A group from Meghalaya’s Garo hills region will organise a “cultural protest” against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, (CAA) and demand the implementation of the inner line permit (ILP) on January 21.

January 21 is observed as Meghalaya Day to mark the occasion when Meghalaya was given full statehood.

A’chik Youth Welfare Organisation (AYWO) general secretary Lyiend Roshan Marak on Thursday said the protest will begin from Tura Bazaar in West Garo Hills to be followed by a torchlight march till William Point.

During the protest, artistes will be performing against the imposition of a “dictatorial mindset” in the name of the Act and demand implementation of the ILP in Meghalaya.

The group also appealed to all residents of Garo hills to light a candle in front of their homes to mark their protest against the Act.

Marak said the enactment of the legislation will have serious implications on the demographic and population structure of the Northeast.

“Hordes of immigrants from neighbouring countries will be encouraged to cross over to India under the Act,” he said.

To counter any unabated flow of immigrants, the group urged the Meghalaya government to set up entry and exit points in places like Phulbari, Mir Jhumla, Chibinang, Monabari, Dainadubi and others. “We cannot accept the illegal immigrants from any part of the world irrespective of their religion, caste, creed. We will resist this injustice till the end,” Marak said.

Nagaland Against CAA, an uprising against CAA led by the Naga public, will organise a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Supermarket in Dimapur from 10am on January 18.

In a release on Thursday, the organising committee said the protest is strictly apolitical and will be peaceful.

The protest will include speeches, music, skits and on the spot paintings.

“When the whole country is in uproar, Nagaland cannot remain silent. So, it is a request to the public to show your solidarity with the rest of the country and participate in the protest,” the release said.

Jorhat protests

Several organisations held a sit-in in front of the deputy commissioner’s office complex in Jorhat to protest police proceedings against a reporter of a news channel, the arrest of KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi and the CAA. The reporter, Utpal Bora, was also present at the protest.

The police are looking into allegations that Bora instigated a protest at the venue where chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal was holding a shramik samaroh after laying the foundation stone of a primary health centre at ATCL’s Cinnamara tea estate on December 30.

Additional reporting by Bhadra Gogoi in Dimapur and Devajit Baruah in Jorhat