Protect Nepalis in Meghalaya

Whatever has been happening against Nepalis in the state of Meghalaya, India, in the past fortnight is barbaric to say the least. The local Khasi community has so far killed 17 Nepalis while forcing about 40,000 others to leave the state. Unfortunately, however, the government of Meghalaya is yet to take any concrete action to bring the situation under control while the Nepal government too is yet to formally request the Indian government to act swiftly despite the fact that many of those at the receiving end are not only Nepali speakers but Nepali citizens.



The root of the problem lies in the border dispute between the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya, which led to the death of four Khasis in Lingpih village (about 60 km from Guwahati in Assam and 140 km from Shillong in Meghalaya) when the Assam Police opened fire on them. In retaliation, the local Khasis, Jaintias and Garos have gone on a rampage throughout the state attacking Nepalis. Sadly, this is not the first time that Nepalis have had to bear the brunt of communal violence in the north-eastern Indian state. What is happening now has an eerie resemblance to what happened in 1987 when thousands of Nepalis were forced to flee the state.



Since Meghalaya has not been able to salvage the situation even a fortnight after the first incident of violence was reported – in fact the state government has tried to downplay whatever has happened so far – we urge the Indian central government to step in. Irrespective of whether the victims are Nepali or Indian citizens, India has a basic duty toward them just on the basis of humanitarian grounds. Meanwhile, Nepal – which has surprisingly been mute so far – must request India to ensure that Nepali citizens are not made victims because of their nationality. It must tell our southern neighbor to remind its state government that Nepali citizens, on the basis of the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, qualify to work and earn a living and settle anywhere in India and that they have a duty to protect them much like how Nepal is duty-bound to protect Indian nationals living and working in Nepal.



This paper Wednesday carried a news report, which said that on Tuesday alone 200 people entered the country through the Kakarbhitta border in eastern Nepal. The inflow, which is likely to increase manifolds in the coming days, leaves the Nepali government with quite a responsibility. If those entering the country are Nepali citizens, and if they wish to return at a later date, the government must render them all the help that they can. We must not overlook the fact that the people that we are talking about come from an economically-challenged background and their need for state support is very high.

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