By Gregory Shullai
If ever there was a battle of the roses in these parts of the world, this is it; a constitutional authority versus an indigenous one. Our image of the tasks men are called upon to undertake are usually abstracted from the actions of those that went before them and who, we feel, thought in a manner that is closest to our kind of thinking in the way they got things done. There is no set formula for the way things must be handled by a Headman or a Syiem Raid (sometimes referred to as a Chieftain) therefore there have been numerous directions taken by our indigenous leaders based on certain personal philosophical seriousness that the individual relied upon and which could never find one hundred percent common satisfaction among those that he represented, and therefore he is required time and time again to face the naked truth without fear of what the consequences might be. Basically, he might even be required to be partial in certain cases, wanting nothing else but the peace of the people he represents: and that’s an incongruous task. There can be no doubt that a solution to the way the things are to be handled by our indigenous heads is not found in encyclopaedic studies and this is what drives them into the practice of strict balancing and counterbalancing of their strategies. All in all, their refuge is in the goal or the outcome of what they do. Things have to be settled by being both objective and subjective simultaneously, and in these circumstances, one is honest with oneself either with a sense of shame or with vanity or a little of both.
I have always found that as a headman it is better to consider individual ways of getting things done, because individual youthfulness of action has a greater right to the vigour that is required in handling current locality and public matters than the set prescriptions that one might find in research or in an academic thesis, which do indeed still continue robustly on their way but repeatedly show here and there the tired features of old age. As a rule, the headmen I know interact with discounts; they seek solutions to their problems in the most democratic way and that earns them the gratitude and the sympathy of the people they represent, even at a loss to themselves if the need arises.
I shall be careful not to offer any prescriptions to overcome the problem that we headmen are facing with the recent Bill passed by the KHADC, because there are scores who palpably understand this problem and the solution a hundred times better than I do – the perfect solution included. In these circumstances being in Shillong is the best place to be because it gives me the greatest pleasure to know that there are many headmen in Shillong who know exactly how we should handle this derecognition of the headmen in land matters by the KHADC Bill. As regards the exchanges that are ongoing at the moment the KHADC is still standing by its logic to derecognize the headmen and the Chieftains in matters of the transfer of Shnong and Raid land respectively and have even gone a step further by virtue of which a ceiling has been fixed on the extent of land that can be acquired for private purposes from guest houses to Institutes, etc. In essence what the Bill aims at achieving is (as stated by the leader of the Voice of the People’s Party (VPP) which has been posted online) is that in the sale and purchase of land the Headmen or the Chieftain, as the case may be, will no longer be consulted and any consultations will be directly with the people. It sounds perfect, but as far as the headmen and the Chieftains are concerned this Bill amounts to a departure from our basic nature. The amendment is an attack on the headmen and the Chieftains and there is nothing ambiguous about that. It paints all present headmen as irresponsible individuals whereas the truth is that the headmen have always stood firmly within the bounds of customary law and nothing else. Yes, the objection here is altogether necessary because the KHADC is laying hold of the most important aspect of our cultural inheritance and is calling for a total revamping of our ancient customs and customary practices with a general pettiness and obtuseness of politics which can only cause the highest problems to the Khasis as a race in the future. As a group, the headmen feel that there is no personal hostility to anyone in this Bill but that it is an affront on the cultural heritage of the Khasis as a nation and that the leaders in the KHADC are simply deaf and blind to everything that is at stake, consequently the target of their (KHADC) hostility is against the Khasi culture.
Sometimes in politics and especially in some politicians there suddenly appear rough and violent and impetuous spirits who are essentially backward; they bring into the present the barbaric phase of mankind and then there are those from the old culture who would like nothing to do with such people who believe in progress through politics (the new culture) and given the situation that our politics has turned out to be – they are right. The old culture has its goodness and greatness behind it and history compels any learned person to admit that it can never again be replicated…it can only be preserved in the form it is in and that is saying a lot of the need for the Khasis to perpetuate and reinvent the system of headmen and Chieftains in their culture so that the system meets the growing needs of the people in a world that is being dominated more and more by politics and politicians. And who else than themselves to keep the momentum going whether it be in local governance, transfer of land, interaction with political leaders, morality, etc.
When those upon whom the responsibilities of the old culture vow not to play any part in the politics of the present day, they are correct. They know that the old culture has greatness and goodness behind it and that the people are where they are because of it – traditions are not something fresh, they are old time tested and proven ways unlike our politically drafted Acts and Rules. To deny this fact requires an intolerable obtuseness and an equally insufferable possession of some unearthly logic. It is not wrong to say that men, and politicians in particular, can consciously decide to develop things because of a vested interest whereas formerly our culture developed unconsciously and with no vested interest in mind – the conscious culture kills the unconscious one. Look around you mankind has taken the unconscious plant life to a consciously new level that threatens the very health of men with genetically modified plants. We must not let this happen with our culture. I mean to say that it is premature and nonsensical to say that progress must of necessity come about through this Bill, I’m not denying it either, what I want is that we follow our ancient time-tested ways in going about any changes that are necessary, because progress in the sense of old ways, and by means of it, is not even integrated in this Bill. Why were the headmen and the chieftains not consulted if this Bill was supposed to be in the interest of the Khasi race? We can imagine that this Bill means progress with regard to its goal however that image is borrowed from the image that politically maneuvered Bills have always had and in this sense, the Bill lacks all originality, and therefore must be labelled as nothing short of a “vested interest.”
Perhaps I do not belong to the orthodox breed of headmen…the kind that have predictable ways in getting things done and who seem to carry with them the stamp of “I Am a Leader.” They are the ones who go about their duty without the slightest tremor of doubt treating a challenge as nothing more than child’s play. Every now and then we come across such stalwarts and immediately notice the fundamental difference between one who is an instinctive and a powerful leader whom nature has blessed and created as compared to one who has found his way through it being forced upon him or through politicking which he himself does not trust, but uses nonetheless to confuse and cheat and distract people from the reality of what society is going through.
I wouldn’t be wrong when I say that with the experience gained in the places from where they come our traditional leaders already have behind them some of the most testing things in life, even though it may only be later in life that they accomplish things that radiate the value of their experiences. There is no doubt that people extract what is useful from the events and experiences of living and thinking and these experiences embed themselves in the heart and soul of the individual and under no circumstance does the soul ever relinquish these experiences, so that when the individual crosses the threshold of that stage in life and when personal distractions are extinguished the individual is once again under the grip of the heritage he received during his younger days – the heritage to discern between good and not good and it is this knowledge and experience that builds leadership qualities in an individual. This is the basis upon which the Khasi people have always chosen their headmen and I daresay still choose their headmen to this day. Political leaders are another brand altogether, a brand that comes from building up a thick skin that is capable of being able to bear the most degrading and humiliating insults during an election campaign. How could the truly great men submit to the indignities and indecencies of an election?
It is often said that politics brings the most mediocre men and women to the fore and that with power gained from politics they become perfect instruments. Under the circumstances that gave rise to this Bill we can only wonder whose hand is wielding the instrument? What our headmen are doing is seeking to maintain our indigenous inclinations and endeavours from being overrun by random political interference and rigidity of the interpretations of the Sixth Schedule. Our headmen have given up on other matters in cognizance of maintaining our traditions and safeguarding our Khasi customary laws. They still believe that God, (UBlei U Nongbuh U Nongthaw) is guiding the destiny of the Khasi people as a whole, and that despite the apparent twists and turns that they are facing, the path that the old ways lead to is something glorious.
