As protests against the Citizenship Act spread across the country, the Meghalaya capital of Shillong has seen large demonstrations. Many residents of the hill state fear that the Act, which was signed into law by President Ramnath Kovind on Thursday, will leave them physically and culturally swamped by migrants from Bangladesh.

On Friday, approximately 15,000 participants in a rally in Shillong’s Motphran area broke out into Ri Khasi or Khasi Homeland. The region has a long historical connection with Welsh missionaries and Ri Khasi borrows the melody from the Welsh national anthem Land of My Fathers.

“Ri Khasi, Ri Khasi nga ieid ia pha,” it says. Oh Khasi land, how I love you.

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