By Toki Blah
I am starting this article by directing the readers attention to the news report in this newspaper (ST Oct 18, 2024) on page 3 titled “KHADC to push for special recognition for all headmen” and ST Oct 19,2024), front page news headline titled “Tax dept asks Dorbar Shnongs to get Pan Card registration.” After reading the two news items I became the most flummoxed person in Meghalaya, unable to make head or tail of the whole narrative. The 18th news item speaks of the statement by the KHADC DY CEM where he charged the State Government of utilizing the Headmen only when their services are needed and demanding that the State Government give Special Recognition to the said Headmen. I readily admit that I am old but for the life of me, after years in Government Service, I just could not recollect nor recall the term “Special Recognition” in any administrative parlance. The fact however remains that the Dy CEM’s remarks were focused entirely on the need to give recognition to an individual called the Headman! The 19th news report on the other hand speaks of the requirement for Dorbar Shnongs (Dorbar Shnong mind you and not the Rangbah Shnong) to go in for PAN Card registration but in order to enable them to do so there is need for the State Government to come up with a one line gazette notification, “that the that the traditional institutions are recognised bodies of the state government”. The only commonality between the KHADC statement and that of the Dorbars is that both institutions feel that the Rangbah Shnong have been misused by the State Government. Having worked in Government, I doubt if the State Government is ready to jump at this urgent demand of the Dorbars. The mills of Government turn slowly and the Dorbars may have a long wait before their wish from the State Government is delivered.
Of interest is the fact that whenever there is a call for official recognition of the Dorbar Shnong, they go running to the KHADC for such recognition. Why and what happens then? Politicians of the KHADC down the years have always made us believe that they are the custodians of the Office of Headman courtesy of Para 3(g) of the 6th Schedule! Yet when it comes to official acknowledgement of such recognition the call is hastily redirected to the Government. KHADC politicos simply love playing football with the Rangbah Shnong in their attempts to score brownie points against the State Government. It’s a cheap shot and in very poor taste, but there you have it. If KHADC is so fond of bragging about their control over the Rangbah Shnong why do they shy away from admitting that they are also constitutionally mandated vide Para 3(e) to make appropriate laws to, “establish village or town committees or Councils and their Powers,” The Dorbar Shnong is a Village Council. The astonishing fact is the reluctance of District Council honchos to accept this fact! Instead the emotions of our Rangbah Shnong are roused over alleged neglect and abuse by Government of the Dorbars and hence the KHADC call this time for “Special Recognition for the Rangbah Shnong. They love to speak of the Rangbah Shnong as an individual but loathe to make mention of the Dorbar Shnong as an Institution of tradition. Why can’t they give Dorbar Shnong recognition and fight if the Income Tax Department doesn’t accept their authority to do so. Perhaps it is because it is easier to feed the ego of an individual, his sense of pride and his personal needs. So concentrate on the Rangbah Shnong! It is far, far harder to make laws for an institution for this calls for deeper empathy with the aspirations of the community, a trait that District Council politicians are devoid of. Let us accept that we have a dearth of District Council politicians who we can identify as Institution builders. Perhaps this is the cause for the reluctance to issue the Official ID demanded by the Dorbars and instead to obfuscate the issue by diverting attention to the individual instead of the needs of the institution. The Late GG Swell did once remark that Meghalaya is full of “Small people with Small Minds.” Guess that sums it up quite neatly!
Here one must also start questioning the obsession of the Dorbars for KHADC or Syiem recognition. There is always this mad rush for a Sanad from the Syiem every time there is an election of new Dorbar Office bearers. One hears that this is a must as it forms part of our tradition. Really ? Fact is when the British began to establish their administration in these hills they found it quite difficult to handle the semi wild hill tribes scattered on various hill tops. The British lacked the manpower to do so, but wily as they were, they quickly identified the Chief called the Syiem who could do their job for them. They quickly elevated him to the position of ‘King’ and he in turn demanded that all newly elected village chiefs get his approval through a Sanad before he would give his recognition to such elections. One look at a typical Sanad of the Syiem with its list of prohibitions will dispel all doubts over its contribution to positive administration. It’s a negative piece of legislation, meant to provide control than to promote. It is a piece of 18th century documentation fit for the waste paper basket of 21st century needs and the quicker we realize this the better it will be for all concerned. Dorbar’s obsession with the District Councils also runs on similar lines. The 6th Schedule with its empowering clauses, pointed out above, was enshrined in our Constitution more than 72 years ago. For more than 72 years the District Councils have pointedly and deliberately left the Dorbars where time found them. Very little effort was made by the Councils to bring the Dorbars in line with good effective practices of Local Self Government. Their focus instead has been to encourage Rangbah Shnong resistance on being misused by the Government. Its high time we start examining the veracity of this allegation.
So has the State Government mainly through its District Administration, been misusing the Dorbars and calling upon it only in times of crisis? A scratch of the surface will reveal the opposite. Both the District Administration and the Dorbars shared a common trait. They both take their respective calls on service to the community very seriously. The interest of both agencies merge and blend when it comes to community peace and maintenance of Law and Order; providing help and succour at times of need ( the recent flawless convergence of efforts between the District Authorities and the Dorbars to contain Covid is a classical example. The loud absence of both the Syiem and the District Councils in such times of need and distress needs to be noted). Dorbars and the Administration work seamlessly together to provide better services to the public such as in the issue of Ration Cards; regulating supply of fuel like LPG (public access to adequate food and energy requirements); issue of Aadhar cards etc. Today we find them jointly working together trying to come up with solutions to a 21st century threat called Drug Abuse.
Anxiety over current and future social needs requires the Dorbars to identity agencies they can align with to come up with solutions to 21st century problems. Dorbar relationship with institutions and agencies that only dwell on the past need to be reevaluated. There is an urgent call for the Dorbar Shnong to have a strategic review on how they propose to function and act in the future. The call is for them to remain relevant on their quest to serve the community. The call therefore is not on Government recognition – it is already there. The call instead is for State Legislation to give the Dorbar and the Rangbah Shnong, the legal identity to perform their duties and obligations seamlessly. The ruling of Justice SR Sen on the illegal aspects of the Dorbar must be challenged. It cannot come from one line gazette notifications as demanded but through Legislative recognition of the need to continuously work together for a better future for our people. Strengthening Meghalaya’s Local Self Governing system requires the emergence of a uniform Village Council Law that cuts across all three District Councils. Application of Para 12.A of the 6th Schedule will bring in uniformity at the Village Council level making it easier for both Dorbar and State Government to blend in more effortlessly towards better governance in the 21st Century.