Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma condemns vandalisation of Khasi freedom fighter U Tirot Sing Syiem’s statue in Bangladesh

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has condemned the vandalisation of the statue of U Tirot Sing, a freedom fighter from the state’s Khasi Hills installed at the Indian Cultural Centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh amid the unrest.

CM Sangma also urged the local government to take appropriate measures to prevent the situation from worsening.

CM Sangma’s reaction comes after visuals of the attack on Tirot Singh went viral across social media platforms.

“I strongly condemned the vandalisation of the bust of U Tirot Sing Syiem, the braveheart of Khasi Hills and freedom fighter of Meghalaya at the Indian Cultural Centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh,” Sangma said in a post on X.

https://x.com/SangmaConrad/status/1820855513443361138

The life-size statue of U Tirot Sing who rebelled against the British some 200 years ago was unveiled by the Meghalaya Government at the Indian Cultural Centre in Dhaka in February this year.

U Tirot Sing, a tribal chief known as ‘the Hero of the Khasi Hills’, declared war against the British for their attempts to take over control of the Khasi Hills and led an attack on the colonial forces on April 8, 1829.

He was captured four years later after the Anglo-Khasi War and died in the Dhaka Central Jail on July 17, 1835. The day is commemorated as U Tirot Singh Day in Meghalaya.

Bangladesh has been on the boil for nearly a month now after anti-quota and anti-government protests erupted in the country in July.
The nationwide protests by students also result in Sheikh Hasina’s resignation from her post as Prime Minister on Monday.

The protests in Bangladesh have erupted due to demands for reforming the quota system that reserves civil service jobs for specific groups, including descendants of 1971 war veterans.

At least 300 people were killed during the violence in just 3 weeks, making it the bloodiest phase in Bangladesh’s civil movement history.