Khasi, Jaintia groups demand significant job reservations for indigenous communities in Meghalaya

The Khasi Students' Union (KSU) and Khasi-Jaintia National Awakening Movement (KHNAM), on June 13, submitted their recommendations to the Expert Committee on State Reservation Policy, proposing significant job reservations for indigenous communities in Meghalaya.

In a letter to the committee, KHNAM president Pyndapborlang Saibon suggested a 50% job reservation for the Khasi and Jaintia communities, while the KSU favored a 50% reservation for the Scheduled Tribe Khasi-Jaintia community. The organisation backed a combined 80% reservation for the three major communities – Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo – based on merit.

Saibon argued that the reservation should be determined by the population structure of these indigenous groups, as per the policy's guidelines.

In a separate letter, the KSU also proposed a 40% reservation for the Scheduled Tribe Garo community and 5% for other Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, leaving only 5% as an unreserved category for direct recruitment at the state level.

For district-level posts, KSU recommended retaining the existing reservation policy with a combined 90% reservation (50% for Khasi-Jaintias and 40% for Garos) for Garos and Khasi-Jaintias, along with 5% for other Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. They suggested giving preference to local candidates residing in the concerned district where vacancies occur.

Furthermore, the KSU advocated for 100% reservation for local Khasi-Jaintia candidates for teaching positions in schools within the Khasi-Jaintia region and 100% reservation for local Garo candidates in schools within the Garo region.

The organisation proposed exempting temporary appointments of less than one year, work-charged staff, and daily/monthly-rated staff from the reservation policy. The KSU also recommended implementing the roster system prospectively and deleting the provision for carrying forward backlog reserved vacancies.

The Expert Committee is expected to consider these proposals while finalising the State Reservation Policy, which aims to address the employment concerns of indigenous communities in Meghalaya.