SHILLONG: The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council is in the process to amend the Assam and Meghalaya Autonomous Districts (Constitution of District Councils) Rules, 1951, rules to prevent non-tribals from participating in council elections.
In line with the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council Bill, 2018, passed by the JHADC recently, KHADC chief executive member HS Shylla said, “We are still in the process of amending the AD rules and after that it will be included there.” Meanwhile, JHADC CEM Medonbai Rymbai said a bill similar to the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Khasi Social Custom of Lineage) (Second amendment) Bill, 2018, will be passed in the next session.
“Such a bill has not been passed yet. There is a sub-clause and we are preparing it for the next session,” he said.The lineage bill has created controversy with many women and activists terming it as gender-biased and questioning the district council’s intention to introduce the bill. Some prominent figures have sought deliberations on the bill before it becomes an act.
The Bill says both a Khasi woman and her offspring will be considered non-Khasi if she is married outside tribe. In case of participation of non-tribals in district council elections, GHADC is the only council where non-tribals take part in polling. However, pressure groups in the region had time and again demanded that the district council should prohibit them from contesting as it diluted the spirit of the Sixth Schedule.
