The office of the Syiem of Raid Marwet, Ri Bhoi District has recently announcd its step to discourage the rampant trend of mixed marriages by rewarding youth who choose a life partner from within their own the Khasi tribe.
Raid Marwet will give an award of Rs one lakh to youth who marry within the tribe.
The Raid is situated right on the Assam-Meghalaya boundary which lies along the rapidly expanding city of Guwahati where the tribal community meets the population of the plains.
In the past it was traditionally the tribal males who took wives from the plains. Today, the reverse trend of plains men marrying tribal women in large numbers has started to ring alarm bells among the authorities of the tribe. The tribe being matrilineal with property and lineage belonging to the woman had made it into a serious issue of political and economic discourse.
In 2018 the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) had made a bill via which any women who married outside the tribe would lose her tribal status raising a storm of controversy.
Meanwhile, the United Hynñiewtrep Movement (UHM), a local organization, has lauded the office of the Syiem for taking the step
UHM general secretary, Teibor Shadap said that this will set a good example to other Raids, Himas and other organizations to follow suit. He felt this will deter non-Khasi from taking advantage of marrying the Khasi women for alleged “vested interest.”
As a follow up on the step taken by Raid Marwet, he said the Women’s Wing of the UHM is preparing to chalk out further strategy to prevent mixed marriages and encourage marriage within the tribe.
At the same time he appealed to other Raids, Himas, and the Dorbar Shnongs to pay attention to this matter, which he underlined as directly linked to the survival of the tribe and it’s predominance upon its own land and resources in the future.
