By Our Special Correspondent
SHILLONG, Aug 10: Grassroot, an NGO working for the rights of indigenous people particularly women, was perhaps the only organisation that observed the World Indigenous Peoples’ Day at St Edmunds College on Friday.
The Social Work Department of St Edmunds College anchored this observance with the theme, “Indigenous youth as agents of change for self-determination.”
Although this was the theme for 2023, it was felt that there was a need to reinforce the theme since the youth are principal agents of change and together they have the power to determine what sort of society and governance they want for the present and the future.
Addressing the audience, Mayfereen Ryntathiang, the Founder-President of Grassroot, an organisation that works on building the capacities of indigenous communities on rights and livelihoods from a gender and indigenous rights perspective, said the whole point for observing this day is to address the sufferings of indigenous people and to empower them with voice.
“How many young people have questioned injustices in local governance systems? How many of us have read and used the Sixth Schedule to fight oppression? As Khasis, we are too quiet, silent, modest but that is not what democracy demands. We have to stop feeling uncomfortable to ask uncomfortable questions. We must have the audacity to ask questions from those in charge of governance. Politeness is good but it’s not enough to counter injustices,” Mayfereen told the young audience.
Br. Simon Coelho, Principal, St. Edmunds College, while welcoming the audience, said he was happy that Mayfereen did not mince words and had urged the young audience to get to the bottom of things.
Br. Coelho said that while acknowledging that we are a country of diverse people but we also need to recognise our uniqueness and that we are humans vested with different gifts and if all work as one there is much that can be achieved.
Grassroot also acknowledged local artist Batliakor Laitthma who has used her art to tell stories. While accepting the honour bestowed on her, Batliakor said, “Every day is an opportunity to tell the world we are here – we are still here. Indigenous Peoples’ art form is not one thing but several things. We can paint on leaves, we can do thread art, stone carvings, use colour pencils, water colours and even paint with thread,” the young artist, who now teaches art at a local school, stated.
Chief Guest Aldea Nikhla, IAS, currently looking after the Home (Passports) Department dwelt on the theme of self-determination which, she says, is loaded and has to be used with care because one has to be fully aware of the consequences of self-determination.
She also mentioned oppression and said, “I wish it was out of our vocabulary but it’s a sad reality and such oppression is not directed only at indigenous peoples who are minorities in this country but also towards the powerless,” Nikhla said, adding that the Sixth Schedule should be used as a weapon because every law has a purpose and it also has to be in tune with the times. Mentioning the word, “question”, Nikhla said that questioning is the only way to correct governance malaise.
Speaking on the theme of the panel discussion — Identity versus relationality, navigating technological spaces for indigenous ways of knowing — Nikhla said since all beings are in relation with one another it is important to communicate clearly and coherently to avoid communication gaps and so that meanings are not lost in translation because the human mind by nature impatient and quick at arriving at conclusions – often the wrong ones.
She mentioned the living root bridges, which are a perfect symbiosis between humans and nature, and said that such unique knowledge systems ought to be conserved and nurtured.
Additional District Magistrate, Shanborlang Warjri, the guest of honour, said that in Jharkhand, the Government declares a state holiday on August 9, because the majority of the people there are indigenous to the place. Defining indigenous peoples, he said they live detached from the rest of the world but over the years, that has changed with access to modern technology, advancements, developments, growth and progress.
Warjri pointed to the changing agricultural practices of the Khasi people and how such practices which focus on cash crops are affecting the ecology of the state and, in turn, also affecting the nutritional status of people.
He urged the youth to be ambassadors for taking the message far and wide that economic growth alone is not sustainable. The ecology too must be cared for.
Speaking of the increase in tourism in places like Sohra, Warjri said that people have given up other forms of livelihoods and are concentrating only on one – tourism and inadvertently giving up other forms of traditional livelihoods that are environmentally more sustainable.
Speaking about the scheme Payment for Ecosystem Scheme (PES), he said communities are now paid to conserve forests instead of earning only by cutting down trees for timber and charcoal production.
Warjri, however, cautioned that indigenous people must also learn to integrate and not live in isolation because in this day and age, many are leaving their homes to study and work outside their comfort zones.
A panel discussion on the theme: “Identity versus rationality: navigating technological spaces for indigenous ways of knowing,” followed.
The discussion was moderated by Dr HH Mohrmen, a noted columnist and the panelists included, Bhogtoram Mawroh, scholar and columnist, Twinkle Suhasini Marak, MCS, Joint Director Meghalaya Administrative Training Institute (MATI), Juster K Lyngdoh, currently researcher with the University of Sussex and Patricia Mukhim, Editor, The Shillong Times.