By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 20: The Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) has noted that the establishment of autonomous district councils has gradually eroded the traditional political structures of the Khasi States, reducing political chiefs to subordinate officers under the District Councils, as defined by the United Khasi-Jaintia Autonomous District (Appointment and Succession of Chiefs and Headmen) Act, 1959.
On the 37th death anniversary of Paiem Wickliffe Syiem, the HNYF called on the people of Hynniewtrep to remember that the Khasi States had acceded to the Indian Dominion through the Instrument of Accession (IOA) in 1947-48 prior to the adoption and enactment of the Indian Constitution in 1949.
In a statement issued on Monday, HNYF president Sadon K. Blah said the organisation’s declaration serves as a reminder to both present and future generations, and to the global community, about the unique political status of the Hynniewtrep people within India’s democratic framework.
“Though initially we cooperated in the spirit of self-determination within the Indian Constitution, the victor decided otherwise,” Blah said.
He reiterated that, as per the IOA and its Annexed Agreement, all mineral resources, including uranium, belong to the Khasi States. “We caution against twisting the existing laws through Office Memorandums to further extract and exploit our resources,” he added.
Blah also urged the Federation of Khasi States, the signatory to the IOA, to take a more progressive approach and address the core issues of the Instrument of Accession and Annexed Agreement.
“As a pressure group, we are enlightening the Hynniewtrep people as part of the initial phase of this effort,” he said.
He recalled that after the end of British rule, the Hynniewtrep people, particularly the Khasi States, resumed their sovereign status as independent entities and noted that the Indian national movement had little or no impact in this region.
Following independence, the Indian Dominion redrew the country’s political map by signing Instruments of Merger with various princely states, later reinforced by the 26th Constitutional Amendment (Abolition of Privy Purse Act), which stripped former rulers of their privileges, including rights to royalties, taxation and succession.
However, Blah pointed out that the Khasi States never signed any Instrument of Merger with the Indian Dominion.
He stated that the Mylliem State had even contested India’s annexation, invoking Section 7 of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, which recognised the lapse of British paramountcy and prohibited forced integration.
According to him, Mylliem State maintained that its relationship with India should strictly adhere to the terms of the IOA and its Annexed Agreement, which limit cooperation to three specific areas—defence, communication and currency.
Blah further asserted that the Khasi States acceded to India both individually and collectively under the Federation of Khasi States, though in many instances, the signing of the IOA was not with the consent of the majority of Khasi chiefs.
“In several cases, the Indian Army was used to compel the chiefs to sign, making our accession one of conquest by a superior military force,” he alleged.
“As the saying goes, ‘history is written by the victors’,” Blah remarked, adding that successive Union and state governments have ignored or undermined the IOA, the Annexed Agreement and the Standstill Agreement.
He lamented that these foundational documents, which define the Khasi people’s right to self-determination within the Indian Constitution, have been brushed aside from both history and public consciousness.
Blah warned of a constitutional misalignment, noting that while the Khasi States are still listed in the First Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the Abolition of Privy Purse Act does not apply to them in full, and the 73rd Constitutional Amendment also excludes them, which, according to him, implies a reluctant acknowledgment by the Indian government of the unique terms of the Khasi States’ accession as contained in the Annexed Agreement.
