By H H Mohrmen
The Governor stirred the hornet’s nest when he delivered his address in the Meghalaya Assembly in Hindi rather than English, the language which is familiar to the legislators, the common people in the state and even the media persons who are supposed to be those who would transmit the information that was passed. The language quandary in the house reminds us of the popular serial- Mind your language – in the late eighties where there is more confusion in the class than learning the language per-se.
The language controversy which was sparked by the Governor’s maiden address to the budget session of the Meghalaya Assembly using Hindi has been a subject of debate in all media platforms across the state. The legislators and the people of the state are used to the House being addressed in the language which is common and also which the people understand but for the first time in the history of this young state that the Governor’s address was delivered in the language other than English.
Of course Hindi is also one of the official languages of India but the fact that Hindi was used for the first time in the August House was like a bolt from the blue for most of the members and particularly the members in the Opposition benches. The first day of the budget session was followed by protests and walkout by one of the opposition MLAs and the subsequent day saw members of the House taking part in the Assembly debates in their own lingua franca which if it continues will only create confusion and chaos in the house.
On day two, the Meghalaya Assembly became a mini biblical Tower of Babel because some members of the House started speaking in their own dialects which many members were not able to understand at all. The truth is even in the grand Khasi language there are sub-dialects which are difficult to understand even by fellow Khasi-Pnar. For example, very few Khasis would understand Pnar, and very few of those who can communicate Khasi or Pnar can understand War-Jaiñtia dialect. Then we have the Maram, the War Syntung, the Bhoi, the War Khasi dialect which is another variation of the Khasi language.
So when Ampareen Lyngdoh and Adelbert Nongrum started making their speeches in Khasi and Saleng spoke in Garo language, I prayed hard that Lakmen Rymbui would not stand and start speaking in War- Jaintia language which is Greek to most of the members. Similarly if members from West Khasi hills start speaking in Maram and Lyngngam and members from Ri Bhoi speak in their local dialects then there will be chaos in the house, but thankfully good sense prevailed and the House returned to the language that most people are comfortable with for an important day when the Government presented the Budget.
In the context of the Khasi-Jaintia people we owe it to the Welsh Presbyterian mission for making Sohra-Khasi a medium of communication which is also the only common link that connects the Khasi-Pnar people under the pan-Hynniewtrep tribe. Although people continue to speak their local dialects (Ktien shnong) locally, but it is Khasi-Sohra language which is taught in school and used in the churches of all denominations which by default becomes the common language of the Khasi-Pnar. Although findings of the studies in the past confirmed that the origin of the Khasi language is not Sohra-Khasi but Amwi, the dialect which the War people who live in eleka Amwi under Amlarem subdivision speak, yet Sohra-Khasi is the common tongue that almost everybody particularly the literate section of the society can understand.
But the medium of communication of the other major tribe in the state is Garo which is again understood or followed by the Garos only and of course there are other tribes in the State which speak different languages but the Khasi, Pnar and Garos are the major tribes in Meghalaya. Garo language is Greek to most of the Khasi-Pnar and vice versa. So thankfully we have been able to prevent the Tower of Babel like scene that would have played in the August House if all the members started speaking in their own mother tongue.
What are the consequences of the language fiasco in the House? The first and the major impact will be on the BJP; the incident will further alienate the party from people of the state because the allegation is that it is the introduction of one culture, one language and one country grand scheme of the Sangh Parivar in Meghalaya – a state which has always respect the spirit of pluralism. So obviously in 2019 it is going to be a tough job for the party to win either Shillong or Tura parliamentary constituencies if incidents like this continue to happen unabatedly in the state.
Hopefully the language imbroglio will at least motivate the government and all concerned to give more of their time and energy in their effort get Khasi recognised as official language under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Then the other shocking incident was the heinous crime – the murder of Poipynhun Majaw, President of Jaintia Youth Federation (JYF) one of the most popular pressure groups in Jaintia Hills, at Khliehriat on the night of March 19 last. Majaw has been part of the pressure group movement in Jaintia hills district for many years now. He is one of the few popular leaders in the pressure group circle in Meghalaya and was respected by many.
Majaw was also an RTI activist he has filed many RTIs to expose wrongdoings and the nexus between Governments officials and the businessmen/ women particularly in the two districts of Jaintia hills. He had also filed a PIL against certain cement companies and the case is still pending in the court of law. Recently JYF under his leadership supported the dorbar shnong Lumshnong in their complaint to protest against the Cement Company Manufacturing Limited’s (CMCL) plan to open another mining site adjacent to a water source which will in turn affect the supply of water to the localities under the dorbar shnong.
Under his leadership the JYF and the Jaintia students Union also jointly took the cause of the residents of Khliehtyrchi village who through RTI finding discovered the MDC of the area was involved in rampant corruption. The case against the MDC Madonbai Rymbai is that he had allegedly misused the money received from land compensation in lieu of community land used by the NHAI for construction of the road which is called Jowai-bypass.
The Majaw murder case is now being handled by the office of the State Home Minister and pressure groups across Meghalaya are putting pressure on the government to arrest the culprit and find out the truth about his death and the people responsible for his murder.
The language controversy and the brutal murder of Poipynhun Majaw were the two unpleasant incidents which will have larger consequences in the State. These two incidents have in their own way shaken us to the core. But whether we will see justice, is the larger question.