Shillong: Tribal organisations from Assam’s Karbi Anglong, Meghalaya’s Garo Hills, and Tripura are gearing up for a major protest in New Delhi next month, renewing their demand for separate states carved out of tribal-majority regions.
The demonstration, planned after August 20 at Jantar Mantar, will be held under the banner of the National Federation for New States (NFNS), a coalition of regional groups pushing for statehood in various parts of the country.
The decision was finalised during the NFNS national convention held in Shillong recently, where leaders of participating organisations reaffirmed their decades-old demand for statehood.
“This is not a new demand. We have been fighting for statehood in Karbi Anglong, Garo Hills, and Tripura for years,” said NFNS secretary Stalin Ingti.
He noted that while Telangana achieved statehood in 2014, similar aspirations in the Northeast continue to be sidelined.
To mobilise support, NFNS has been conducting meetings across several locations including Tura, Karbi Anglong, Vidarbha, Delhi, and Tripura, Ingti added.
NFNS vice president and Deputy Chief Executive Member of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council, Nikman Ch Marak, stated that the federation will seek a formal dialogue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah after August 23.
ALSO READ: Congress wiped out from Meghalaya Assembly as lone MLA joins NPP
“We are heading to Delhi to make our voices heard,” he said.
The NFNS represents a wide network of groups advocating for new states across India.
Among its key members are the Garo Hills State Movement Committee, the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), the Hill State People’s Socialist Party (HSPSP), and the Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State (JACAS) from Karbi Anglong. It also includes allied movements from Jharkhand, Vidarbha, Bundelkhand, and Ladakh.
