By Dominick “DauniRoising” Rymbai
India, a Union of States and Union Territories, is going to celebrate its 75th Independence Day in a few months’ time. In the days and months preceding and following 15th August 1947, most intelligentsia never gave our country a chance to survive, even for a few decades. A country of millions of people with a million gods, thousands of cultures in varied topog-raphy and climate zones, beset then with acute poverty, illiteracy, super-stition and disease, the balkanisation of India was a hot topic among political scientists.
What defines a nation-state? What builds and binds people of a nation? Geography, language, politico-administrative divisions, culture, ideology, etc! Scholarly works can go on and on. In the old world of Europe where natio-nalism erupted, the amazing idea of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) was caught out 30 runs short of a century. Czecho-slovakia became one by two. Today, there are simmering tensions in Spain and even Belgium and Italy. The home countries of the United Kingdom may not stay united beyond our children’s lifetime.
But this 72 year old Republic of India, with the Idea of India envisaged in the Preamble to our Constitution, is moving on to the future. How? Guess only Heaven knows.
Oral narratives and traditional accounts of the Kalika Puranas (10th century) had it that, the Khasis performed rituals and sacrifices in today’s Maa Kamakhya temple; they named the goddess, Ka Mei Kha (paternal grandmother). There is still an office of the Doloi at the temple. Hinduism studies mention the origins of the Shakti Peeth, a goddess-focussed Hindu tradition, in present-day East and North-East India. The Nartiang Durga (or Maa Jayanti) temple is considered one of the holiest centres of Shakti Peeth. And the Durga Puja celebrations in Nartiang and Shella pre-dates the advent of the British Raj. On similar but varying lines, the Rajputs and the Marathas of Western India have their Maa Bhawani or Maa Ambika.
Today, there are many twins in the Jaintia Hills that are named Ram and Lakhon; Kongka and Durka. The architect of the Meghalaya Transfer of Land Regulation Act 1971 was Dr. (Late) Martin Narayan Majaw. One is certain that in each and every part of India, his middle name may have different spellings or pronunciations but the same meaning.
Oral traditions have it that in the Ahom-Mughal conflicts in the 1600s, fighting men and women from the hills of present-day North East India were invited by the Ahom Raja to fight under the Ahom banner and defend their lands against the invasions of the mighty Mughal army. The conflicts culminated in the Battle of Saraighat (1671) where the Ahom composite army under the leadership of Lachit Borphukan defeated the colossal Mughal army led by the Kachhwaha Rajput Raja Ram Singh I from present-day Rajasthan. Old timers from our ancient hills can confirm, orally, that the Khasis (Khynriam, Pnar, Bhoi, War, Maram and Lyngngam) and Achiks were part of that Ahom composite army. Some of the sick and the wounded of the retreating defeated Mughal army, mesmerised by the beauty and hospitality of our lands, stayed back and became permanent settlers. On 15th August 1947, all of the above became Indians, officially.
Rev. James Joy Mohan Nichols Roy, the father of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, and Lokapriya Gopinath Bord-oloi, the first and one of only two Bharat Ratna awardees from North East India, were good friends. Both had the ears of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Dr John Mathai, Ambedkar, Rajku-mari Amrit Kaur and Dr Shyama PrasadMukherji and were members of the Constituent Assembly of India. During Partition, they were instrumental in making our Khasi-Jaintia-Garo Hills and the Brahmaputra & Barak Valleys included in India, not East Pakistan. In 1946-47, the “Advisory Committee on Funda-mental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas” chaired by Sardar Patel was a Major Committee of the Const-ituent Assembly. One of its Sub-Committees, the “North East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas” was chaired by Bordoloi. Bordoloi was ably assisted by Rev. JJM Nichols Roy (called with fond respect Bah Joy), efforts that resulted in Tribal Rights & Empowerment and the Sixth Schedule. One may never know but it would be a proud moment for Khasis all over the world when someday the people of the Union Territory of Ladakh in India’s northernmost tip, put up a photo frame of Bah Joy in their Autonomous Council offices.
In January 2021, the images of storming of the US Capitol Hill of the world’s most powerful democracy and highly-developed eco-nomy appeared intimidating and nerve-wracking. In 2004, the cynics from 1947 couldn’t believe the happe-nings in the world’s largest and evolving democracy and developing & emerging economy. There was a smooth transition of gover-nment from a supposedly Right wing led coalition to a Centre-Left led coalition. In a country dominated by Hinduism, the Head of Government (the Prime Minister), a Sikh and a minority took his oath from the Head of State (the President), a Muslim and another minority. The Prime Minister was a member of the principal party of the coalition, a party led by an Indian Italian woman of Roman Catholic Christian origin, another minority. In 2002, the Muslim President was elected by members of Parliament and States’& UTs’ Assemblies, with strong support from the then majority Hindu-dominated ruling party. There was a smooth transition too, vice versa, in 2014. The Late YS Rajashekhar Reddy was a popular Chief Minister of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. In a state dominated by the Hindus, he happened to be a devout Christian and a regular visitor to the Sri Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala-Tirupati.
Under a sweltering sun in July 1999, thousands poured in for the State Funeral of Captain (Late) Keishing Clifford Nongrum MVC at MadanIewrynghep (Fire Brigade ground). Of Khasi &Tangkhul Naga parentage, the brave soldier was martyred at the Kargil heights, defending our Motherland (that include these ancient hills we call home). A personal friend Late ChemiShyllafrom Mihmyntdu village and son of a dried-fish seller at Iawmusiang market, was a MARCOS commando of the Indian Navy. He died drowningin southern Tamil Nadu, only after he saved a fellow comrade-in-arms from drowning. Another personal friend, Major (Late) David Manlun KC, an army son of an army father brought up in Shillong (with the essential shasaw/shadud and kwai habits), was martyred in 2017 in Nagaland, protecting the integrity and unity of our nation. A good friend whose formative years were in Shillong, Lieutenant Colonel Borlongki Bey of the Gorkha Rifles is still serving our Vatan.
Meghalaya has a sizable permanent non-tribal population; and not just Bengalis, Assamese, Mar-waris and Sindhis. Studying in Khliehriat High School (a Salesians of Don Bosco institution run then by the legendary Fr. (Late) Henry Fantin), the writer has fond memories of teachers addressed as sir Matthew, sir George, sir Shakti and sir Balthazar. The books were in English but all teachers taught majorly in Pnar, to ensure better unders-tanding of the concepts by the rural students. English can be one difficult lang-uage. The non-tribal teac-hers, mostly from South Indian states, speak fluent Pnar and unleash the imagination of many rural students. Matthew sir, in his History classes, would often stress that it would take more than a week just to see the historical places of importance in Delhi. Decades later and residing in Delhi NCR, the writer recalled the lesson.
Science lessons by the enigmatic Shakti sir were always well-attended. Dr. Star Pala, presently an Associate Professor of Community Medicine in NEIGRIHMS, was then an exemplary student of the school. Completing High School in KC Secondary School, the writer can never forget the lessons of Ms. Mala Dutta, Ms.Sunita Sharma, Mrs.Urmila Basu, and the educationist Principal & Indian Khasi Irish lady Ms Shiela Wallang and her Head-master son, Mr. Brian Wallang. The English teacher, Ms. Mala Dutta, with her kwai and paan always at her side, spoke chaste English and taught us not only the use of Dictionary but Thesaurus too. She just looked and dressed as a Bengali but is every inch a Khasinised Shillongite. One can say she is a female teacher version of the former MLA of Mawprem, the Late Ardhendu Chaudhari. Shill-ong has a sizable Malayali community too; such that there used to be a shop in Laitumkhrah Beat House selling mainly the ingredients of Kerala’s cuisine.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal; they do not reflect those of the Government of Meghalaya. An MBA (International Business) graduate of IIFT-Delhi, the writer opted for public service in his home state.