Jaintia and Garo Hills District Councils Show Total Support for the Khasi Lineage Bill

The Lineage Bill is being supported jointly by the district councils of Jaintia and Garo Hills and expresses that they are on the same page on this issue. To show their joint support for the bill, the chief executive members of Jaintia and Garo Hills autonomous district councils were together in Shillong for meeting Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

The leaders of both the district councils stated how similar they think on this matter being established by the Lineage bill. They also informed that the Jaintia Hills council “is on the process to pass a bill similar to the Khasi Lineage Bill of the KHADC.” According to this bill, a woman who decides to a man outside the community will be stripped of their tribal status. Moreover, the council even demands to dismiss the constitutional rights of those children who take birth out of the wedlock between a tribal woman and an outsider.

If this bill is being passed then this is certain that no Khasi or Jaintia woman will be willing to marry a person outside their community as that will mean scrapping off their original identity and inherited properties.

KHADC chief HS Shylla, who stirred controversy by passing the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Khasi Social Custom of Lineage) (Second Amendment) Bill 2018, further mentioned that the act of returning the Garo codification bill by the former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma “illegal”.

He said, “The chief minister cannot do that. It is the governor who will return the bill and not the chief minister.”

GHADC chief Dipul Marak said, “The bill was passed but the state government did not forward to the governor but returned to the district councils. The bill also contains a clause which bars Garo women from marrying a non-tribal.”