Editor,
Apropos the letter by Khrawpyrkhat Mawrie (STMarch 7, 2015) on why a person cannot be called a Khasi if he does not speak the language, it is because of such warped mindsets that we are still stuck in the age of tribalism in 2015. My answer to that statement is based on true events, supported by universal (not parochial) concepts of language and identity.
A child born of Khasi parents but brought up in a community of Assamese neighbours learns Assamese before she/he learns Khasi. Language is not in the blood, but highly influenced by social environment. Keep a baby in a jungle without humans and that baby’s first utterances will be similar to the birds or the animals near him/her.
Some years ago I did a phone call interview with Mr J M Lyngdoh after he received the Magsaysay Award(same award received by Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran bedi)via the AIR Shillong. He said he knew little Khasi since he had been away a long time. I know of a few Khasi authors who lambasted him for not knowing his native tongue and some even called him ‘Ingkhong shyllangmat’ (traitor). It was never his fault if his work and calling took him away from Khasi speaking people. I may write in Khasi but 99 percent of the books I read are in English, so my brain operates mostly in English (curse words in English are better).According to the parochial view, I am a perfect example of a non-Khasi!
Khasi is not truly my ‘mother tongue’. At home with my parents and siblings I speak the War- Jaintia language still considered a dialect. In most of Jaintia hills they use their own dialects. Khasi is used only in schools (perhaps) and in church. The census 2011 shows people who speak War- Jantia are around 24,000 which means it has long crossed the dialect category(10,000 population).The way this country is run I can safely predict that within the next ten years there are bound to be people who will raise the revolt and ask for more freedom based on new language groups in Meghalaya. Calling English “ktien nongwei” implies that others within the Khasi-Pnar community whose true mother tongue is not Khasi(Sohra) would also feel ‘nongwei.’ Language chauvinists need to take note.
Every society, whether Germanic, English or Chinese, was once tribalistic (childish) but they have all grown up. In Khasi-Jaintia Hills, it was mainly the Church, through the translation of the Bible that brought unity. Today as the Church role is going downhill, unity too is on a downward slide. I just hope we can agree,”When we were tribals we spoke,we thought and reasoned like tribals. But when we grew up we put away tribal things”
Yours etc.,
Rasputin Bismarck Manners
Kolkatta
Mourning Dimapur
Editor
The case of Dimapur was shocking in its brutality and mob violence. It was particularly shocking that young girls were part of this raging mob. This brutal murder is all the more troubling given that we now know that this was not a case of rape. Even if it was, mob violence is not the answer. This case shows more than ever how difficult it is to dispense justice in cases of rape allegations. If rape is a hideous deed, so is a false allegation of rape. Cases like this make it all the harder for genuine rape cases to merit credibility. I cannot help but wonder how the Dimapur mob members are sleeping at night after their heinous deed.
This kind of misplaced rough “justice” and the communalism underlying this case are wholly out of tune with our times of growing globalism.
Yours etc.,
Deepa Majumdar,
Via email