By Pynshai Joel Dkhar
How the fight for a nation’s backbone has brought unity to residents of a region is an account worth passing on from generation to the next.
Since 1972, the residents of Langpih and its neighboring villages have been in the wilderness, not only literally but metaphorically as well. The sorry plight of its residents reflected in their tattered clothes or as one of its oldest residents says, “Their clothes were more patched than sewn.” This destitution was not a result of unemployment or indolence. People worked on the fertile lands of the region, on plantations or farming of certain fruits endemic to the region like mandarins and pineapples. An alternate source would be trading at Hahim, a village in Kamrup District of Assam, but that too was hindered by the lack of proper transport services. Transporting goods on horseback was possible only during the dry season but during the monsoon season; people struggled to even fulfill their daily meals. Travelling on foot from one place to another was certainly a feat that only some could accomplish even without bearing any burden. It was, therefore, almost an impossibility to transport goods on impoverished backs through muddy and slippery summer paths. Sadly, to the residents of this area, the thought of any road existing in the region – kutcha or pukka, was laughed off as a far off dream where even the gods couldn’t guarantee for.
As it usually is, the divine never pays a deaf ear to the complaints of mortals. In the year 2008, to everyone’s surprise, under the leadership of Mr K.P. Pangniang, a group of distinguished men, arrived to build a road from Khliehthawiar to Langpih. The awe – struck residents took no time to come to their wits and united as one to help in constructing the road. It wouldn’t be right to say that it was a smooth process. Despite the challenging topography of the region, there wasn’t any obstacle that hindered the progress of the construction from Khliehthawiar to Mawlan B. On reaching Mawlan B, at the junction leading to Umtap, disruptions started to happen. One unexpected morning, the Assam police with a group of Nepalis holding iron clubs or iron rods in their hands and the then service Gaon Bura of the Nepalis approached the construction area. There was a huge hue and cry whereby the men, women and the youth from six villages in and around this area came out to unanimously demand the reason behind the sudden arrival of the said group from Assam. A group of Khasi women cornered the Gaon Bura to enquire who he was and why he was there. Mischievous as they were, they poked at him with safety pins to drag any answers out of him. Embarrassed to be cornered by women, he was left to be in a state of discomfiture. The hot – headed youths were ready for fist fights and violence but they were stopped by the elderly men of these villages. Meanwhile, the engineer with his group of workers, were suddenly stopped by the group of Nepali’s but they were advised by the villagers to continue working on the construction and not to listen to the brawls between the two squabbling sides. It was only after mid – noon when the Assam police with its group left that the crowd dispersed from the area. Even though tired and hungry, the villagers left home with a sense of accomplishment since their united stand had paid off.
As the construction of the road continued, one could only wonder at how enthusiastic and eager the villagers were to complete it. The repine for a better livelihood, a hopeful bright future, perhaps for the generations to come, fuelled the youth of these villages to volunteer in the construction. They wasted no sweat and toiled as a united body to complete digging drain channels all the way from Mawlan to Nongma. At Nongma, though, a group of fifty volunteers were kept in relays to oversee the work of the ‘bulldozers’ (excavators).
The atmosphere of joy radiated on everyone’s faces even on the women who no longer feared the opposing forces of the Assam police. Ironic as it might have seemed, the dust and the dirt at the construction site beckoned at the awe – stricken residents who spent hours of their time admiring the process.
At Langpih, when Mr Hopingstone Lyngdoh, the paramount figure for the fight for Khasi Jaintia State, another instance of a fierce display of power by the Assam police happened. This time though, there were no women hiding behind their jaiñkyrshah but women who challenged the infiltrators by climbing, and clinging on trucks laden with policemen, just to chase them away from the village. Their firm grasps were no doubt a symbol of resilience against power shown on lands that weren’t their own. Of course, there was a huge sigh of relief and empowerment when the villagers saw the advent of their then MDC, Mr K.P.Pangniang to interfere on their behalf.
The rough road, rustic or however it might have been, became a blessing to the people of the region. Upgrading the kutcha road to pucca, was a feat of the continuous appeal of the then MDC with a few of the earliest settlers of the region, to the District Commissioner of West Khasi Hills.
With the presence of proper road infrastructure in Langpih, the advent of knowledge gradually started changing young minds of the region. Education has played an important role in changing the mindset of the people of Langpih and its neighbouring villages.
The Raid Mynsaw Upper Primary School was established in 1964. With a humble beginning, it was gradually upgraded to the secondary level. Grants from the government helped the school grow. The earliest initiative to help the school was taken by the venerable Shri Hopingstone Lyngdoh, lovingly known to the people as ‘Maieid’, who was the then MLA of Nongstoin constituency. Strenuous efforts by the then MDC of Rambrai-Jyrngam Constituency, Shri K.P. Pangniang, to bring the school to its present status is also something to be acknowledged. The then Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Shri Donkupar Roy, various organizations and groups have throughout the years have played important roles in the advancement of the school to its grand height.
Opinions about the success of the school may vary, but taking to consideration the location, the tumultuous events that have taken place in the region from time to time, the Raid Mynsaw School, has become a beacon of light in the midst of chaos, struggle, unrest, ignorance and abject poverty. Juxtaposed against the far advanced neighbouring schools of Assam, it has withstood derogation and criticism and produced meritorious students in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examinations. The fact that it has catered to students of various ethnicities is a feat unto itself. Nepali students achieving distinctions in subjects like Khasi at the SSLC level, radiates so much pride in how far the school has come and how much potential it has to positively change Langpih in general and the region as a whole.
Bloodshed is not blood wasted: Acts of valor can wake up a people from its complacency. On May 14, 2010, a dispute between the migrant Nepali people and the local Khasi and Garo peoples began after the Nepali people claimed the local “hat” (weekly) market in the area. The Assam Police were called in, firing on the Khasi, killing 4 – Columbus Hujon, Charles Lyngkhoi, Dennis Nongsiej and Ekros Rani and injuring some fourteen to twenty others.
This incident is deeply etched in the minds of the ones who were its first – hand witnesses, wives, aunts, mothers, children of the ones gunned down for standing to protect their own land. It should also be a reminder to a ‘jaitbynriew’ that has buried itself so deep in complacency, to wake up and stand for what is honourable.
A conversation over a delicious cup of tea with the elderly people of the particular village reveals that the residents of the border area want peace, and they have high hope and confidence that the present Government will bring a once and for all solution to this long pending issue.
