Date

On 30 September 2005, police shot dead nine protesters in the north-east Indian towns of Tura

Tura

-People:*Cosimo Tura , Italian painter*Will Tura , Belgian singer*Tura language-Places:*Tura Beach, New South Wales, a community in Australia*Tura, Egypt, a town in Cairo Governorate*Tura, Hungary, a city in Pest County...

 and Williamnagar

Williamnagar

Williamnagar is the headquarters of East Garo Hills district in the state of Meghalaya in India.-History:Williamnagar, the headquarter-complex of the East Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, one of the states of North-Eastern India was christened after Captain Williamson A. Sangma, the founding Chief...

.

They were the single largest acts of violence in the towns since independence from the British. Friday 30 September 2005 became known locally as "Black Friday". The students were protesting against the decision of the state government to transfer the education board from Tura to the state capital, Shillong

Shillong

-Connectivity:Although well connected by road, Shillong has no rail connection and a proper air connection. Umroi Airport exists but has only limited flights.-Roadways:Shillong is well connected by roads with all major north eastern states...

. Such a move was extremely unpopular in the west of Meghalaya

Meghalaya

Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...

 because the area is predominantly made up of members of the Garo

Garo

-Garo People and languages :* Garo , a tribe in India and Bangladesh.* Bodo-Garo languages, a small family of Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in eastern India,** Garo language, the language spoken by the Garo tribe...

 tribe - whereas the east of the state including Shillong is mostly inhabited by members of the Khasi tribe. Protesters complained that the transfer meant that the west of Meghalaya was left with no government departments - all had been transferred to the east.