koch, Rabha, Hajong and even the Nepalis had pledged support for the movement.
They were now trying to gather support from all the other residents of Garo Hills to ensure the movement was all inclusive.
Augustine Marak, the secretary of the committee said that the under development of the Garo Hills region was the main reason for their demand for a separate State as they believe the condition of the people can only change once they have a State of their own. For this, he said, they would continue struggling peacefully till the demand was met.
