More than 1,500 people on Tuesday began a two-day
demonstration in all the five district headquarters demanding two
separate states for Garo and Khasi-Jaintia hill tribes in Meghalaya.
“The
Centre should consider creation of separate Garo and Khasi-Jaintia
states in Meghalaya based on linguistic lines as envisaged in the States
Reorganisation Act, 1956,” Clifford Marak, a Garo National Council MLA
said.
The demonstration is being organised by the
Garo Hills State Movement Committee, a conglomeration of various
pressure groups and political groups.
The GNC and the
Hills State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) have been demanding
separate states for the Garo and Khasi-Jaintia tribes respectively for
over two decades.
In view of the agitation, security has been tightened to prevent any untoward incident in all the five districts, police said.