Guwahati:

Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to implement UCC, but the Chief Minister of another hill state has ruled out a similar step. The implementation of Uniform Civil Code is neither practical nor appropriate, given the country’s diverse cultural and tribal communities, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said today.

He, however, acknowledged that certain aspects of civil laws could be made uniform while protecting the rights of indigenous communities.

Pointing at Uttarakhand, which became the first state to implement the UCC while excluding tribal customs from its purview, Mr Sangma said in a country as diverse as India, a Uniform Civil Code is not viable. 

His statement comes amid growing debates on the UCC, with Assam expressing interest in following Uttarakhand’s lead in implementing the code.

“A Uniform Civil Code, as a concept of making sure that everything becomes uniform, is not possible in India,” Mr Sangma said.

“There are tribal and indigenous communities with unique practices that may not align with the uniformity. To impose uniformity on every aspect of life, across all communities, would not be correct,” he added.

To explain the situation, he further added: “If a bill at the national or state level were to declare that the entire country should adopt a matrilineal system, Meghalaya would support that, because we are a matrilineal society. It all depends on the content of the bill – what aspects are being made uniform and in what way”.

“For us, as a state government, we are very clear. The Uniform Civil Code is not on our agenda. We respect the diverse identities of our tribal communities, and their traditional practices must be protected,” he added. 

Mr Sangma had made it clear earlier also that his government will not support the UCC.

Two years ago, a tribal council in Meghalaya unanimously passed a resolution to oppose the implementation of the UCC in areas within its jurisdiction.

Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), aiming to simplify and standardize personal laws related to marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance.
The UCC applies to all residents of Uttarakhand, except Scheduled Tribes and protected authority-empowered persons and communities.

Shillong:

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Tuesday said that the government is introducing game-based learning for the children in the state.

Inaugurating the Model Creative Learning Centre (MCLC) at Dobakkol in Tura, he said, “It is important that a child is introduced to game-based learning which will enable them to develop their perceptual, motor, cognitive and self-regulation skills.”

He informed that under the Early Childhood Development (ECD) mission, learning centres for children will be set up across the state.

Lauding Mere Mentor and Dobakkol Non Govt L.P. School for collaborating to start the MCLC, the Chief Minister said, “The state government has funded the infrastructure but it will be the collective responsibility of the organisation to ensure that it becomes functional.”

An amount of Rs 50 lakh was sanctioned for the project under the Chief Minister’s Special Development Fund (CMSDF). It is a pilot project and is a flagship initiative of the Chief Minister to promote activity and game-based learning.

Informing that the ECD mission has been accorded priority, he said: “It is important that we give the best to our children and in a scientific manner. From birth till the age of 8, a child undergoes a rapid transformation in their life cycle, and it is during this phase that right teaching and learning will allow their brains to develop skills, such as creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

He stated that the government has taken learning outcomes on early childhood development from countries like Europe and the UK and has come up with its own framework.

“We have rolled out the scheme and will upgrade our anganwadis into smart anganwadis,” he added.

In Dura Asim village under Chokpot block in South Garo Hills, a learning centre was set up by upgrading an Aganwadi. The project has been functional for the past two years. The centre aims to create a safe, welcoming, and stimulating space that encourages children to explore and learn through play, making learning a fun and interactive experience.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Imphal:

A day after withdrawing support to the BJP government in Manipur over the recent incidents of violence, National People’s Party (NPP) president and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma hit out at his Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh. Mr Sangma clarified that NPP had withdrawn support to the Biren Singh-led government and not to the NDA. He added that the party may rethink the decision if there is a leadership change in the neighbouring state.

In the 60-member Manipur Assembly, BJP holds 37 seats. The NPP, which has seven MLAs, had earlier given outside support to the Biren Singh government as it is part of the NDA. Its withdrawal of support does not endanger the government, but is more of a statement regarding the situation in Manipur. NPP has criticised the Manipur Chief Minister in the past too.

In a statement issued today, Mr Sangma has said that the NPP had hoped that the situation in Manipur would improve and had continued to back the state government.

“In the last one week, the situation has gone bad. We had been discussing the situation with central BJP leaders. We have suggested that trust needs to be built, that it is because of trust deficit that overall efforts to bring peace are not reaching their logical conclusion. No trust-building efforts were undertaken,” he said.

“We strongly felt that there is no confidence of our party in the current leadership of Biren Singh ji. Violence is not way to bring about a solution, but sentiments are (running) high. We urge the Centre to take a serious note of what is happening in Manipur now,” the NPP chief added.

Mr Sangma assured that as the second largest party in Manipur Assembly, NPP would cooperate to bring peace back. “We have withdrawn the support from the Biren Singh-led government, not from NDA. If there is a leadership change and positive impact of that change, we might think of supporting again,” he said.

The NPP yesterday said that the Biren Singh government had “completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy”. In a letter addressed to BJP chief and Union Minister JP Nadda, it said, “Keeping the current situation in mind, the National People’s Party has decided to withdraw its support to the Biren Singh government in state of Manipur, with immediate effect,” the letter said. 

At least 19 people have been killed in the recent spate of violence in Manipur’s Jiribam district this month. Curfew has been imposed in several areas of the state, where ethnic clashes erupted last year. The Union Home Ministry has said all forces deployed in the state have been asked to take necessary steps to restore peace.

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, today reviewed the ongoing situation in Bangladesh and its implications in northeast India in a meeting with Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his deputy Prestone Tynsong in Delhi

The three leaders discussed the concerns of people from the Northeast and specifically Meghalaya. The Home Minister assured the Chief Minister that the Centre is committed to keeping borders with Bangladesh safe.

 “We reviewed the overall situation of the border areas. Meghalaya has briefed the home minister that they are happy with the steps taken by the Centre. The home minister was informed about the night curfew imposed in areas along the Bangladesh border by the Meghalaya government. We have reiterated to the Home Minister that no one should be allowed to cross the border. If necessary, more manpower should be sent to guard the border,” Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said. 

 In response to the unrest in Bangladesh, the Meghalaya government has temporarily halted operations at the border haats along the 443-kilometre-long boundary with Bangladesh. 

A night curfew has been imposed in the border areas for the past few days. Cross-border trade through the Integrated Border Check Post at Dawki has also come to a standstill. 

Many ethnic groups in Meghalaya like the Khasis and the Garos have relatives and people of their community living on the other side of the fence and are worried as people-to-people contact has been disrupted.

Guwahati:

The National People’s Party, led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, has announced that it would support the Lok Sabha candidate of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in Nagaland and the Naga People’s Front (NPF) nominee in Manipur.

NPP national chief Sangma, after meeting Nagaland Chief Minister and senior NDPP leader Neiphiu Rio, said his party would support NDPP candidate Chumben Murry for the lone Nagaland seat.

Mr Murry is the consensus candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA), which leads Nagaland’s multi-party coalition government.

The NPP would also support NPF candidate Kachui Timothy Zimik in the Outer Manipur seat, Mr Sangma told the media. His party, he added, would support BJP nominees in two Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh — Union Minister Kiren Rijiju (Arunachal West) and Tapir Gao (Arunachal East).

The NPF fielded Mr Zimik, replacing its sitting MP Lorho S. Pfoze.

The NPP, NPF, and NDPP are the allies of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Mr Sangma said the NDA partners are supporting each other’s candidates in different northeastern states.

The BJP had earlier announced support to the candidates of the NPP in the two parliamentary seats in Meghalaya, the NPF nominee in the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha seat, and the NDPP contender in Nagaland’s lone Lok Sabha seat.

It is however yet to declare its candidate for the Inner Manipur seat.

The NPP, which dominates the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government led by Mr Sangma, has fielded state minister Ampareen Lyngdoh from the Shillong Lok Sabha constituency, and renominated Agatha K. Sangma from Tura.

Agatha K. Sangma, the sister of Conrad Sangma, was the youngest Union Minister during the second UPA government.  

Shillong, Meghalaya:

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday informed that as many as 27 people from the state are stranded in Jerusalem, Israel adding that he is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to rescue them.

This comes after a barrage of rockets slammed into southern and central Israel after Hamas launched a “surprise attack” on Saturday morning.

“27 citizens of Meghalaya who travelled for the Holy Pilgrimage to Jerusalem are stuck in Bethlehem due to the tension between Israel and Palestine. I am in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure their safe passage back home,” Chief Minister Sangma posted on X.

27 citizens of Meghalaya who traveled for the Holy Pilgrimage to Jerusalem are stuck in Bethlehem due to the tension between Israel and Palestine. I am in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure their safe passage back home. @DrSJaishankar@MEAIndia

— Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) October 7, 2023

More than 100 people have been killed in the Hamas “terror attack” on Israel, according to medical officials, The Times of Israel reported, citing Hebrew-language media.

According to the Health Ministry, 908 injured people have been taken to hospitals for treatment in the ongoing terror attack by Hamas on Israel’s southern and central regions, The Times of Israel reported.

Some 800 people have been injured in the attacks, which have included dozens of Hamas terrorists infiltrating Israel and gunning down soldiers and people. Others were injured in rocket attacks.

In a statement posted on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated, “At least 100 Israelis were murdered and more than 900 wounded in terror attacks by Hamas terrorists.”

While sharing the post on X, Israel Foreign Ministry stated, “The fighting in southern Israel is still ongoing. Our security forces are securing areas which are under attack by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Israeli communities and who have taken civilians captive.”

In the first reaction to the ‘surprise attack’, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel “is at war”, further asserting that they will “win it”.

“We are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war. This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. We have been in this since the early morning hours. I convened the heads of the security establishment and ordered, first of all, to clear out the communities that have been infiltrated by terrorists. This currently is being carried out,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the mobilization of reserves. He called on citizens of Israel to adhere to the directives of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Home Front Command.

Benjamin Netanyahu said, “At the same time, I have ordered an extensive mobilisation of reserves and that we return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price. In the meantime, I call on the citizens of Israel to strictly adhere to the directives of the IDF and Home Front Command. We are at war and we will win it.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

Assam and Meghalaya are on the verge of finalising the actual boundary lines in the first six areas of difference as part of the ongoing process to resolve the border disputes, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma announced at a joint press conference on Saturday.

Conrad Sarma termed the discussions “very cordial”.

The discussions were held at the Chief Ministerial level on border disputes between two states in six remaining areas, Guwahati on Saturday.

Briefing media persons after the meeting, Mr Sangma said, “We are happy to inform the people of both Assam and Meghalaya that after a very long drawn exercise, we are now on the verge of of finalising the actual pillars and actual boundary lines in the first six areas of differences signed a MoU in the presence of Union Home Minister.”

Mr Sarma said as a “confidence-building measure”, both states have decided to wind up the judicial commission probing the Mukroh firing incident.

“Today, we met to further resolve the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute. The discussions were very cordial and we have been able to take certain very important decisions today,” Mr Sarma said.

“As a confidence-building measure and in order not to put respective officers of both states under stress or duress, we have decided to wind up the judicial commission, which was set up at the behest of our two governments to inquire about the Mukroh firing incident,”Mr Sarma said.

The tension between Assam and Meghalaya is not new. Even though both states have partially resolved a 50-year-old border dispute in six of the 12 sectors along their 885 km boundary, the dispute between the local groups continues to threaten peace in the area.

A few days ago, fresh clashes erupted between two communities living at the Assam-Meghalaya border, with rival groups reportedly going at each other using bows, arrows, and catapults in Lapangap village.

There are a total of 12 disputed areas along the inter-state border of Assam and Meghalaya, and out of the 12 issues in disputed areas, six have been resolved to the satisfaction of both states.

Both governments formed regional committees to resolve the remaining problems in the six disputed areas.

Mr Sarma added that the state government will request the CBI to investigate the Mukroh firing incident.

“Both the state government will now request the CBI to investigate the matter, without registering a case either in Guwahati or Shillong,” Mr Sarma added.

In March last year, Himanta Sarma and his counterpart Sangma signed a “historic” agreement for closure in six disputed sectors that were taken up for resolution in the first phase, in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, in New Delhi.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)