By Bhogtoram Mawroh
I am not really sure if this has ever happened before in the history of the state. But in recent memory, this is the only instance I can recall where two teachers are contesting for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat. The by-election was necessitated because of the sudden demise of Ricky Syngkon, who was also a teacher, just like the present contenders, Batskhem Myrboh from VPP and DRL Nonglait from NPP. Ricky had won the Shillong seat by securing more than 50% of the vote share, and VPP will be hoping that Batskhem can repeat his feat. However, this time around, apart from the sympathy factor, there is not much that the party is presenting to the voters.
The public has seen the VPP dithering over the issue that propelled it to victory, i.e., the agitation for a review of the reservation policy, by refusing to attend official meetings and avoiding going to court to challenge the policy. There is genuine recognition among some that the party has lied to the public on the issue, and this might come back to haunt them.
The party has also created turmoil within the KHADC by bringing it into direct conflict with traditional institutions, namely Hima Sohra and Hima Mylliem, with observations being made that these actions are directed against practitioners of the indigenous faith. While we do not have accurate figures on practitioners of Niam Khasi (known as Niam Tre among the Pnar, a sub-group of the Khasi), the 2011 Census revealed that the percentage of followers of “other religions” in the state was around 8%. Since this statistic applies to the entire state, it means that the number of Niam Khasi adherents is actually over 15% of the Khasi community’s population. This is a very large voting bloc, which, if consolidated against the VPP, could prove decisive.
There is also a perception that the VPP wants to change the age-old matrilineal traditions. A recent development that has taken place in the JHADC is the push by the Dorbar Ki Waheh Kur Ri Jaintia to codify and enact laws that protect matrilineal clan traditions and incorporate them into the JHADC’s legal framework. If that happens soon, and the VPP-led KHADC succeeds in dismantling matrilineal traditions by putting up a weak defence in court or by introducing legislation that weakens the traditional institutions based on them, namely the Hima, there will be a situation where matrilineal traditions remain strong in the Jaintia Hills but become weakened in the Khasi Hills (including Ri Bhoi). In that situation, there will be a clear division between the residents living under the KHADC and the JHADC. Does that mean there will be two distinct communities: the non-Pnar Khasi, who follow both matrilineal and patrilineal traditions, and the Pnar, who strictly follow matrilineal traditions? If so, the division of the community will be complete, and perhaps in the future we may witness internecine conflicts similar to those seen among different Kuki and Naga groups.
For a party that speaks so much about the love of the “Jaidbynriew,” the VPP’s actions appear to be having the opposite effect. They are creating divisions between Christians and followers of Niam Khasi, and between the Khasi and one of their sub-groups, the Pnar. The dismantling of customary traditions could also lead to the loss of ST status for the Khasi community, which is another concern that has emerged since the VPP took over power in the KHADC.
For those who can see the implications of the party’s actions, it will be difficult to convince them to vote for it again. To make matters worse, there are indications that infighting is becoming increasingly common within the party. It is also very surprising that a “jaidbynriew”-touting party has not yet amended the rules to bar non-indigenous candidates from contesting ADC elections, something that has already happened in the NPP-led GHADC. What is the delay all about? Therefore, the upcoming election may not be the foregone conclusion that the party would like everyone to believe.
Dr. L. Nonglait is emerging as a credible candidate, having worked as a teacher in the Khasi Department at NEHU and having led the Khasi Authors’ Society (KAS) in demanding recognition of Khasi as an official language under the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The NPP-led MDA government has demonstrated its intent by making Khasi and Garo official languages alongside English. The selection of Nonglait was clearly aimed at capitalizing on this sentiment, with the hope that it will be enough to propel the party to victory.
Recently, when Amit Shah visited the state, he announced that a committee of experts would be constituted in the coming months to discuss the inclusion of Khasi and other languages. Personally, I do not think Khasi and Garo will receive the nod because they use the Roman script rather than a Brahmi-derived script. This is the very debate taking place in Tripura right now, where the state government headed by Dr. Manik Saha, a non-indigenous person (I do not know whether he belongs to the immigrant population that arrived from Bangladesh after Partition), is pushing for the use of a Brahmi-derived script, while the majority of indigenous Tripuris, including political groups such as the Tipra Motha Party and student organizations such as the Twipra Students Federation (TSF) and the Tipra Indigenous Students’ Federation (TISF), support the Roman script. The BJP government argues that the Roman script is a ‘foreign’ script, conveniently forgetting that the Brahmi script, on which all modern Indian scripts are based, itself emerged from the Aramaic script, the script of the language that Jesus is believed to have spoken. In other words, Brahmi also has foreign origins. It emerged during the third century BCE and became the script in which Ashoka’s edicts were inscribed.
In the world, writing developed independently in four regions: Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq and Syria), Egypt, Mesoamerica, and China. Every script used today can ultimately be traced back to one of these traditions. There is some debate as to whether the symbols found on seals from the Harappan Civilization actually constitute a script. They may simply have been logos or insignia. Whatever the case, the script remains undeciphered, although occasional claims continue to emerge.
The most recent claim was made by a researcher known as Yajnadevam (a pseudonym), who argued for a connection between the Harappan script and Sanskrit. He was even invited to several television channels to discuss his findings. The problem, however, was that his research was never published in a peer-reviewed journal. In academia, any work claiming to offer a new perspective must be reviewed by peers, that is, experts in the field, who critically assess its methodology and conclusions. Claims of deciphering the Harappan script are nothing new, and there will undoubtedly be others in the future who make similar assertions.
Instead, the Brahmi script is generally believed to have been influenced by the Aramaic script, which itself was adapted from the Phoenician alphabet, the same alphabetic tradition that also gave rise to the Roman script. Thus, the Brahmi script is just as foreign in origin as the Roman script. Moreover, both scripts are foreign to indigenous communities that traditionally relied on oral culture. However, the fact that Khasi and Garo are not written in a Brahmi-derived script may make their inclusion in the Eighth Schedule more difficult, particularly in the context of the Hindutva agenda of creating a Hindu Rashtra.
Even if Nonglait wins and raises the issue of including Khasi in the Eighth Schedule, it will ultimately be political pressure from Conrad Sangma that proves decisive in securing recognition for Khasi and Garo. It is clear that he enjoys a good working relationship with the Union Government, and the many financial packages and projects that have arrived in recent years are due in part to that rapport. This, however, may be a demand that is not particularly palatable to the BJP. I support the demand for the simple reason that the Khasi linguistic tradition in South Asia predates the arrival of Indo-Aryan languages, including Vedic Sanskrit, from which many North Indian languages emerged, many of which have received constitutional recognition, e.g., Hindi. It is a disgrace that Khasi has still not been recognized.
The stakes in the upcoming Lok Sabha by-election are, therefore, very high. The party that wins will be in a strong position heading into the next Assembly elections, which are only two years away. Will the sympathy factor outweigh the growing negative perceptions surrounding the VPP, or will the promise of fulfilling a decades-long demand push the NPP over the line? Could the Congress emerge as a surprise contender and upset the plans of both parties? Let us wait and watch.
(The views expressed in the article are those of the author and do not reflect in any way his affiliation to any organisation or institution)
