Meghalaya: HNLC Slams Government's Extended Ban, Accuses Centre of Suppressing Political Struggle

SHILLONG: A day after the Union Home Ministry extended the ban on the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) for another five years, the Khasi underground outfit issued a strongly worded statement condemning the decision.

The group described the move as an effort to stifle their “legitimate political expression” and undermine their struggle for self-determination. 

HNLC general secretary Saiñkupar Nongtraw, in a statement released on Thursday, said the group was "not at all surprised" by the government's decision to continue branding the organization as unlawful.

"This is yet another example of the continued suppression of our just political expression and the stifling of our struggle for self-determination," said Nongtraw, citing the group's perception that the ban was only to silence dissent and avoid confronting the real issues that its movement was advocating.

Responding to the narrative that is being floated by the government that the HNLC is a "spent force" with only 10-15 active members, Nongtraw dismissed it as a "gross underestimation" of the strength and influence they enjoy.

"The records tell a different story," Nongtraw said, pointing to the government's data. "To date, 73 HNLC members have been arrested, and the number continues to grow. The fact that only three members have surrendered in the past five years is a testament to the HNLC's resilience and enduring commitment to its cause."

He also claimed that his group's ideological influence is spreading among the youth, who "see armed resistance as a viable path to challenge what they perceive as the 'oppressive Indian system.'"

The general secretary also made his case against what he called the government's insincerity in allowing them peace talks. He indicated that it was a strategic move to dismantle the operation of his group.

The real objective behind this act, however, is to weaken, demoralize, infiltrate, and manipulate us — to undermine our movement and dismantle our cause while pretending to seek peace, Nongtraw accused. He contended that this was a farce of a peace initiative with very little honest desire to reconcile but was being done only to deradicalize them in their struggle for self-determination.

Indeed, the Union Home Ministry had vindicated the continued ban order under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) given the HNLC's violent activities, with killings, bombings, and extortion being part of them. All these posed an actual threat to the sovereignty and integrity of India. The HNLC has been based in Meghalaya and has never given up aspirations for a sovereign Khasi state, which successive governments have owed to neglect the aspirations as well as grievances of the Khasi people.

The prohibition continues unabated, keeping in mind the regular tensions between New Delhi and the people who are considered separatists in the northeastern region. On the one hand, the government trumpets that the ban is necessary for maintaining law and order; on the other hand, the HNLC says it is just a chapter in a larger design to stifle dissent and the growth of political ambitions.

True, the question is whether banning organizations was effective or just a treatment of a symptom of the cause that drives these separatist thoughts in the first place. Certainly, even more, meaningful peace talks based on trust and mutual respect could become the better alternative to this unresolved conflict.

As the ban is approaching its extended period, the rhetoric from both sides reveals an increasingly wide chasm, and nobody in his or her right mind has even a suggestion as to when this will finally come to an end. More defiance from HNLC, a hardline from the government indicates that all shall not be well in Meghalaya for a long time to come.

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