On the Future of Indigenous Traditions - Munin

5.3.1. Adivasi customary system in a more developed form
In chapter four there was a reference made to the Khasi’s customary system and its
customary leaders’ role in the joint forest management of the state. It would be worth
bringing forward some of its functioning to learn from it, as it is on a more advanced
level in its operation than those of Adivasis in Jharkhand.
In Meghalaya state there are three Hill District Councils for the Khasis, Garos and
Jaintias. These tribal communities are also among the Scheduled Tribes of India but
their areas are marked as Tribal Areas which falls under the Sixth Schedule of the
Constitution. Ritwick Dutta 145 explains that the customary institution among the
Khasis represented by the Syiemship, “is in fact one of the most important element
that held the Khasi society together, since they were traditional rulers of the Khasi
Hills.” Among them not only is the customary institution responsible for managing
their communities but also their land and forest resources. Dutta informs that Syiems
had lost their political importance to the British, but retained their position as an
administrative entity with the focus on perpetuating cultural and customary practices
of the Khasis. Dutta, while explaining the issue of forest resource management
particularly makes a number of references to how the Syiems are involved in the
management of their ‘Raid Forests’ in Khasi Hills. In his paper, however, the focus is
not on the Syiems institution, but his presentation indicates its strong influence on the
government policy in its management. Dutta says, “In reality, the Syiems ignore all
the rules made by the Council, they in fact have their own Forest Department which
deals with the issuing of permits, statement of disputes and control of forest.” Here
the District Council (DC) made rules, saying the Syiems should retain a portion of the
royalties collected by them to the Council. Moreover, the DC has “not converted or
treated the Syiemship as administrative units nor entrusted them with special
functions”, yet the Syiems continue to function according to their customs and
traditions. The customary systems of the Garos and Jaintias are not very different
from Syiems in principal and function similarly.
145 Ritwick Dutta, “Community Managed Forest: Law, Problems and Alternatives”
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00000815/00/duttar020402.pdf , (10th July 2006).
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