Protests for separate states in Meghalaya

Shillong: 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. PTI