2010 Saw Another Change of Guard in Meghalaya

By Rituraj Borthakur

Shillong, Dec 30 : Synonymous with political instability, Meghalaya saw yet another change of guard in 2010, a year which also saw the vexed inter-state boundary dispute raise its ugly head and stepped-up activities of some rebel groups.

Mukul Sangma took over the reins from D D Lapang to become the youngest chief minister of the state on April 20, coinciding with his 45th birthday.

Four-time chief minister Lapang, who could not complete a full five-year term even once, was forced to quit after a revolt in his party.

Sangma became the head of the 22nd government the state saw in its 38-year statehood which is marked by frequent political turbulence.

The year also witnessed a dispute over the inter-state boundary between Meghalaya and Assam following the shooting down of four people reportedly by Assam Police at the disputed village of Langpih on May 14.

Union Home minister P Chidambaram suggested a meeting between the two chief ministers to sort out the matter.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma subsequently met his counterpart Tarun Gogoi in Dispur in a bid to solve the issue.

During a meeting in Guwahati in June, a committee headed by chief secretaries of both the states was constituted to resolve the boundary dispute.

In February, a blasphemous image of Jesus Christ in a textbook meant for junior students created a flutter in the state. The publisher, Skyline Publication, later tendered a public apology for hurting people''s religious sentiments and regretted the "gross mistake" and promised to retrieve the erroneous book from all places where it was sent.

Following several media reports, New Delhi stepped in to preserve a neglected bungalow in Shillong where Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had stayed during one of his visits, even as the Vishwa Bharati stressed on the need to restore all historic houses and sites associated with the poet on his 150th birth anniversary.

The state government has of late started renovation works in the Brookside Bungalow at Rilbong, where the poet had stayed for a month and wrote some of his masterpieces in 1919.
In July, ''Sidli Palace'', where Tagore stayed during his last visit to Shillong was razed down by the new owner.

Faced with sharp reaction, the owner, however, assured to preserve the plaques - which mentions the poet''s visit to the city - at the lawn of the demolished house.