Separatist movements will never succeed in India: Meghalaya Governor

Separatist movements have not succeeded in India because most people have not supported them, Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy said on Saturday.

He said such a movement succeeded in Pakistan with the separation of East Pakistan and led to the formation of Bangladesh.

"The failure of the separatist movement in India is not because of the deployment of the Army or because law and order problem has been quelled," Roy said.

The Governor, who was addressing a 'Get-together of Harmony' organized by the Central Puja Committee, the apex body of Hindu religious organisations, said, "Not a single one (separatist movements) succeeded because they did not get support from the majority who wanted to live together.

"Majority of the people in India want to live together; they did not want to be separated from India. We have been like that for the last 70 years and we will continue to remain united for all times to come," Roy added.

Informing the gathering that he, his wife and children were products of Catholic schools, Roy said that he learnt "Lord's prayers even before he had learnt the Hindu mantras and saw nothing different in them".

Leader of Opposition in the Meghalaya Assembly Mukul Sangma said that peace and harmony will enable the people of the state to realise their true potential.

--IANS

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