SHILLONG, Aug 25: A book titled The Khasi States: A Brief Historical Timeline 1771-2017 co-authored by John F Kharshiing and Bodhi S Ranee was released by Shillong College principal Evarkorlang Kharkongor at a function at the college here on Thursday.
The book is a follow-up to the Federation of Khasi States: History, Epistemology and Politics which was released in 2019.
Kharshiing said the new book is an attempt to bring out the dates, years and events while leaving out any interpretation or analysis. It is the first such timeline of 246 years of Khasi history where the records have been established.
“This way of presenting the text, we believe, will provide an easy read for political and thought leaders of the Hynniewtrep society and will also be an informative archival material for academicians engaging in the said subject domain,” he said.
Kharshiing said the text documents the historical facts and describes minute administrative details about the very important and extremely critical events in the life of Khasi communities in general and the history of the Khasi chiefs and their Himas in particular.
“We have sourced all our data from archives collected over the years from various sources available in my library (records centre of the Khasi States),” he said.
Kharshiing said they had received important feedback on the historical, empirical and theoretical content of the earlier book. Some opinions were extremely critical, he added.
“We firmly believe that we must keep up with our efforts and persist with our writings to document the history of the Khasi community as it persists in time, place, space and person. Our attempt has not and will not go to waste especially in the light of current challenges that the community faces as regards control over its land, water, mineral resources, forest, indigenous institutions and the overall will to have political grip over its own destiny,” he said.
Earlier, the Shillong College principal said the book encapsulates the history and events of Khasi society for more than 100 years. She urged the students of the college to help in popularising this book.
Others present on the occasion included Shillong College vice-principal B. Syiem and the head of the Khasi department, Ailynti Nongbri.
