By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 22: The KHADC passed the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Khasi Social Custom of Lineage) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, on Friday, the final day of its winter session.
The main thrust of the Bill is to make it mandatory for the Dorbar Kur or Seng Kur to register with the council and also to include the “Ring Bia or Shaw Bhoi”.
According to the amendment bill, “Ring Bia or Shaw Bhoi” means customary practices prevailing among certain indigenous Khasi clans in the Ri-Bhoi district, where in the case of Duh Iing, the Khasi male member of such a family may marry a non-Khasi and his offspring may adopt his clan or title with the consent of the kpoh concerned, duly recommended by the Kur to be deemed Khasis if they fulfill the conditions of the community.
The amendment bill stated that the Executive Committee (EC) shall appoint an officer of the KHADC not below the rank of the deputy secretary as the registrar of the Dorbar Kur or Seng Kur. The registrar shall be an office of record of the various Seng Kur and their members, it said.
“Every Dorbar Kur or Seng Kur shall register before the office of the registrar as prescribed by rules framed under this Act. The registrar of the Dorbar Kur or Seng Kur shall by public notification notify the recognized Dorbar Kur or Seng Kur,” the amendment bill said.
Further, the Dorbar Kur/Seng Kur shall decide the eligibility for appointment of Rangbah Kur and other functionaries, it said.
It also stated that no person who does not follow the matrilineal system or the Khasi custom of lineage shall be appointed as the Rangbah Kur or any other functionary.
The amendment bill said any member of the Kur by himself or herself or by his/her natural paralegal guardian or by his/her family members shall, whenever necessary, apply for a clan certificate in a form as prescribed by the registrar of the Seng Kur.
“The Rangbah Kur or any person authorized as the competent authority by the Dorbar Kur or Seng Kur after due verification by the executive body of the Kur shall issue the clan certificate to such clan member mentioning his or her name, both his or her parents’ names, and the place of residence apart from such other consideration or factor or information as may be deemed fit and necessary,” it stated.
According to the amendment bill, the said certificate shall be issued within seven days from the date of receiving the application and on payment of a fee prescribed by the registrar of Seng Kur from time to time.
The amendment bill further stated that there shall be a Tribunal on the Khasi Clan Administration to determine all questions of the Khasi clan system.
The tribunal shall comprise a chairman, vice-chairman, and three members to be nominated by the EC of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council.
“Two of these members shall be experts in the knowledge of the prevailing Khasi social customs and/or law. The person who shall be appointed as chairman and vice-chairman shall preferably be an advocate of at least 10 years of practice at the bar respectively,” the amendment bill said.
The EC shall frame the rules for the conduct of business by the Tribunal, it added.
On the powers of the Tribunal, the amendment bill stated that the Tribunal while making inquiries under this Act shall have all the powers of a civil court and criminal court as provided in the United Khasi-Jaintia Hills District (Administration of Justice) Rules, 1953.
The amendment bill also said that the decision of the Tribunal under this Act shall have the force of a decree of the civil court in the civil aspects of any appeal, a decision on the Khasi social custom of Kur, and reference made to it.
The amendment bill stated that any person or party aggrieved over the order of the Dorbar Kur or Seng Kur reserves the right to appeal before the tribunal within 30 days from the date of such an order.
The Dorbar Kur or Seng Kur, shall however within 10 days from the date of such orders passed, provide a copy of such order to the party concerned, it said.
“The Tribunal may condone and admit an appeal after the expiry of 30 days if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time. An appeal under this Section may be filed by the person aggrieved by such order or by any other person, chiefs, headmen and Dorbar Shnong or any authority, body or association on the ground of injury suffered, prejudicial to the Khasi social customs,” the amendment bill said.
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition, Titosstarwell Chyne said while moving an amendment motion that the amendment bill did not mention how the council would handle two factions of the Dorbar Kur in the same clan.
“I am aware that there are factions in some of the clans. Not only this, our clan system is very peculiar as some clans elect the Rangbah Kur from within their clan,” he said.
He said it would be better to use the word recorder instead of registrar.
Chyne said he discussed with a few Seng Kurs who disagree with the policy to register themselves or any other organization or pressure group.
“It is being felt that we are lowering the image of the Seng Kur. I agree with their point of view,” he said.
Chyne also stressed the need to have a provision to deal with mixed marriages.
“We are a microscopic community and there is a great danger if people from outside can get married to Khasi women. How will we protect our identity when we are losing our land and our trades are being taken over by others?” he asked.
He underlined the importance of the “Tip Kur Tip Kha” concept in the matrilineal society, which traces the lineage from the mother.
“The cardinal virtue of knowing one’s paternal and maternal relations is that the taboo of incest and intra-clan marriage may be pre-empted,” he said.
Chyne said the amendment bill will not have any teeth if it fails to address these concerns.
“I think there should not be any problem to have this provision in the amendment bill since this provision was already incorporated in the clan bill. What we are doing is protecting our identity,” he said.
Deputy Chief Executive Member, P.N. Syiem defended the amendment bill by saying registrar is a better word to use.
“The word recorder has less weight than the registrar,” he said.
Syiem said the Tribunal proposed will be responsible for looking into issues if there are two factions within the same clan.
“We will clearly define in the rules how to deal with such a situation,” he said.
Syiem touched upon the issue of the Khasi Social Custom of Marriage which was incorporated in the clan bill.
“But we would not like to deal with the issue of marriage as it may lead to conflict with other laws,” he added.
Chyne refused to withdraw the amendment motion as he was unhappy that it did not include the provision of “Tip Kur Tip Kha”.