Salute to Independence

The restive region of Meghalaya’s Garo Hills, which has seen peaks of insurgency, is slow and steadily marching towards a peaceful era. This year’s Independence Day celebration was a complete turnaround. For a change, no outfit had called for any boycott of the national celebration.

- Saidul Khan

Meghalaya’s Garo Hills, known for insurgency, is on a path of peace. The region has seen enough bloodbaths in the past three years with over 120 people, including security forces killed in different ambush, operations and terror strikes. Since December last, the situation has changed for good with most cadres of dreaded rebel outfit Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) and United A’chik Liberation Army (UALA) coming forward for peace.

Though GNLA is yet to come for talks, but the outfit’s strength has been reduced. Meghalaya Police is upbeat with its sustained operation – Hillstorm 3, which has yielded results and is hopeful that they would be able to contain insurgency. In the backdrop of a resurgent peace era, which is prevailing in Garo Hills with stray incidents of violence. This year’s Independence Day celebration gave positive vibes that Garo Hills has overcome from the fear of insurgents, who were up in arms.

Almost a decade later, Garo Hills saw a grandeur Independence Day celebration. There was a record turnout of people in all venues across five districts of Garo Hills. At Dikki Bandi Stadium in Tura, an important town after Shillong in Meghalaya, there was a record turnout of over 10,000 people, who were dressed in their best to witness the celebration. In the past, about 1000 people have roughly attended the celebration, which included mostly officials.