Shillong, Jun 2: Members of the indigenous Niam Khasi/Niamtre faith will be counted as such in the Census 2027, rather than the catch-all Other Religions and Persuasions.
According to PD Nongrum, vice-president of the Seng Khasi Kmie, said that people professing the indigenous faiths should answer that they belong to Niam Khasi/Niamtre when visited by census enumerators.
“We decided to do this because in the earlier census operations, Niam Khasi Niamtre were listed yet again as Other Religions and Persuasions in the population by religion table,” Nongrum said.
He said that now the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had sent a clear directive that the census enumerators should point out the religion professed by those households.
Nongrum also touched upon the sudden increase in tension between the majority Christian Khasi-Jaintia population and those who still believe in the indigenous faiths.
Christian missionaries arrived with or in the wake of British colonisers and since the mid-19th century there has been an effort to try and rid Khasi-Jaintia society of indigenous culture and customs, specifically those tied to Niam Khasi/Niamtre, Nongrum said.
“It is for this reason Seng Khasi and Sein Raij were formed and their objective was to preserve our customs and traditions,” he added.
Nongrum said that after the British left, the indigenous faith holders were able to worship freely and started living peacefully and there have been marriages between people who profess Niam Khasi/Niamtre and Christians and there has been no feeling of differences.
“We respect their religion and they too respect ours,” he said.
However, in 2017 there was suddenly a drift and now there is a feeling of religious differences, starting from Mylliem with the indigenous Seng Khasi facing severe religious tensions over cremation rights and sacred ceremonies.
