TURA, Sept 1: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday launched “Tracing the Roots,” a state government programme aimed at scientifically documenting the origins and historical migration of the Garo people, at the District Auditorium here.
The launch was held in the presence of Arts & Culture Minister Sanbor Shullai and MLA Mehtab Chandee A Sangma.
The Chief Minister said the project traced its roots to a vision first articulated by his late father, former Union minister Purno Agitok Sangma, and noted that the programme was deliberately launched on Sangma’s 79th birth anniversary as a tribute to him.
Recalling a conversation with his father, the Chief Minister said, “It was one of those normal conversations between a father and son. But looking back, every conversation had a strong message. It was like a classroom for me, a roadmap for life and for the State.”
He said his father had once voiced concern over the absence of proper scientific documentation of the roots, history, migration and culture of the Garo tribal community — a remark that stayed with him over the years and eventually shaped the programme.
“About two years back, I decided we must start a programme to study all aspects of our culture and history and scientifically bring out evidence on the actual identity of our people,” he said, adding that a note he had prepared one-and-a-half years ago and shared with the Principal Secretary, the minister and research scholars had now taken final shape.
According to the Chief Minister, the initiative goes beyond academic research and is rooted in identity, heritage and collective memory, drawing on historical research, oral traditions, indigenous knowledge, linguistics, archaeology and archival study.
Under the broader programme, which also covers Meghalaya’s other indigenous communities, 75 scholars in all will travel to Vietnam, Cambodia and Tibet to study the origins and historical journeys of the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia people.
The Garo component will examine theories on origin and migration, including the Tibet or northern highlands hypothesis, while a separate Khasi-Jaintia team will conduct a study titled “Ki Dienjat: Re-examining Khasi-Jaintia Socio-cultural Linkages with Southeast Asia.”
The Chief Minister also launched a dedicated e-Portal to serve as a central platform for research data and collaboration, which will host digital archives, scholarly publications and educational resources.
“Tracing the Roots is more than a research project. It is a journey of rediscovery, undertaken so that we may reconnect with our past, understand our present and shape our future with greater confidence,” he said.
Urging people to remember the teachings of their ancestors, the Chief Minister said, “Our forefathers have always taught us to care for others, to be respectful, and to live in peace and harmony.” He described the research as a milestone the people and the country would remember for generations.
