State fails to celebrate arrival of Father of Khasi language
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Famed historian David Reid Syiemlieh had never thought that he would stumble upon the tomb of Thomas Jones, the father of Khasi language and literature, in January 1986 in Kolkata.
On the anniversary of Jones’s arrival in Khasi Hills on Saturday, Syiemlieh recollected how he had discovered the burial ground in Kolkata.
“It was a chance discovery. I was doing my post PhD project from NEHU to get updates on British administration in Meghalaya. I followed a lead about the date of his death in Kolkata from the book related to history of Welsh Calvinistic Methodist mission written by John Hughes Morris. Then I went to St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, BBD Bagh to trace the records and later I found the burial place of Jones at the Scottish Cemetery at Karaya Road, Kolkata maintained by St Andrew’s, Syiemlieh said.
The state on Saturday did not officially celebrate the arrival of Thomas Jones on June 22, 1841 though it was announced last year as a holiday in the official calendar for the first time from this year.
After the discovery of his tomb, the Khasi Hills Presbyterian Church took keen interest to renovate it in 1989.
Following his discovery, Syiemlieh carried out his research on Jones in Kolkata and London and this resulted in a series of articles which were later published.
“When I discovered the grave of Jones, it was in a dilapidated condition and it was not easy to detect”, Syiemlieh recalled.
It was only after checking the burial register of St Andrew’s Church that the tomb was discovered.
“I found a number on the register kept at the caretaker’s office at St Andrew’s Church. I used a map to search the place. Since Jones was a Welshman, I thought the burial ground should be at the cemetery of the Presbyterian Church”, Syiemlieh said.
The gravestone mentions Jones as the founding father of the Khasi alphabet and literature.
Syiemlieh, who is a former UPSC chairperson, is happy that the government has declared a holiday acknowledging the contribution of Thomas Jones, the Welsh Christian missionary, as he enriched Khasi language and literature.
Besides the church, he hoped more organisations will come forward to celebrate the day in the coming years.
A life of struggle
Jones, a carpenter’s son, was born in 1810 in Wales and after he became a Calvinistic Methodist minister in 1840, his mission was to come to India to spread the Gospel.
His wife Anne accompanied him but on arrival in Kolkata, tragedy struck as their child died. Still the missionary zeal did not deter the couple from coming to Khasi Hills.
In addition to his missionary activities, including opening a school in Sohra, he produced the first Khasi Reader and brought out the Khasi alphabet and dictionary in 1842 after learning and speaking the language.
After his wife died during another childbirth in 1846, Jones married Emma Cattel, who was only 15, and invited the ire of the sponsoring church.
The couple was blessed with a son named Thomas Cattell Jones.
Later in 1847, the authorities in Wales did not support him in his effort to set up a mission in Pomreng.
Jones landed up in further difficulty for going against an industrialist, Harry Inglis.
After he fled Khasi Hills under pressure from Inglis, he reached Kolkata where afflicted by malaria, he died on September 16, 1849 and was buried at the Scottish Cemetery.