Up-Rooting Colonial Boundaries: Narratives From Jaintiapur and the Southern Khasi Chiefdoms

Presenter:

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Abstract

Meghalaya, a state in North-East India is inhabited by the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo indigenous communities. Based on their geographical settlement, the British eventually categorized the highlands as the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo hills respectively. Upon signing the Instrument of Accession in 1947-48, it was recorded that twenty-five independent Khasi Chiefs (out of which two were forced) joined the Indian Republic. Coming to the Southern region of Meghalaya, Jaintiapur, as well as the number of Khasi Chiefdoms, shared a border with Sylhet in Northern Bangladesh. Therefore, the history of the Khasi-Jaintia communities inhabiting the southern foothills can/should never be studied in isolation, an error seen committed by many scholars researching on the various tribes on North-East India. The Khasi-Jaintia for centuries were engaged in brisk socio-economic relations with Sylhet and other neighbouring hill communities. On a personal note, my paternal family hails from Wahlong, a village (once chiefdom) that bordered Bangladesh. This paper, therefore, will briefly discuss the history of political and socio-economic relations between Wahlong and the plains of Bangladesh during the colonial and post-colonial period. The paper will also bring to light the consequences of drawing the Radcliffe line (a colonial boundary based on separatist ideas) across the region in 1947. Shifting the focus from Punjab and Bengal, Partition experiences concerning the hardships of my grandmother and other indigenous communities of North-East India deserves much more academic attention in the overall understanding of Partition Studies in the Indian Subcontinent.