Five thousand Khasi-Pnar tribals have fled into Sahsniang in Jainita hills of Meghalaya as a result of the atrocities inflicted upon them by the United Peoples’ Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and the Karbi National Volunteers (KNV) militants. This has added a new chapter to the narrative on ethnic conflicts in India’s northeast. Earlier too, following clashes between the Dimasas and the Hmars, Pnars (the displacement figure is not available in this case) had to flee across the border. Such recurrent internal displacement and consequent misery brought about on people, who are not directly involved in the conflict underlines the need for a greater understanding and cooperation between neighbouring states.

According to the 1991 census figures, the population of Khasi-Pnars in Assam was 11,358 out of which 8,452 were in Karbi Anglong and 2,906 were in the NC Hills district. Pnars, a sub-tribe of the Khasis have been settled in the Block I and Block II areas of Karbi Anglong’s Hamren subdivision and constitute a minority among the six lakh Karbi population in the district.  

Intelligence reports suggest that the current problem started when UPDS cadres started their extortion activities targeting the Khasi-Pnars in the Block I and Block II areas soon after HNLC (Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council) cadres crossed borders from their makeshift camps in the Khasi and Jaintia hills and served tax notices on the Karbi population. In the absence of law enforcement agencies, insurgent outfits in remote areas have been successful in carrying the mantle of protector of civilian rights. The UPDS, with its purported objective of establishing a land for the Karbis, thus targeted its ire against the Khasi-Pnars, who appeared to be working in tandem with the HNLC.

The problem has gotten intertwined with the boundary row between Assam and Meghalaya. The official stand of the Meghalaya government which confirmed that these areas belonged to Assam has been criticised by various organisations in the state. These organisations claim the Block I and Block II areas along the border for Meghalaya. In 1951, these areas had been transferred to the Karbi Anglong (then termed as United Mikir and North Kachar Hills) after slicing them from the erstwhile Khasi and Jaintia Hills district and these remained with the state even after the birth of Meghalaya in 1972.. Since then, the Khasi-Pnars of the area have often expressed their desire to be a part of Meghalaya.

During the ongoing debate over an individual state’s claim over the areas, it has come to notice that even the villagers of one particular village, Psiar, which is well inside the Meghalaya boundary have been also been affected by UPDS extortion.. The whole village was deserted as the militant cadres threatened the villagers with death unless they paid up. The entire village was set afire after the villagers took refuge in Sahsniang.

There is also a growing feeling of ethnic exclusivity among the refugees, which is likely to create assimilation problems even if they return to their original villages. A Pnar refugee was quoted saying, “we have nothing against Assam or the Karbi people but our culture, language and habit was different from them. We are Khasi-Pnar community.”  

Different organizations have also been opportunistic in espousing their own interests at the current juncture. The Khasi Students Union (KSU) asked the Karbis in Meghalaya to leave the state. A few attacks were also reported on the Karbis and in one instance, on 17 November, a Karbi seminarian was set afire in Shillong by a KSU activist who managed to escape the law due to pressure from a partisan administration. On 25 November, three labourers working in a coalmine in Pohkyndong village in Jaintia hills district were abducted and killed by unidentified miscreants. Till recently, the KSU refused to backtrack on its quit notice served on the Karbis and dithered on negotiating with its counterpart in Karbi Anglong.

The Meghalaya government’s proposal for a joint patrol along the border has been cold shouldered by the Assam government, lest it would legitimise the unofficial claim of Meghalaya over the areas. Ambiguity of successive leaders and their procrastination has provided a fillip to intermittent clashes. The sufferers have been the tribals, who stand to gain little whichever way the issue is decided.. There are similar problems between Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, which in the past have resulted in the loss of several lives. Such problems are likely to recur unless addressed quickly.