H.H.Mohrmen
The dust on the debate vis-à-vis the high court order on the issue of the powers of the Rangbah Shnong has hardly settled when a case of harassment involving the Secretary of the Dobar Shnong of Nongtalang village was reported in the press. This goes to prove that the Khasi and Jaintia region of the state is in immediate need of laws to regulate and monitor activities of the Dorbar Shnong, the Rangbah Shnong himself and the many offices under him.
It all started from a press statement made by the Secretary of the Dorbar Shnong of Nongtalang in which the he demanded the immediate transfer of the Principal of the Nongtalang Government Secondary School. The allegation was the headmaster was not sincere in his duties and that he was irregular in attending classes. Few days later some senior students of the school visited the office of the newspaper which published the statement of the Secretary to give their own statement.
The students clarified that the Secretary’s allegation was baseless and they stood by the school Principal. The students commended they Principal and stated that in his short tenure since he was appointed to the office which begin in April 2014, the schools has benefited a lot from his service. The students stated that the Principal was able to establish and equip the school with a science laboratory and also enabled the school to get some computers from the government for the benefit of the students, the staffs and the school in general. The students merely gave their opinion which they are entitled to as per the constitution.
The following morning the Secretary Shnong along with some of his partners barged into the School campus and disrupted the assembly session of the school without any permission from any authority. The group under the leadership of the Secretary of the Dorbar Shnong took charge of the school assembly and none of the teaching and non-teaching staff dared to stop them. It was reported that they then asked all the students who dared to contradict the Secretary’s statement to raise their hands. It was also alleged that the students were then verbally abused and threatened by these attackers. Some students were allegedly slapped by a member who claimed to be the leader of the Shnong. The hooligans took the opportunity to trespass into the school campus because the Principal was in Jowai attending some official meeting.
The next day the Principal registered an FIR at the Dawki Police Station against those involved in creating mayhem in the school. The moot point is whether anybody even the headman of the village trespass into the school campus without the permission of the concerned authority. Isn’t trespassing a punishable offence? The more serious point there is that today it is illegal even for teachers to use corporal punishment to reprimand students. So how can any Tom Dick and Harry physically abuse student in the school campus?
Now the case has been compromised because the Dorbar Shnong used pressure tactics by involving certain sections of the community. It was reported that the Shnong brought a crowd to the police station (PS) on the day they were asked to appear at the PS. Isn’t this a case of the Rangbah Shnong and the Dorbar Shnong abusing their powers? Can the Dorbar Shnong protect somebody who is involved in an illegal act just because he is the Secretary Shnong?
The other question is how can a compromise be made in a case involving physical abuse of a child? Where is the District Child Rights Protection Commission? What happened to the Child Lline? Can we say that these kids who were harassed and abused do not need care and protection after the incident? Has anything been done by these agencies when this is clearly a case of violation of child rights?
The day after the incident had happened, the Rangbah Shnong of the village on being asked by the media why they trespassed and obstructed the school assembly and why they verbally and physically abused the students, replied that they were trying to inculcate good moral lessons on the students. Now what kind of lesson will the students learn from the incident? That violence is right? And mind you, the Secretary did not even bother to ask permission from the school authority to deal with the students. What kind of lesson did the Dorbar Shnong try to inculcate when the students were abused publicly for no offence committed. The Greeks call the school Alma Mater or temple of learning; look what we have turned the school to now.
Now coming to the school Principal, how can he compromise on a issue as serious as this? This case involved trespassing and verbal and physical abuse on children. The Principal should instead immediately report the matter to the concerned authority. Why is he not doing so? Are we teaching our students that the elders are always right even when they are wrong? Or is this a case where both the Dorbar Shnong and the Principal merely used the students as scapegoats for their ulterior motive and vested interests? Are students being used by both the opposing parties to score brownie points from each other?
The question is also about the many organizations which claim to represent the students’ community. Where have the Students’ organizations in Jaintia hills disappeared? NGOs particularly those who claim to represent the students had not done anything on the issue except making tall statements. Why do we allow people to compromise when it involves the rights of the students? These so called students union are too involved in other issues and neglect the community that gave them their names. What about the Education Department of the Government since the incident took place in a Government run school? Or are Government Schools becoming free for all institutions and anybody do anything within their premises?
This is a clear case of the Dorbar Shnong being involved in extra constitutional activities. It is also another instance which demonstrates the typical nongialam shnong’s (village leader’s) attitude that they are the law unto themselves and they can do whatever they like in their own little kingdom. In towns and cities we very often see Dorbar Shnong making their own traffic arrangements without bothering to consult the Traffic Department. Hence, when the rule is formulated the state government or the District Council should see the law does not encourage the Dorbar Shnong to act like despots.
Currently in the War Jaintia area or the Amlarem Sub division block we also have a small section of the Dorbar Shnong demanding the transfer of the SDO on the basis of several allegations. But the public know that the reason is because the SDO had threatened to take those involved in the PDS scam in the Amlarem block to task and those involved in the scam want to remove him from the post. This SDO has also prohibited overloading of limestone trucks which is also case of violation of the 9 tonnes order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, so the involvement of the limestone lobby cannot be ruled out. If these are the sort kind of activities that the Dorbar Shnong are involved, then we seriously need to think if we really need them.
But the Nongtalang Dorbar Shnong case is a very complex issue altogether. In Nongtalang the Rangbah Shnong remains in the office for life because he is also the priest of the Niam Tynrai religion. We also need to address this issue when we formulate laws to guide the Rangbah Shnong. Can a Rangbah Shnong remain in office for as long as he lives? Should the Government allow mixing of religion with village administration?
The question to the State Government which is now in the process of formulating rules for village administration is whether there is a provision in the Government’s proposed legislation to rein in the Dorbar Shnong which acts rather extra constitutionally? The cases mentioned only prove that in spite of the recent High Court ruling, some of the Dorbar Shnong still engage in activities which are highly illegal. The need of the hour is for the Government to immediately formulate rules to guide the activities of the Rangbah Shnong and his Dorbar.