GUWAHATI

Vehicular movement between Guwahati and Shillong was disrupted on Thursday (August 20, 2026) as Assam-based transporters responded peacefully to a violent students’ rally in Shillong that culminated in targeting Assam-registered vehicles and non-locals.

Members of the Assam State Drivers’ Association (ASDA) prevented the entry and exit of Meghalaya-registered vehicles, barring ambulances and cars carrying patients, along the arterial Guwahati-Shillong road at Jorabat (on the border between the two States). Meghalaya Police vehicles had to turn back too.

The blockade in Assam followed the arrest of three leaders of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) in connection with Wednesday’s (August 19, 2026) violence during the organisation’s black-flag bike rally in Shillong.

Wearing masks and riding bikes with covered registration plates, the participants of the KSU rally went on a rampage, assaulting bystanders with sticks and iron rods, smashing windows and lights of vehicles, and setting one of the vehicles ablaze. A majority of the 31 vehicles targeted were Assam-registered, and many of those assaulted were non-locals and non-tribal people.

“We raided the KSU office and arrested three leaders of the group,” Vivek Syiem, the East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police, said. Shillong is the district’s headquarters

The arrested leaders are KSU president Raymond Kharjana, vice president Pynkmenlang Sanmiet, and general secretary Reuben Najiar.

‘Conditions violated’

The district’s Deputy Commissioner, Abhilash Baranwal, said police had to act to give a message to the rest of the country that Shillong “is not comfortable with” what happened on Wednesday.

He said the KSU was permitted to organise the rally after an assurance that there would be no repeat of past incidents. “The conditions were violated through a series of vandalism, arson, and assault,” he said.

A bust of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and a glass case containing a statue of Swami Vivekananda were damaged during the rally. Late at night, two vehicles, reportedly attached to the High Court of Meghalaya, were attacked in separate incidents in Shillong.

The KSU organised the rally after the expiry of its 15-day ultimatum to the State government to act on its five-point charter of demands, which include the full implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016, until the Inner-Line Permit system was enforced in the State. The system requires non-residents to carry a temporary travel permit.

However, the organisation apologised for Wednesday’s incident and suspended its next phase of agitation.

Impact on tourism

The attack on Assam-registered vehicles, mostly carrying tourists, had an impact in Meghalaya. The violence forced many to return halfway from Shillong while hotels and homestays recorded large-scale cancellations.

Some non-tribal people in the northeastern region appealed to tourists, especially from West Bengal, to avoid visiting Meghalaya as “your vacation funds the hatred and assault on Bengali, Nepali, and other non-tribal people” in the State. Some people in Assam have also called for a boycott of Meghalaya as a weekend tourist destination for at least six months.

Six organisations of tour operators, tour guides, hoteliers, and rural tourism cooperatives in Meghalaya expressed deep concern and condemned Wednesday’s violent incidents. “We fully respect the democratic right of individuals and organisations to express their grievances. However, protests must remain peaceful and must not be exploited by anti-social elements to create fear, violence, or damage to public property,” the organisations said in a joint statement.

The organisations said that 30% of people in Meghalaya depend on tourism, and such incidents have the potential to seriously damage the State’s reputation as a safe and welcoming destination, and could have far-reaching consequences for the tourism sector in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the ASDA has asked the Meghalaya government to compensate the operators or owners of all commercial and private vehicles damaged during the KSU rally. It also asked the Meghalaya government to ensure that the periodic targeting of outsiders and their vehicles does not happen again.

Published - August 20, 2026 06:46 pm IST