Shillong, Feb 16: The Hynniewtrep Youth’ Council (HYC) on Monday called out Congress president Vincent H Pala for allegedly ‘insulting’ the lived experiences of the indigenous people of the state by claiming that the international border is “fully secured” and fears of influx are “perceptual”.
Calling his statement irresponsible and detached from reality, HYC president Roy Kupar Synrem questioned as to why repeated seizures, arrests and deportation of illegal infiltrators are continuously taking place at the border.
“To claim that the international border is fully secured is an insult to the lived experiences of the indigenous people of Meghalaya,” Synrem said, citing illegal crossings along porous stretches of the Indo-Bangladesh border, fake identity documents, encroachments on forest and community lands, and rising demographic pressure.
“If the border was truly ‘fully secured’, why do repeated seizures, arrests and deportation of illegal infiltrators take place? Why do border residents and NGOs continuously raise alarms?” he asked.
The group also accused Pala of emboldening infiltration networks and trivialising genuine fears.
“Dismissing the fears of the indigenous people as ‘perceptual’ is nothing but gaslighting communities fighting for survival of their land, identity and political rights,” Synrem said.
It added that Pala’s comments put him and his party in poor light before Meghalaya’s indigenous people, and reminded him that he does not speak for the government.
“The survival of the indigenous people of Meghalaya is not a perception. It is a reality that demands action,” Synrem said.
