1.
Introduction
The Khasi and
Jaintia tribes living in Assam have their origins in the present day Khasi and
Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya state in Northeast India and therefore share their
early history with the tribes living there. Very little is known of their
ancient history for want of written records; but Neolithic findings tell that
they belong to an ancient race (Bhattacharya 2002).
The Khasi and
Jaintia tribes are of a Mongoloid race whose languages belong to the
Austroasiatic language family. The term Khasi
has been used in the past, and even today, to refer to the indigenous tribes
living in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills which include the seven tribes of the
Khasi race, namely, the Khynriam, Pnar, Bhoi, War, Lyngngam, Marram and the now never-heard of Diko. The Sixth Schedule of the
Constitution of India however lists all these tribes together under the larger
tribe name Khasi. The Khynriam are
concentrated in the upland regions of Khasi Hills with the Bhoi on the north; the Marram
and Lyngngams in the west Khasi
Hills, the Pnar in Jaintia Hills and the War are concentrated in the southern
slopes of both Khasi and Jaintia Hills. The War
in Khasi Hills are known as War-Khasi
while the War in Jaintia Hills are
knows as War-Jaintia.
The term Jaintia is an exoethnonym (exonym) which has gradually been accepted as an endoethnonym (endonym) (Sen 2002).
Another exonym used by other Khasi tribes and neighbouring tribes for the
Jaintias is ‘Synteng’. In the
Buranjis of Assam, they are referred to as the ‘Jayantia’.
Today, the term Jaintia is used to
refer to the Bhois, the Pnars and the Wars mainly inhabiting the Jaintia
Hills. The Jaintias are also found in the plains of Cachar, Karimganj and
Hailakandi districts of Assam, Karbi Anglong, North Cachar Hills and several
other districts of Assam and also in the district of Sylhet in Bangladesh.
2. Origin of the Khasi and
Jaintia tribes
The Khasi and
Jaintia have very similar legends about their origin. According to one legend,
God called for a council in heaven in which it was decided that seven of the sixteen clans living in heaven were to descend to Earth to till the
land, populate it and to rule and govern it. These seven clans that came down
to Earth through the Golden Ladder are believed to be the ancestors of the
seven tribes of the Khasi race including the Khynriam, Pnar, Bhoi, War, Marram,
Lyngngam and the now never-heard of Diko.
Till today, the Khasi tribes call themselves ‘Ki Khun U Hynñiew Trep’ (children of the seven huts).
Another legend
on which is based the scholarly argument that the Khasis and Jaintias are
descended from the same ancestress tells of a woman named Iawtalang of the
Talang clan who had nine daughters and lived in Pamchadong village on the
southern slope of Jaintia Hills. On one occasion, the husband of the youngest
sister cooked the after-birth of his wife and fed it to the elder sisters
saying that it was the meat of a sacrificial rooster. He later told them the truth and taunted them
as devourers of their own kith and kin. Overcome with shame, the other eight
sisters fled the village taking their separate directions and settling in
different parts of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills and founding their own clans.
Thus, till today, we have the Talang clan in Chyrmang, the Buam in Thangbuli,
the Nongtdu in Rymbai and Khliehriat, the Pyrtuh in Sohmynting, the Syntung and
Suting in Khasi Hills, another Talang in Maroblang and the Lyngdoh Talang in
Nongtalang. All these clans are said to have descended from these eight
sisters. The youngest daughter remained at Pamchadong but changed her clan name
to Ñialang after her own name. And till today, these clans still respect and
maintain their clan ties.
Another oral
tradition tells of a myth which narrates the origins of the clans settled
around Jowai from the four wombs (Soo-Kpoh)
of Ka Bon, Ka Tein, Ka Wet and Ka Doh.
Again, it has also been computed by scholars that U Chyngklein Am, the eldest
son of Ka Li Dakha and u Woh Ryndi ruled the Jaintia state in the 3rd
Century BC.
3. The Khasi and Jaintia Tribes during Prehistoric
times
Since the Khasi
race have no written records of their ancient history, we can only rely on
scholarly works which have tried to study the origin and history of the Khasi
tribes. The Khasi have no script of their own; it has been said that they had
lost their script in the course of their migration in the distant past beyond
reckoning. Gurdon (1914) ascribes the loss of the Khasi script to a flood in
Sylhet.
Oral tradition also refers to the same but in some versions, it has been
mentioned that the script was destroyed by water while the person carrying it
in his mouth was swimming across a river.
The present script of the Khasis based on the Roman script had been written by
Thomas Jones in 1841 and printed at the Calcutta Baptist Press in 1842.
The Khasis
(including all sister tribes) represent one of the earliest waves of migration
to North East India.
Neolithic findings tell that they belong to an ancient race with roots in the
Mekong valley in Cambodia.
Studies in linguistics also trace the origin of the Khasian languages to the
lower Mekong valley.
Recent studies, using radiocarbon dating of charcoal from iron slag, revealed
evidence of continuous iron smelting in the hills of Meghalaya and has been
dated to 2040 ±
80 years BP (353 BC – AD 128). This proves beyond doubt that the Khasi and Jaintia
are original settlers of the North Eastern region of India and also lends
credence to Pakem’s claim that the Megaliths in Jaintia hills were erected
around the Iron Age.
Pakem (1977) also stated that the Jaintia Kingdom existed as early as the 5th
Century BC when a Jaintia Royal embassy was reported to have visited China.
4. Recorded History of the Khasi and Jaintia tribes
The Khasi and
Jaintia tribes, being self-reliant, lived in isolation for a very long period
of time in the hills. They had also developed their own democratic system of governance
since ancient times. The first encounter of the Khasi with other tribes took
place only in the 16th century AD during the reign of the Koch king
Naranarayana and the first contact
between the Ahoms and the kingdom of Jaintia dates from the beginning of the 17th
century AD during the reign of the Ahom king, Pratap Singh (1603-41 AD).
Though the Khasis had many kingdoms (principalities), and the Jaintias only one,
the chronicles of the Ahom, Koch and Kachari kings mentioned most prominently
and almost exclusively only the Rajas of Jaintia and Khairam (Khyrim).
The history of these relations have also been described by Gait (1926),
Mackenzie (1995), Bhuyan (1937), Chowdhury (1978) and Goswami (2012) besides
other authors and scholars. Relics and coins have been found which testify to
the existence of the Khasi and Jaintia kings in the past.
During some
parts of their shared history with the Ahoms and Kacharis, territories changed
hands between them. By the time the British set foot on the Khasi and Jaintia
Hills, the Jaintia Kingdom had expanded into the southern plains of Sylhet and
also north to the Barak river in Assam.
Specific mention may be made of the Kachari king Jasa Narayan who marched
against the kingdom of the Jaintias. In the first encounter with the Jaintias,
the Kacharis were defeated but in the second encounter, the Jaintias were
defeated and Mulagul was fixed as the boundary between Cachar and Jaintia.
The first
encounter of the British with the Jaintias occurred in 1774 when Major Henniker
attacked them. The cause of the attack
was never recorded; but most probably it was a boundary dispute which cropped
up after the British became master of Sylhet district by virtue of the grant of
Dewani of Bengal to the East India Company in 1765.
After the annexation of the Jaintia Kingdom by the British in 1835 it was
joined with the Khasi states and put under one Political Agent of the British.
The Khasi rebellion against the British which started in 1829 under the
leadership of U Tirot Singh ended with his surrender on 13th January
1833, while the Jaintia rebellion against the British which started in 1860
lasted only a few years after the capture and execution of their chief leader U
Kiang Nangbah on December 30, 1862.
5.
The Khasi and Jaintia tribes of Barak Valley
Lack of records
during the pre-British years makes us rely on oral history of the tribes for
reference. In the remote past, they had come from the adjoining Jaintia Kingdom
(which extended to Sylhet district in the south) to cultivate betel vines in
the forested hills of south Assam, particularly, in the forests of Borail
range, Bhuban Hills, Longai range, Garmura range and other ranges and forest
areas. The Jaintias were the first to settle in these forests; the Khasis came
at a later stage. They lived together as a community in small hamlets in the
forests and were scattered all over the forested areas. They did not mind
walking long distances to reach a market place once or twice a week to sell
their produce or buy their simple necessities like salt.
The Khasis and
Jaintias were commonly referred to as Khasia in the past and even today by
non-tribals. Hunter (1879), notes that Mr. Edgar, the Deputy Commissioner in
1870 had put the population of the Khasias and Assamese in Cachar at 1000 souls.
This information however does not give an exact figure on the population of the
Khasis (& Jaintias) then. We can postulate that if the Khasis and Assamese
were approximately equal in number and if we are to assume an average of 5
persons per household, then the number of Khasi & Jaintia households in
1870 were approximately 100 in number. Their present population, according to
an ongoing independent survey, is approximately 1,00,000 (one lakh)
which is <0.3%. The survey has so far been completed in 285 Khasi &
Jaintia hamlets and villages in Barak valley.
6. Traditional Livelihood of the Khasi and Jaintia
tribes in Barak Valley
The Khasi and
Jaintia tribes living in south Assam (Barak Valley) during the past were an
obscure community, particularly so, because of their unique and traditional
means of livelihood by cultivation of betel vines for their leaves. Unlike
cultivation of betel leaf in other parts of India, their traditional method
involves the use of trees as support for the betel vines and dead leaves and
branches as organic manure for the betel plants.
Therefore,
forests and trees are vital to the survival of the tribes because this was, and
is, the only traditional means of livelihood for them. And so, their
communities lived in forested areas where trees are abundant and hence they had
very little contact with the local population who are settled in the plain
areas. The variety of betel leaf they cultivate is known locally as the Khasia paan, among the Bengalis, which
they sell at weekly haats or bazaars.
After 7-10
years, when the soil has reduced in fertility and production of leaves by the
betel vines has reduced, these tribes shift their cultivation to a fresh patch
of the forest. It might therefore be observed that while betel leaf cultivation
by the Khasi and Jaintia tribes is a shifting cultivation by virtue of it being
organic, it is yet a method of cultivation that preserves trees and forests.
So, even if it is referred to as Paan-jhum,
it is completely different to the normal jhum
cultivation of other tribes and communities which is more of a ‘slash and burn
type’. Hence, ‘jhum’ seems to be a misnomer where the paan-jhum of the Khasi and Jaintia betel leaf cultivation is
concerned.
7. Customs and Traditions
The nature of
their livelihood not only obscures them from the outside world, but it also
served to preserve their unique identity, culture and traditional practices as
a separate ethnic group. Their hamlets and villages are administered by their
age-old democratic system of governance in which a village headman (Gaonburra)
is elected by the adult members of the village which comprise the Village
Durbar. The Village Durbar is supreme and the Headman is only a titular head.
Succession to the Headmanship is hereditary and it follows the Khasi and
Jaintia traditional and customary laws. There are instances where Headmanship
is taken over by women. This is a trait practised only in south Assam among the
Khasi and Jaintia tribes in India. In the present day Khasi and Jaintia Hills
of Meghalaya, it is still a taboo or against tradition for a woman to even be
part of the Village Durbar.
Though most of
the Khasi and Jaintia tribes have converted to Christianity through the works
and efforts of Christian missionaries since the 19th century, some
of them still practice their indigenous religion known as Niamtre. However, this change in religion did not affect their
other customs and traditions which are at the core of their ethnic culture.
The Khasi and
Jaintia tribes’ limited exposure outside of their own communes is the local
bazaar, where they sell their betel leaves and other produce and to procure
items like salt, dry-fish, clothes and grocery and kerosene to fuel their lamps
which has replaced beeswax in modern times. Local traders also come to their punjees (villages/hamlets) to directly
purchase betel leaves at wholesale prices.
8. Effect of political changes on the Khasi and
Jaintia tribes in Barak Valley
8.1 Pre-British
period
During the days
of the Jaintia Kings and the Kachari kings, the Khasi and Jaintia tribes living
as betel leaf cultivators lived in peace in their small hamlets amidst jungles
and forests. They were fiercely independent and were left to themselves and
respected as a tribe. Their hamlets were scattered in the vast forest areas of
the then Cachar Kingdom and south-eastern part of the Jaintia Kingdom. A hamlet
sometimes comprised of only two to five households.
8.2 British
period
After the
British took possession of Cachar district in 1830 (which then included the
whole of South Assam), they declared all forest areas as Government reserve
land and granted leases to Tea Companies for growing tea. This act of the
British government deprived the Khasi and Jaintia tribes of their traditional
occupation of betel-vine cultivation in the forests. The original settlers were now considered
foreigners in their own land. The simple and illiterate Khasi &
Jaintia Betel Leaf cultivators then had to pay taxes and apply for permission
to continue with their existing Betel Leaf cultivation. (See Annexure A for copies of agreements
and rent receipts)
A copy of the
letter written in Khasi to the Commissioner (see Annexure B) as indicated in the notes in the year 1904 from Assam
Secretariat in Diary No. 68 under the Branch Diary Heading – Forests, states
that the undersigned were inhabitants of Kunapara and Marwacherra hamlets near
Borkhola (these villages still exist today) in Cachar district of Assam. The
gist of the letter is that - the petitioners argued that it would be an
injustice and deprivation of their means of livelihood if they were not allowed
to continue with their age-old practice of betel leaf cultivation as they had
done in the past. They further stated that they and their children would starve
to death if denied of their only means of livelihood. They also clarified that
their method of Paan-jhum should not
be misconceived as a slash and burn jhum
system but rather as one that protects trees and forests. They also mention
that they pay their taxes regularly to the Government.
This is a
typical example of what the Khasi and Jaintia tribes had to go through when
political rulers changed. They were deprived of their rights to livelihood and
rights as indigenous forest dwellers.
Copy of
Government records available to us state the history of Damcherra Punji
(Alambag) thus:
“The Jum permit
was granted to Jata Khasia in the year 1917. After Jata Khasia one Konlowar
Khasia was appointed Headman and the present Headman Padwin Khasi was appointed
Headman in place of Konlowar Khasia vide D.C’s Memo No. 21329-32/R.dated 4/2/60
in R.P.No.5 of 1959-60.”
(see Annexure C for copy of Government
documents)
8.3 Post British
period
After the
Government of India Act 1919 and 1935 were passed by the British government,
their situation did not change or improve because the Government of India also
continued with the British policies with respect to Forests. A copy of the
petition addressed to the then Divisional Forest Officer of Cachar and signed
by Arshibai Khasia and Lakhon Khasia dated 18th April 1947 (see Annexure D) indicated that the Khasi
& Jaintia were faced with severe hardships and deprivation with regard to
their means of livelihood.
The letter
states that owing to depleting yield of their present betel leaf cultivation at
Marwacherra village, the villagers were finding it hard to make both ends meet.
They therefore petitioned for settlement of a forest area under Balicherra
grant of Cachar district measuring about 200 hals (≈ 1000 acres) so that they can start fresh cultivation of betel leaf
with payment of requisite tax. The petitioners also mentioned that the Khasia
villagers had been living in the present area for ten years and were of
reputation and did no harm to the land.
Their petition
probably fell on deaf ears because in another copy of a petition signed by the
same petitioners, Arshibai and Lakhon, dated 22nd March 1948 and
addressed to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Cachar district, the same issue
was quoted citing another previously signed petition dated 24th July
1947 as reference. (See Annexure E)
8.4 Post
Independence period
The Assam
Government also failed to recognise the rights of indigenous forest settlers
and give them ownership over land. To make matters worse, immigrants from
Bangladesh, who continuously entered through the porous international border of
Assam right from 1947 began to engage in intimidation and harassment of the
tribals with the help of Muslim miscreants and with the intention of grabbing
their land and cultivation.
Post
Independence, there was some increase in the population of the tribes after
some relatives from adjoining Jaintia Hills also came to settle for betel leaf
cultivation. There was also some migration of Khasi & Jaintia tribes during
the Indo-Pak war of 1970-71 towards the Indian territory along the Indo-Pak
boundary. But hostile environment caused by timber poachers and land-grabbers
have again caused their migration and displacement to other villages or to
Meghalaya.
The destruction
of forests by timber poachers and miscreants threatened their livelihood and it
was a grave concern for the Khasi and Jaintia tribes. In an effort to protect
the forests, the tribes under the leadership of (Late) Min Paul Pohthmi
approached the Forest Department with the suggestion of forming Volunteer forces
in five Khasia villages in Bhuban Hills Reserve Forest area, namely, Maskhal,
Panichowki (Bhuban Hill), Krishnapur, Nagakhal and Bhubonkhal punjees, for
prevention and detection of illegalities in the Reserve Forests.
A specific
example may be mentioned of the Panichowki Reserve punjee (aka Bhuban Hill
Khasia punjee). Five volunteers were appointed by the Divisional Forest Officer
of Silchar Division vide letter no. B/6247/78/14 (T.V) dated the 15th
Feb 1991. The volunteers dutifully and diligently patrolled the Reserve Forest
within their area at least once a week to check for illegal activities with the
assistance of their fellow-villagers. During their exercise of duty, timber
poachers were seized along with their tools and handed over to the Forest Beat
Officer. But the Forest officials never took action against the poachers and
freed them by bribery. It was an exercise in futility and defeated the morale
of the volunteers. Instead, they gained the enmity of the poacher community who
took to intimidation and aggression against the tribals.
9. Chronic problems and issues affecting the Khasi and
Jaintia tribes in Barak Valley
9.1 Tribes, but not Scheduled Tribes: The Govt. of India Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribes Orders
(Ammendment) Act 1976 and the revised list of Scheduled Castes & Scheduled
Tribes Orders (Ammendment) Act 2002 issued by Department of Welfare of Plain
Tribes and Backward Classes, Govt. of Assam in 2003 (vide order no.
TAD/BC/87/93/46 dated the 1st April 2003) has dubiously recognised the Khasi,
Jaintia, Synteng, Pnar, War, Bhoi and Lyngngam tribes as Hill tribes but this
Scheduled Tribe status is applicable only in the Autonomous Districts of Assam
where their population is but in small numbers compared to their majority
population in the plains districts of south Assam (Cachar, Karimganj &
Hailakandi). It may be worth mentioning here that, while the Government
of Assam had in 2001 accorded ST status to the Garo tribe all over Assam who
were, till then, also excluded from the ST status in Non-Autonomous areas of
Assam, the Khasi and Jaintias are yet to be notified as Scheduled Tribes (ST)
in all districts of Assam. Several letters and memoranda have been submitted to
the Governor, Ministers and Commissioners (WPT & BC) of Assam, but so far
no action is taken in this regard. Non-recognition as Scheduled tribes in
plains districts has deprived the Khasi and Jaintia tribes from job and other
opportunities. They are hence still behind the mainstream of the Indian nation.
9.2 Land Grabbing: The process of land-grabbing
by suspected Bangladeshi immigrants over the years had caused massive
displacement and migration of the tribes to Meghalaya state and to upper Assam
which has resulted in reduction of their population in south Assam. This
process has been going on for many years now and many of the Khasi and Jaintia
villages have been ravaged, attacked and being overrun by suspected Bangladeshi
immigrants with the connivance of some Muslim miscreants and sometimes with the
open collusion of the Government Officials. The use of force and vandalism to
villages and their Betel leaf and Betel nut cultivations has caused severe loss
to property and also displacement of the indigenous Khasi & Jaintia
communities. (See Annexure F for few
media reports)
9.3 Atrocities against girls and women: Instances
of rape and kidnapping of Khasi and Jaintia girls and women by Muslim
miscreants have been taking place and also reported in the media. This causes insecurity
for their girls and women even in public places. Khasi &
Jaintia girls and women are being lured and kidnapped by their non-tribal neighbours (mostly Muslim) to forcefully marry them
to eventually hoard their lands because the Khasis and Jaintias are matrilineal
tribes. (See Annexure G for some reported instances)
9.4 Deprivation of Forest Rights:
The Khasi and Jaintia tribes are forest dwellers by virtue of their traditional
means of livelihood, i.e. betel leaf cultivation using trees and forests. But
the Forest Department fail to recognise their indigenous rights or their
contribution to conserving the forests. The very nature of their livelihood
puts them at odds with the timber poachers and Forest officials who seem to
condone these timber poachers for their personal benefit. Therefore, there have
been many unreported skirmishes between the eco-friendly Khasi and Jaintia
tribes and the benefit-seeking immigrants and Muslim miscreants trying to make
easy money by destroying forest resources including timber and Non-timber
forest products (NTFP) like canes, rattans, bamboos, etc. It is not
questionable why Forest officials continue to harass indigenous forest
dwellers. (See Annexure H for
relevant media reports)
9.5 Effect of Militancy: The Khasi
& Jaintia villages located in forests and in isolation are prone to
extortion and abuse and even threat to their lives from different militant
groups hiding in different forests of south Assam and using the jungle as
corridors to cross State and International borders. They are placed in a
catch-22 situation where on the one hand, informing on the militants would
invite the militant’s wrath and revenge on the defenceless villagers, and on
the other hand, they are accused of harbouring militants for not informing on
the militants. Thankfully, now, the militancy problem has subsided but the fear
that it would rear its ugly head again persists. There have been instances when
the Khasi and Jaintia villagers had cooperated with the local Police and the
army and also took active part in their campaign against the militants. (See Annexure I for media reports)
9.6 State Government apathy: The
creation of the Barak Valley (Hill Tribes) Development Council (vide Government
notification No.TAD/BC/30/96/34 dated the 13th March 1996), has
failed to address the development issues of the Khasi and Jaintia tribes
because they are under-represented in the council with respect to their
percentage of population. Moreover, the functioning of the Barak Valley (Hill
Tribe) Development Council is also fraught with anomalies and alleged
corruption. The District Administrations and the State Government including the
Chief Minister and several representatives have been approached formally and
informally several times in the past to address these grievances, but till date
no positive outcome has resulted from the repeated endeavours and requests.
(See Annexure J for media reports)
9.7 Growing unrest among the youth:
Government apathy to address the above issues and to improve the welfare and
upliftment of the Khasi and Jaintia tribes is leading to growing unrest among the
youths. This is a dangerous trend which needs to be resolved immediately.
10.
Suggested Solutions to problems
The Khasi and
Jaintia people of south Assam have been demanding the following steps to
positively address most of their problems:
i)
Creation of a permanent and
democratic ‘Khasi & Jaintia Development Council’ and ‘Village Development
Councils’ within the framework of the Indian Constitution and whose
jurisdiction will be applicable only to Khasi and Jaintia villages of Assam to
serve their development needs in every field and to eliminate social and
economic discrimination against them.
ii)
To accord full Scheduled Tribe
status to the indigenous Khasi and Jaintia tribes (which include the Khynriam,
Jaintia (Pnar), War, Lyngngam, Bhoi and Maram tribes) in all districts and the
whole State of Assam and to notify the same in the Gazettes of Assam and India.
iii)
To provide Government Khas land
and funds for construction of the “Khasi and Jaintia Development Council”
Students’ Hostel cum Guest house at Silchar, Karimganj and Hailakandi (district
headquarters) which will serve as safe houses for the Khasi and Jaintia people
coming to town for medical treatment, official or educational purposes. The
construction of the Students’ Hostel cum Guest house is to be undertaken in a
phased manner beginning with the main town of Silchar.
iv)
To include Khasi as one of the
subjects at Primary Schools in the Khasi and Jaintia dominated villages of
Assam.
v)
To nominate two members
(elected by the communities) to the proposed Vidhan Parishad of the Assam
Government from among the Khasi and Jaintia communities in Assam to represent
their aspirations and interests.
vi)
Creation of a Volunteer force
comprising of unemployed Khasi and Jaintia youths in the International
Indo-Bangla Border area to assist Security forces in checking illegal
Bangladeshi immigrants into India.
11.
Conclusion
The Khasi and
Jaintia tribes though being original settlers in south Assam are still treated
as insignificant citizens of the state and country. Their unique identity and
culture is under threat of extermination from influx of illegal immigrants and
Muslim miscreants and also by the apathy of the State Government. With a
population of about a lakh number (< 0.3% of Assam’s population) in the
Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts of south Assam, a literacy rate of
less than 10%, and non-representation in the mainstream, they deserve a special
consideration from the State and Central Governments for their continuing
future in the pluralism of India as a nation.
Constitution of
Village Development Councils at village levels to be administered through the Khasi
& Jaintia Development Council as the apex body will meet the needs of their
tribes to remove social and economic discrimination and serve to ameliorate the
deplorable conditions of their tribes and guide their youths in the right
direction so that they can participate effectively in governance and nation-
building. All these can be achieved within the framework of the Constitution of
India, which has provisions for protection of the minorities and scheduled
tribes.
