In the four month long struggle, the people were sandwiched between these two opposing moves, thus creating a sort of stalemate such as the ones seen in the game of chess. There were no winners and no losers yet the brunt was badly felt by the citizens of the State, especially the daily labourers and those earning their daily bread – who received no wages on the days when road blockades and bandhs were called by the agitating organizations in a move to put pressure on the Government.

Several rounds of talks and negotiations between the two warring sides had failed to produce any substantial results. On one occasion, some students had even torn copies of the Tenancy Bill of the Government at a meeting called for clarification of the Bill at Shillong. After this incident, the State Government had dropped the holding of such clarification meetings. The Tenancy Bill mainly dwells on the rules and regulations that landlords and house owners have to follow in letting out to tenants and to help in preventing the entry of illegal migrants. The Government had appointed a ministerial committee in handling the Tenancy Bill under the chairmanship of State Cabinet member Prestone Tynsong.

The traditional village and locality elders had however expressed their resentment of the Government’s move to bring about the ‘Meghalaya Regulation of Landlords and Verification of Tenants Bill’ as this would be in contravention to the customary usages that are practiced. So also that the role of village and locality Dorbars could be affected and diluted and that the ‘Rangbah Shnongs’ or heads of these Dorbars, would no longer have a say in the affairs of administering the localities in the urban and also in the rural areas. On the other hand, it was felt that instead, the authority of the Rangbah Shnong and the Dorbar Shnong should be strengthened and work in tandem with the higher level of traditional Dorbar such as the Dorbar Hima of the Syiem (King), the Doloi and the Nokma institution in the Garo Hills.

The State Government had therefore kept on hold the Tenancy Bill which had prompted the public organizations to come forward for the resumption of talks with the Government which had resulted in breaking the ice of this cold and long winter.

The sitting together of the Government and representatives of the non – governmental organizations on January 15th 2014, out of which no concrete result could come out, however had positive signs that the vexed influx issue could be solved in a practical manner.

It was agreed in the crucial meeting that as a first step, all kinds of agitations would be suspended for the time being. The non – governmental organizations would examine fifty two existing laws dealing with the problems of influx. The Chief Minister of Meghalaya himself Dr. Mukul Sangma had made it clear that the contention of the Government is that it is going to look as to how the existing laws can be integrated so as to arrive at an institutionalized mechanism to tackle the issue of influx and illegal migrants. From this statement made by the Chief Minister, it can be assumed that the Government will not be forced into any legislation, but will take into consideration other measures mooted out by the non – governmental organizations and also from other quarters. The Government has not set any time frame in which the entire issue will be examined carefully.

It is therefore equally important that there should no longer be any rigid stance, whether it is the Tenancy Bill or the Inner Line Permit implementation, as the need of the hour is in dealing with the core issue. Provisions of the various laws and also the proposals of the ILP and the Tenancy Bill can be incorporated into a single viable legislation that will serve the purpose of dealing with influx and illegal migrants.
The checking of influx and illegal migrants had previously not been taken very seriously by the successive State Governments and also by the public organizations for the last forty years since the inception of the State of Meghalaya. The rampant mining of minerals in the State had all along attracted outside labour without verification of their identity. Mining and industrial areas have become a permanent stay for labour and has, over the years, created social problems and also at the same time endangered the demographic composition. The time has come therefore, to contain and keep a strict vigil on influx through effective laws that are workable in the existing ground situations. It is especially important that the Government refrains from issuing industrial licenses in a rampant manner to industrial units such as those issued for the setting up of cement plants which have brought about disastrous damage to the environment. Provisions are therefore needed in any influx law, to cover the mining and industrial sectors which have been a haven for illegal migrants.

However, at the same time, great care has to be taken that the influx law should not, in any way, hamper the growth of a healthy economy, especially that any influx law should not be detrimental to the tourism industry which is beginning to take root in the State as a major revenue earner.

Genuine citizens of the State should also not be affected by any influx law, especially the non – indigenous population who have been born and brought up and settled in the State for the past hundred years or so as they have been a contributing factor to the progress of the State especially in trade and commerce. Shillong being an educational centre of the North East region of India, the student community from outside the State should also not be disturbed as they cannot be considered as immigrants.

All these factors should therefore be carefully taken into account so as the influx law can emerge to really serve the interests of the indigenous population. Yet it is the onus of people themselves to be always on the alert in seeing that the various laws are workable and do not rely only in the implementation agencies. The ultimate responsibility lies in every person to be sincere enough to check influx.

U Sumar Sing Sawian