Thomas Jones the father of Khasi Alphabet has been heralded as an individual who came to the hills to “enlighten, to unite, to empower, to promote and to protect the Khasis.”
Khasi Authors’ Society (KAS) president Dr. DRL Nonglait while speaking on the eve of celebration of Thomas Jones Day at St. Edmund’s College, said, “Therefore, when he came as a foreigner to the Khasi hills he could be called a “colonised-coloniser.” He came from an oppressed nation, to promote and protect the Khasis who were another colonized nation under the same powerful rulers, the English.”
The function was organised by KAS in collaboration with Khasi Department of St. Edmund’s College.
Nonglait said that the Khasis used to call the English foreigners, who came to Khasi hills, “Phareng”. But they distinguished between the “Welsh foreigners” and the “English foreigners”.
He said that the English were colonialists who came to rule, to destroy the country, to destroy and plunder wealth.
According to the KAS president, Thomas Jones, whom the Khasi call the “Welsh foreigner”, was persecuted by the English from Wales.
Nonglait also said that the Englishmen threatened him, but he did not surrender because he believed in the sovereignty of God.
He said that Thomas Jones, although he died in his middle age, on September 16, 1849 in Kolkata, as a result of the persecution of his enemies, his ministry was successful.
The KAS president said that Thomas Jones’ mission strategy is for the welfare of the whole human being – physical, mental and spiritual.
“Although he was a Christian missionary, his work was not limited to preaching. Together with two Khasi elders, Duwanrai and Junkha, he wrote Khasi scripts; he was the first Khasi writer, the founder of Primary Schools,” Nonglait said.
The KAS president said that Duwanrai and Junkha did not found their due place in history because it was written by the British, who did not want to credit the locals.
According to him Thomas Jones tried to uplift the economic conditions of the Khasis by teaching coal burning, cutting with a saw and other methods of work.
Furthermore, Nonglait also said that when the Khasi were persecuted by the British, he stood on the side of the locals to defend their rights.
The KAS president stated that Thomas Jones should deservedly be considered the father of the Khasi alphabet, the founder of Khasi literature and the founder of primary schools.
“Are there any gifts that are more precious to the Khasi people than these? If we don’t have these weapons, the Khasi people will disappear from the face of the earth. Therefore, Thomas Jones deserves the memory and respect of the Khasi and Pnar forever,” Nonglait said.
Earlier in his address Principal Secretary Arts and Culture Frederick Kharkongor said the Khasi literature is very rich, and it is being improved.
He urged the Society to take advantage of the digital platform to promote Khasi language keeping in mind that in the digital age, Khasi is now on Google translate as well.
Kharkongor added that the government of India has launched the Bhashini project where Khasi language is also being included in the digital translation, and he observed that this will be a major step for the Khasi Authors’ Society and the state as a whole to incorporate Khasi in the eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
He urged the Society to leverage technology to promote Khasi language, to spread the Khasi folktales, and to incorporate in the digital repository, where others can also access to gain knowledge and understanding of Khasi language.
Speaking about the Khasi dictionary which is being refined, Kharkongor said that having a digital repository of the dictionary will be beneficial for many, including youngsters.
Others who spoke on the day-long programme were Rev. Dr A.I. Kharshiing and Fr Barnes Mawrie.
