By Dominick Dauni Roising Rymbai
On February 28th, 2026, Day 10 of the Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya, a Point of Order was raised by the Deputy Chief Minister, Sniawbhalang Dhar regarding a speech made by an Opposition member in the Short Duration Discussion on the Report of the Expert Committee of the Reservation Policy of Meghalaya on February 25, 2026. The Point of Order is as per Rule 300 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. The aforementioned Rules were made as per the constitutional provisions empowered by Article 208 of the Constitution of India.
The Point of Order related to the usage of the official terminology of “Khasi and Jaintia” and not just Khasi alone as spoken by the said Opposition member. The request was to incorporate the correct terminology in the official records of the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly. The same was restated by the Minister i/c Health and Family Welfare, Sports and Youth Affairs, etc, Wailadmiki Shylla. There was no mention of divisions, separateness or, sub-classifications of each of the sub-tribes of the Hynñiewtrep tribe, by the concerned Ministers. Just the correct usage of officially notified words. That’s it.
Assembly proceedings are live-streamed. Hence MLAs see them as opportunities for scoring brownie points. From a lay person’s point of view, it is unbecoming of the leader of a fast-growing political start-up to make scathing remarks on the emotional intelligence or EQ of the Deputy Chief Minister. There was no necessity to make grandstanding statements of being a ‘mature’ statesman and also some kind of a messianic unifier of the Hynñiewtrep tribe. The august house is not Madan Iewrynghep (Fire Brigade field), Madan Malki or Madan Student. YouTube-based local news channels carried out the concerned Point of Order. The next thing, social media explodes, for and against the motion.
Unify what? We are one! In the Khasi language, its Hynñiewtrep, and in Pnar its Niaw Wasa. The indigenous people of the present-day Khasi & Jaintia Hills Division of the state of Meghalaya accepts that we are the Hynñiewtrep tribe, with common culture, customs, traditions and folk tales. Two best examples are our unique matrilineal system and the clans’ relations (jingiateh ki kur ki jaid). Growing up in the Jaintia Hills, the importance of clans was practically monolithic in one. On reaching adolescence (khie samla or khai khynroo khyllod) and plans to move to Shillong city or Ramakrishna Mission Sohra for higher education, the writer was advised, actually warned, not to have any ‘crush’ or romantic relationship with four specific clans of the Khasi Hills – the Nongrum, the Rumnong, the Nongneng and the Nengnong. Interestingly, the said clans are considered the original inhabitants of the erstwhile Hima Shyllong (present-day Khyrim Syiemship and Mylliem Syiemship) and Hima Sohra. One can just imagine the ‘limited’ choices available, when other related “no-means-no” clans from the Khasi & Jaintia Hills are added up – the Lé Kyllung (Rymbai, Najiar and Toi) clan grouping, Lyngdoh (Rymbai Bahkhla), Bang, Chynret, Khaii, Kyndait, Kyndiah, Ksoo, Lato, Niangti, Pdein, Rymbui, Ryngkhlem, Sana, Siangbood and Thma.
Another unique clan grouping is the Iawchibidi; the clans that make up this closely-related grouping are domiciled in various parts of the Khasi & Jaintia Hills including parts of present-day Assam and Bangladesh. They include Diengdoh, Gassah, Gashnga, Gadew, Hek, Lamin, Laloo, Marngar, Mohrmen, Nartiang, Pariong, Pyrbot, Syngngai, etc. Through historical intra-migration for various reasons, the related clans of our indigenous people became original inhabitants in different parts of Ka Bri U Hynñiewtrep.
Generally, the introductory question asked when the Hynñiewtrep people meet one another, is Phi dei jaid aiu or Yong kur pha doi (To which clan do you belong).
Language: Through the efforts of Reverend Thomas Jones, our Poet Laureate U Myllung Soso Tham and many others, the Khasi language (Ktien Sohra) has become the official lingua franca of the Hynñiewtrep people. In highly diverse countries or regions like India, dialects differ every 10-15 km. Similar is the case with culture. Potato, the humble vegetable so ubiquitous in our diet, was imported from South America into the Western coast of our country by the Portuguese and introduced into our north-eastern hilly home by the British. Along the National Highway from Shillong to Jowai, it is phan in Shillong, sohlah in Smit and Nongkrem, and finally becomes salah at the historical border of the erstwhile Hima Shyllong and the erstwhile Jaintia kingdom. If one travels by train across the Hindi heartland states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and pays attention to the spoken language, one realises many native spoken languages besides the official Hindi and/or Urdu. They include Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi, Santali, Awadhi, Braj Bhasha, Bundeli, etc. In our hills, most non-Shillong and non-Sohra indigenous people are bi-lingual, in their own native mother tongue as well as the official Khasi. Irrespective of the native mother tongue, the Hynñiewtrep indigenous music lovers can relate to and enjoy the songs Jainsem a Cjawdeng (Maram), Os’te (Pnar) and Shynnam Shynnam (War-Pynursla). The Jaintia Language and Literary Association was formed in 1975 by luminaries like the late Dr. Barrister Pakem, a Pnar speaker from Elaka Sutnga married to a War-Amwi speaker from Elaka Nongtalang. With language as a form of identity, the Association’s success in building a standardised alphabet for the Jaintias (Pnar and War-Amwi native speakers) is commendable. Documentation helps prevent gradual loss in the future. Among the indigenous people of Jaintia Hills, the words Khasi and Khynriam are used interchangeably for the brethren to the east; just as Khasi and Hynñiewtrep are used interchangeably in these ancient hills we call home.
Conclusion: What should be alarming is the polarisation of a small tribal community (barely 20 lakhs) like ours on religious and co-religious denominational lines. Imagine the number of broken hearts in our modern version of the sad love-lost folktale of Ka Sohlyngngem and U Rynniaw? To reiterate, religion is private, culture is public! Similarities and differences are to be celebrated and respected. It is very important to talk to and understand one another, in a respectful manner. Queries and differences can be ironed out by dialogues. Most times, discussions do lead to the truth. We do not live in an era of constant warfare, or quick to violence (smat rah wait) for settling disputes. Let us remind ourselves that all our traditional politico-administrative entities like Raid/Raij, Elaka and Hima were formed by voluntary association and consensus of the founding clans. Decisions of the durbar are usually by consensus.
In independent and sovereign India’s democratic elections, people from the same village, Raid, Elaka and Hima can vote for different political parties. A legal or illegal forceful unification process to bring about homogeneity in culture or religion, spells disaster for the future. Enveloped by larger population of Sino-Tibetan and Indo-Aryan speakers, we, the Hynñiewtrep people speaking an Austro-Asiatic Mon Khmer school of languages, have lasted at least 3500 to 4000 years. We will and should survive, till the end of time. Unless, of course, we allow ourselves to be divided?
PS: Officially speaking, most terminology and names in our Meghalaya dates back to those used during the British Raj. Topping it all, IQ and EQ are judged solely based on proficiency of the spoken and written English language. Worse, no Disprin has been discovered as yet for complete cure of the colonial hangover.
(Disclaimer: Views expressed are strictly personal. Email: [email protected])
