Editor,
Apropos the Article entitled “KHADC and the recent High Court Order” by E.S.Jyrwa (ST Fen 12, 2015) let me begin by posing a few questions. Can we consider anything as sacred when the other half is still not being considered as fully human? What is sacred and what is profane about our Durbar Shnong or Custom? Perhaps in this day and age our society has to strive hard to embrace, acknowledge and include a third gender into our fold. The matter before the Hon’ble High Court vis a vis its verdict is on the legal and constitutional status of our Tymmen Shnong or Rangbah Shnong. No doubt the writer had mentioned several legislations and previous court rulings which are important and informative which we shall neither debate nor raise a pointer to, but the argument that our mothers and sisters can never participate in the Durbar Shnong or their presence will dilute or distort the custom, is no longer tenable. If the sanctity or uniqueness of our Durbar Shnong or Custom lies in male members only as argued by the writer, then we are in extreme conflict with modern parliamentary democracy whereby all genders can participate in the election and are also eligible to be elected to Parliament and Legislative Assemblies. Aren’t the Parliament and Legislative Assembly sacred? Moreover, taking into account the fact that the present Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council is being headed by a young woman as the Chairperson of the Council is enough to show that women are just as capable if not better. Therefore should we allow our progressiveness to be stonewalled by untenable adage that the world will end the moment the hen crows? In fact shooing away the Other Half is the biggest social sin.
Yours etc.,,
Rev. Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh
Shillong-14
Correct interpretation of Sixth Schedule
Editor,
The Sixth Schedule is clearly a recognition of the existence of legal pluralism in our federal set-up. Hence, such metaphors as “Constitution within the Constitution” or “mini-Constitution” popularly used to describe the Sixth Schedule should not be stretched too far and be misunderstood as independence of the Sixth Schedule to the rest of the Constitution; or the total non-applicability of the Constitution to the issues arising from the Sixth Scheduled areas. It may be noted that in Pu Myllai Hylchho [AIR 2005 SC 1537], the appellants quoted from Justice Hidayatullah’s lecture in support of their argument, that since the Sixth Schedule is a “Constitution within the Constitution”, therefore, in matters of termination of membership of the District Council, the “Governor … is independent of the rest of the Constitution itself”. The contention implies that Article 163 of the Constitution does not control sub-paragraph (6A) of Paragraph 2 of the Sixth Schedule. “Based on this [contention], it was argued that the tribal areas are to be administered as per the provisions of the Sixth Schedule only” [emphasis added]. [The matter also came up for consideration in Edwingson Bareh, AIR 1966 SC 1220, where Justice Hidayatullah delivered a dissenting opinion]. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Pu Myllai rightly rejected such contention and, in the words of K. G. Balakrishnan, observed, “The Sixth Schedule to the Constitution is a part of the Constitution and cannot be interpreted by forgetting the other provisions in the Constitution. It is impossible to visualize complete segregation of the Sixth Schedule from the rest of the Constitution. As regards the inclusion of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, there is a legislative history, but that by itself is not sufficient to hold that the Sixth Schedule is a ‘Constitution within the Constitution’.” The Schedule, being “within” the Constitution, should be so understood and construed as to harmonise with the whole Constitution in order to achieve the goals and values envisaged by this organic document. Hence, it need hardly be emphasised that administrative action under the Sixth Schedule is also subject to judicial review to secure paramountcy of the Constitution with regard to fundamental rights.
Yours etc.,
Celestine Ksoo
Mynsngat