Meghalaya Tribal Group Challenges USTM Plan to Educate Evicted Assam Children

Overview

• On July 28, the Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation submitted a memorandum to USTM’s chancellor formally opposing the university’s “Mission Rehabilitation Education” initiative for children displaced by Assam’s eviction drive.
• HITO president Donbok Dkhar asserted that the children targeted by the program are part of a population of illegal immigrants with no legitimate claim to domicile in Meghalaya or elsewhere in India.
• The organisation warned that facilitating these children’s integration could set a precedent for long-term settlement, procurement of domicile certificates, and eventual legal and political claims undercutting Sixth Schedule protections.
• HITO raised national security concerns over increased infiltration along the India-Bangladesh border, citing emerging intelligence reports of ISI-linked activity in the region.
• USTM has yet to issue an official response to HITO’s objections, leaving the future of its educational rehabilitation initiative unresolved.