The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has issued an ultimatum to all the Hindu-Bengalis to leave Ichamati and Majai areas at Shella in East Khasi Hills within one month.

“If they fail to do so by not complying to our ultimatum then we shall not be made responsible in case of any eventuality. This time it shall be a mass bloodshed,” said HNLC general secretary-cum-publicity secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw in a statement issued on Sunday.

A Khasi youth, identified as Lurshai Hynniewta, 35, a resident of Khliehshnong Sohra, who was attacked by non-tribals at Ichamati, died at Sohra CHC on Friday.

Also read: Meghalaya: KSU activist dies in non-tribals’ attack at Shella

A clash took place between non-tribals and KSU activists at Ichamati village over differences on CAA and ILP after a KSU meeting at the village on Friday leading to the youth’s killing.

The KSU, which opposes the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), has been demanding implementation of the ILP in the state.

The HNLC has seen a Hindutva connection in the killing of the Khasi youth.

Also read: 10 non-tribals stabbed in Shillong; 8 arrested for Khasi youth’s killing

“The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) with a heavy heart extend its solidarity with the people of Meghalaya, the KSU and deepest condolences to the family and relatives of Bah Lurshai Hynniewta who was murdered at Ichamati on the fateful day of February 28, 2020, by Bengali Hindu groups,” stated Nongtraw.

Nongtraw said, “The recent incident has opened up a pandora’s box to some rational thinking.

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The outfit said the “hostility showed by the Bengali Hindus was as irrational as it was incomprehensible”.

“But there was one striking fact in this connection – the Hindutva connection,” said Nongtraw.

The HNLC has seen a similarity of the attack at Ichamati with incidents of violence on anti-CAA protestors by pro-CAA forces taking place in Delhi.

“It was quite visible that the attacks were similar to the ones that happened in the country’s capital by Hindutva forces,” said the HNLC general secretary.

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The police department should, first of all, get to the root of the cause in identifying the main leaders who had instigated the attacks, the outfit asserted.

Alleging that “Hindu forces” are playing “communal politics”, the outfit said, “The communal hatred has never yielded out good results”.

“Whatever had happened in the country’s capital Delhi in the recent times was an outcome of the pro-CAA activists attacking the anti-CAA groups,” the outfit said in a statement, adding, “These incidents are all stage-managed by the Hindutva forces.”

The CAA grants Indian citizenship to the illegal immigrants including Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian who came from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh on or before December 31, 2014.

“The CAA is a tool well known for its anti-minority and anti-Muslim stand. We are not against any kind of community nor religion, but our agenda is to safeguard the interests of our people,” the outfit said.

“Now the Hindutva forces are trying to spread the same fire within our state in order to make the demand of ILP illegitimate making way for the CAA,” the outfit further claimed.

The need of the hour of the Khun U Hynniewtrep is to identify as to “who is our common enemy”, said Nongtraw.

The outfit fears that if “the CAA comes into its implementation then the Bengali Hindu community shall become the biggest threat to our Hynniewtrep land”.

The outfit said in places like Ichamati and Sohra cement factory majority of the nontribal belong to the Hindu community.

“Once the revolution had started against the CAA the Hindutva forces created an artificial revolution by the pro CAA against the anti CAA realising that there is a growing non-Hindu revolution all over the state,” claimed Nongtraw.

“The Hindus deliberately ignite an artificial fire which they named the Hindutva revolt against the non-Hindutva revolution that is going on in Indian states,” the outfit said.

The Meghalaya police have arrested 8 non-tribals on charges of being involved in Ichamatai case.

“In the Ichamati incident all the eight perpetrators belonged to the Hindu Bengali community, and in fact most of the police were also from the Hindu community who were mute spectators in the entire incident and things were deliberately ignored,” the HNLC statement said.

“The fire that they (Hindus) started would ultimately result in portraying them as victims, and that is the main agenda.”

“The Hindus are aware that whatever revolution our people shall come up with, they shall always have an upper hand because they have the blessings of the Centre and the law agencies.”

“Now the ball is at the court of the Syiems, and the Dorbar shnongs to avoid giving residential accommodations to outsiders even if they have proper documents because the same residents shall turn out to be like the Them metor and the Refugee colony residents. Once settled they shall slowly take over and change the demography of the region,” the outfit said.