On 30 September 2005, police shot and killed nine protesters in the north-east Indian towns of Tura and Williamnagar.
They were the single largest acts of violence in those towns since the Indian Independence Movement. 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. Such a move was extremely unpopular in the west of Meghalaya because the area is predominantly made up of members of the Garo 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 would be bereft departments, given all were transferred east.