Meghalaya: Where Women Rule, And Men Are Suffragettes

By Timothy Allen

In the small hilly Indian state of Meghalaya, a matrilineal system operates with property names and wealth passing from mother to daughter rather than father to son - but some men are campaigning for change.

When early European settlers first arrived here they nicknamed it "the Scotland of the East" on account of its evocative rolling hills.

Coincidentally, today the bustling market in the state capital, Shillong, is awash with tartan in the form of the traditional handloom shawls worn ubiquitously since the autumn chill arrived.

Not far from here the village of Cherrapunji once measured an astonishing 26.5m (87ft) of rain in one year, a fact still acknowledged by the Guinness book as a world record.

But the rainy season is over for the time being and it is Meghalaya's other major claim to fame that I am here to investigate.

Tartan, and pipes, are popular in Shillong

It appears that some age-old traditions have been ruffling a few feathers of late, causing the views of a small band of male suffragettes to gain in popularity, reviving some rather outspoken opinions originally started by a small group of intellectuals in the 1960s.

I am sitting across a table from Keith Pariat, President of Syngkhong-Rympei-Thymmai, Meghalaya's very own men's rights movement.

He is quick to assure me that he and his colleagues "do not want to bring women down," as he puts it. "We just want to bring the men up to where the women are."

Mr Pariat, who ignored age-old customs by taking his father's surname is adamant that matriliny is breeding generations of Khasi men who fall short of their inherent potential, citing alcoholism and drug abuse among its negative side-effects.

"If you want to know how much the Khasis favour women just take a trip to the labour ward at the hospital," he says.

"If it's a girl, there will be great cheers from the family outside. If it's a boy, you will hear them mutter politely that, 'Whatever God gives us is quite all right.'"

Mr Pariat cites numerous examples of how his fellow brethren are being demoralised. These include a fascinating theory involving the way that gender in the local Khasi language reflects these basic cultural assumptions.

"A tree is masculine, but when it is turned into wood, it becomes feminine," he begins.

"The same is true of many of the nouns in our language. When something becomes useful, its gender becomes female.

"Matriliny breeds a culture of men who feel useless."

I talk to Patricia Mukkum, the well-respected editor of Shillong's daily newspaper. She assures me that her heritage is only one of the reasons why she has risen to the level she has and points out that the tradition of excluding women from the political decision making process is still very strong in their culture.

As a mother of children by three different Khasi fathers however, she is the first to admit that their societal anomaly has afforded her ample opportunities to be both a mother and a successful career woman.

Making reference to the routine problems facing women just over the border in West Bengal, Miss Mukkum is resolute.

"Our culture offers a very safe sanctuary for women," she declares.

I decide to see for myself in a remote village in the East Khasi Hills. After two hours walking through thick jungle I meet 42-year-old Mary.

She is a "Ka Khadduh", the youngest daughter in her family and consequently, the one destined to live with her parents until she inherits the family house. Her husband, 36-year-old Alfred, lives with them.

When I talk to her inside their home, Mary tells me that women do not trust men to look after their money so they take control of it themselves. I glance at Alfred for a response but he musters only a smile.

Mary goes on: "Most men in our village leave school early to help their fathers in the fields. This is a great detriment to their education."

I turn to Alfred once more. He responds with another shy smile.

Mary admits she has never heard of the men's right's movement, but thinks the system will never change.

Khasi women are in charge of running the household

Alfred maintains his Mona Lisa smile.

As we are talking, a praying mantis careers into our hut and slams into the side of my head.

After the laughter dies down, I take the opportunity to break the ice with Alfred by pointing out that female mantises eat their mates after sex, making a gesture with my arms mimicking the insect's claws, an action the Khasi called "takor" and one which turns out to be the gesticular equivalent of sticking two fingers up at someone. There is more laughter at my expense.

Forty minutes later however I have yet to get a comment from Mary's husband and all too soon it is time to leave.

I feel that the last word should come from Alfred so I ask my translator to target a simple question directly at him.

"What does he think of the matrilineal system?"

There is a long and considered pause. After what seems like an eternity the silence is finally broken.

"He like," pipes up Mary, and it is time to go.

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Manipur & Its Search For Elusive Justice

By Meenakshi Ganguly

Manipuris want impunity to end. Not only has it shattered any existing faith in the justice system, many feel it has emboldened the security forces to commit further abuses.

Manipuris will soon stand in line to vote for a new state government. As with voters elsewhere, during the campaign they will be promised jobs, development and new infrastructure. The one promise on which successive governments have failed to deliver, however, is one of bringing justice to the people of the state.

Manipur has remained under the stranglehold of abusive armed groups and inept politicians. In each election, the armed groups — and there are many, with a range of political demands, though they are mostly extortion gangs — have called for a boycott of the polls. Those who participate, candidates and voters alike, risk violent attacks.

Things are so bad that earlier this month, all newspapers in Manipur published a blank editorial, in response to threats from armed groups that insist that the newspapers publish their statements. Newspapers face a double whammy: some militants have also demanded that they not publish statements of rival groups.

In the hope that an elected government will finally do its job, that of providing security and upholding fundamental rights, Manipuris have ignored the threats and turned out to vote. Yet, the government has failed to ensure even the most basic rights of life and liberty. Armed groups aside, Manipuris remain at risk of arbitrary arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings by the government’s own security forces.

The state government and local administration have also failed to address grievances that feed public discontent and support for militant groups. All of these problems are made worse, though, by Manipur’s climate of impunity. The Central government, while claiming to be committed to protecting human rights, has largely ignored serious violations by its security forces, at best attributing abuses to a few “bad apples”. But even in cases involving “bad apples”, the government rarely investigates, let alone prosecutes those responsible. Manipuris want impunity to end. Not only has it shattered any existing faith in the justice system, many feel it has emboldened the security forces to commit further abuses. Impunity, fostered both by a lack of political will and by laws shielding the abusers, has led to an atmosphere in which security forces are effectively above the law.

The lack of accountability has become deeply rooted because of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the 1958 emergency law under which the armed forces are deployed in internal conflicts and enjoy broad powers to arrest, search and shoot to kill. The law is widely despised among the population because it provides soldiers who commit atrocities effective immunity from prosecution.

When the Central government isn’t ignoring Manipur, it tries to sweep Manipur’s problems under the carpet. In December, the police in Delhi went so far as to refuse permission for a solidarity protest to support a decade-long hunger fast by Irom Sharmila, who has demanded the repeal of the AFSPA ever since soldiers gunned down 10 civilians in Manipur on November 2, 2000. She is nasally force-fed in judicial custody.

The AFSPA has led to abuses and serious hardships in other parts of the country. In Jammu and Kashmir, the repeal of the law has become a crucial election issue. Chief minister Omar Abdullah has spoken out against it.

But in Manipur, where the law has been in force much longer, political leaders have found neither voice nor wisdom. Irom Sharmila may have become known for her courage and her peaceful endeavour in India and beyond, but in Manipur’s capital, Imphal, the government has ignored her appeal. Instead, Manipuris remain hostage to an Army that claims it cannot operate without the powers and immunity provided by the AFSPA.

Hardly anyone in Manipur disputes that armed groups pose a serious security risk. Last year, two militant groups successfully imposed a three-month economic blockade on the surface supply of goods, crippling the economy and pushing prices out of control. Manipuris want law enforcement, but without human rights abuses or a blank cheque for the security services. The Army’s several decades of deployment in Manipur have not only resulted in widespread abuses but polarised the situation. The Army is damaging its reputation in India and abroad by insisting on protecting perpetrators of human rights abuses.

In 2004, following widespread anger over the custodial killing of a suspect, Manorama Devi, by the Assam Rifles, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Imphal with a promise to review the AFSPA. The review committee — and several other experts since then — recommended repeal of the law. The Army opposes repeal. Now halfway through his second term, Dr Singh has been unable to prevail over his divided Cabinet to deliver on the promise.

Manipur erupts into national news only when the rage brings Manipuris out onto the streets. The Central government takes notice when the Assembly building is burnt down, elderly women strip and invite the Army to rape them as they have raped others, prices become ridiculously high due to weeks of blockade or when mothers and schoolchildren engage in weeks of demonstrations. It should not take such drama for the government to wake up to the problems in this corner of the Northeast.

The writer is the South Asia director at Human Rights Watch

World's Largest Family Meets Governor

Aizawl, Jan 19 : The largest family in the world on Wednesday received a guest in Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman at their home in Baktawng Tlangnuam village.

Purushothaman and his wife had photographic session with Ziona Chana, his 39 wives and children and grandchildren altogether numbering over 160 but staying under one roof.

Ziona, head of the family, which is considered the largest in the world, is also the chief of the Chana religious sect.

C. Lalrinthanga, a leader of the sect, said Ziona also invited the governor for a typical Mizo tea session and organised a cultural show performed by the members of the sect and students of the village.

"The governor was in the village for around two and half hours and seem to enjoy the visit to this picturesque village, known throughout the world due to Ziona," an official accompanying Purushothaman said.

The governor was at Baktawng Tlangnuam during the last leg of his travel through Serchhip district of the state.

Politics Still Male Dominated in Manipur

Imphal, Jan 19 : Manipuri society may be predominantly woman but politics has remained a male bastion for ages. Women voters have outnumbered men since the 1990 polls. But, they have not been able to make their presence felt in the political scenario of this picturesque state in northeast.

Out of a total of 17,40,819 eligible voters, 8,89,497 are women who will decide the fate of 279 candidates, including 14 women aspirants, in the Assembly elections slated for January 28.

Poll officials said there are 14 women candidates of whom 10 are from the four valley districts and the remaining four from the hill districts.

The lone woman legislator O Landhoni, who is the wife of Chief Minister M Ibobi Singh, is contesting as a Congress nominee from her native Khangabok seat in Thoubal district.

In contrast, there were just six women candidates in the last Assembly elections.

L Mema, president of Manipur Keithel Phambi Apunba Lup, a woman vendors' body in IMA Keithel, the biggest of them managed by the fair sex in the region, says women have not dominated politics as they have done in the society because of lack of proper financial support and heavy social responsibilities.

"The women unlike their men counterpart do not resort to muscle and money power to fight the poll," she said.

"There are chances of women winning the poll if there is free and fair poll without the use of money and muscle power," says Mema, leader of Meira Paibi, an anti-liquor body.

So far the Assembly has just seen four women MLAs including sitting member Landhoni with the other former MLAs being Keisham Apabi Dev, Hamingla Shaiza, and Wahengbam Leima Devi.

Except the constituencies of Karong, Tadubi, Kangpooki and Thanlong, female voters outnumber males in all the 60 seats.

"The male dominance in politics apart, the fate of the candidates in the January 28 poll will be decided by women only," says T Nenie Haokip, a woman activist.

This time 14 women candidates including three from Congress, two from Manipur State Congress Party, one each from BJP, CPM and Trinamool Congress, are in the fray against the six in the previous 2007 polls.

Japanese Team Digs Assam’s WW II Cemetery For Remains Of 11 Soldiers

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Guwahati, Jan 19 : A three-member delegation of the Japanese government on Wednesday started digging a special site in the Guwahati War Cemetery to exhume the remains of 11 of its soldiers who perished in World War II in order to take them home for a formal official burial before a reunification with their respective families.

“We have got some data from the Commonwealth War Grave Commission that the Guwahati War Cemetery has graves of 11 Japanese soldiers who died in Northeast India during the Second World War. We propose to take whatever remains we find here for an official burial in our country,” said Ken Miyashita, Deputy Director in the Japanese Foreign Affairs Ministry in Tokyo, who is leading the team.

Half-a-dozen labourers provided by the local administration here dug the whole row of 11 graves up to four feet depth, but no significant remains could be located till sunset on Wednesday. The Japanese officials, however, collected some remains, but refused to comment.

J N Pathak, a local magistrate supervising the digging said nothing can be ascertained unless confirmed by the forensic laboratory. Officials from the archaeology department and forensic science laboratory were also present during the digging which will continue on Thursday too.

The Guwahati War Cemetery, established in 1952 by shifting graves, mostly of soldiers who had died in different hospitals during the War, has 521 graves, 11 of which belong to Japanese soldiers. Others buried or cremated here include 324 British, 143 Indian, 24 Chinese, four Canadian, four South African and one from New Zealand and two unidentified soldiers. This is also the first time that a CWGC cemetery in India is being dug up for relocating a grave.

“We do not have any details about the Japanese soldiers except their names and dates when they died. But, most importantly, the Guwahati War Cemetery is the only Commonwealth War Cemetery in India that has graves of Japanese soldiers,” said Salew Pfotte, regional manager of Commonwealth War Graves Commission. There are altogether nine war cemeteries in India maintained by the CWGC, five of which are in Northeastern India.

The Japanese government had started the process of taking back the graves in November 2010. It was then that a three-member delegation of the Japanese Embassy in India came to Guwahati to inspect the cemetery.

Northeast Emerges As Major Human Trafficking Hub

New Delhi, Jan 19 : Taking advantage of their Mongoloid features, tribal girls from the North-east are trafficked as foreigners at a higher rate, while Assam has emerged as a major source State of the region.

These startling facts have emerged in a day-long review meeting organised by Home Ministry with Anti-Trafficking Nodal Officers of the State to review the progress of anti-human trafficking initiatives taken by the States. Officials from Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram participated in the meeting.

The hill districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao and the tea gardens have emerged as hot spots for trafficking of young boys and girls.

Minor girls from Karbi Anglong were rescued from Apollo Circus. Another batch of minor girls was rescued from Moonlight Circus, said SP Juliet Barua, who is the State’s Nodal Officer.

Nodal officer from Mizoram said that they have managed to rescue four girls from a brothel in Mumbai, where they were sold as foreigners at a higher rate. The kingpin of the racket has been detained and is now serving term in a Mumbai prison.

Sleuths have also managed to rescue four Mizo girls from a spa in Goa along with seven Naga girls, where they were trafficked.

Instance of girls hailing from Myanmar and Bangladesh being trafficked through the North-east have also come to light, said officials.

Additional Secretary, B Bhamthti said a comprehensive scheme ‘Strengthening Law Enforcement Response in India Against Trafficking in Persons Through Training and Capacity Building’, was sanctioned.

It has been proposed to establish 330 Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) throughout the country and impart training to 10,000 police officers through training of trainers component.

The Home Ministry released Rs 8.72 crore as first installment for the year 2010-11, to all the State governments for establishing 115 Anti-Human Trafficking Units. 101 AHTUs have become functional. In 2011-12 110 AHTUs are to be established, she said.

Bird Flu Fears May Make Eggs Cheaper

By Anindita Dey

Mumbai, Jan 19 : Cautious exports due to bird flu fear in Orissa and Meghalaya may result in softening of egg and poultry product prices in the domestic market.

According to industry sources, India has just started receiving orders from West Asia and Saarc countries after the export ban was lifted a month before. However, orders were suspended after bird flu was confirmed in Orissa and Meghalaya. Both states have now put a quarantine procedure in place and started bird culling.

Some hatcheries have reportedly stopped selling in the north-eastern states as a precautionary measure.

As a fallout, industry sources say domestic prices may soften a bit due to an artificial increase in supply in some parts of India, while demand remains the same. “The first impact is that people just stopped buying eggs and poultry on such news. Besides, egg is a perishable commodity. Even if the shelf value is bit longer due to winters, except for very cold places, many parts of India, especially in central western and southern parts, it needs to be sold fast,” added sources.

However this may bring some relief to retail customers, who have witnessed a sharp surge in egg prices in the last few months. From Rs 2 per egg in the beginning of 2011, prices have doubled to Rs 4. In some places, it is even available at Rs 5-6 per egg. In Chennai, reportedly, prices have already been slashed from Rs 3.20 to Rs 2.95 per egg, due to resistance from buyers.

In December, the National Egg Coordination Committee, besides raising prices, had also raised the prices for layer birds to Rs 43 a kg (Rs 38), while the Broiler Co-ordination Committee’s rate for cull birds is up by Rs 9 a kg to Rs 50. According to egg producers, the sharp increase in prices is attributed to the cold wave in north India and cyclone in the south India, which is a hub for poultry. These two factors have led to a decline in production.

In 2008-09, following the outbreak of bird flu in northeast India, the West Asian countries banned poultry products from India and it led to a fall in egg exports, especially from the Namakkal zone in Tamil Nadu, otherwise dubbed as an export hub for poultry.

Currently, while there is no export ban from India, importers are holding back orders and watching the situation, said an egg exporter from India.

Mizo Woman’s Murder Trial Reopens Debate: Live In Relationship

New Delhi, Jan 18 : Terming live-in relationships as an ‘infamous western cultural product’, a city court has observed that these are largely perceived to be immoral and are a ‘fashion statement’ visible only in urban areas.

The observation of the court can largely be seen in contrast to the Supreme Court ruling that legitimised the live-in relationship.

Additional Sessions Judge Surinder S Rathi remarked, “Traditionally speaking, live-in relationships were alien to our nation till late. Even today it is fad which is visible only in urban areas.”

The judge made the remarks while sentencing to a prison term a woman from Mizoram for killing her live-in partner in North Delhi area over three years ago. The court also slapped a fine of Rs seven lakh on Zarzoliani, 28, for stabbing her Nigerian live-in partner to death.

The judge noted, “Lately, not only the Honourable Supreme Court gave a legal cover to this infamous western cultural product but our Parliament also accorded it some degree of protection by including the live-in relationship under the definition of domestic relationships in Section 2 of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.”

The ASJ further said, “Despite all developments granting a level of legal legitimacy to the live-in relationship, it is largely perceived to be an immoral relation in our society.” Zarzoliani had killed Victor Okon Efflong, also 28, as she did not approve of him withdrawing money from her bank account. Zarzoliani once worked in an orphanage in Manipur and had moved in with Victor in his rented apartment in north Delhi near Delhi University.

The court also raised doubts on the approval of live-in relationships by families. Citing an example in this case, the court noted, “There is nothing on record to show if the family of the convict had consented to or was even aware of her having a live-in relationship with the deceased Nigerian national, Victor.”

Zarzoliani was convicted of the unintentional killing of Victor as the court said the act was not premeditated and was executed a fit of rage as it is not known if they had any regular income and Victor’s act of withdrawing money from her account was a ‘spark on a mound of explosives’.

The ASJ also ordered a departmental inquiry by the DCP Central against Kishan Lal, the Investigating Officer of the case for sharing its details with the media during the trial and getting it published like a story in a crime magazine with his photograph which the court said was a move “aimed at self glorification”.

The court has called for an action-taken report within two weeks. The judge ordered that the fine of Rs seven lakh will be remitted to the family of Victor in Nigeria.

Same Story from Hindustan Times:

‘Live-in relationships an urban fad’

Despite legal legitimacy, live-in relationships are largely perceived to be immoral and it is a fad visible only in urban areas, a Delhi court observed on Tuesday while dubbing it as “infamous western cultural product”. In remarks that may stoke a controversy, Additional Sessions Judge

Surinder S Rathi said, “Traditionally speaking, live-in relationships were alien to our nation till late. Even today, it is fad which is visible only in urban areas.”
The judge made the observations while handing down a seven-year jail term and a fine of Rs 7 lakh to a woman hailing from Mizoram for killing her live-in partner, a Nigerian national, in north Delhi over three years back.

“Lately, not only the Supreme Court gave a legal cover to this infamous western cultural product but our Parliament also accorded some degree of protection by including live-in relationship under definition of domestic relationships as defined in Section 2 of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,” he noted.

Rathi also said that “despite all the developments granting a level of legal legitimacy to live-in relationship, it is largely perceived to be an immoral relation in our society.”

The case pertains to 28-year-old Zarzoliani stabbing her live-in partner Victor Okon Efflong, 28, to death in 2008 as she did not approve his withdrawing money from her bank account.

Zarzoliani once worked in an orphanage in Manipur and had moved in with Victor in his rented apartment in north Delhi near Delhi University.

The court noted that “there is nothing on record to show if family of the convict had consented to or was even aware of convict having a live-in relationship with the deceased Nigerian national Victor.”

Zarzoliani was convicted for unintentional killing of Victor as the court said the act was not premeditated and was executed in heat of the moment as it is not known if they had any regular income and Victor’s act of withdrawing money from her account was a “spark on mound of explosives”.

Rathi also ordered a departmental enquiry by DCP Central against the Investigating Officer of the case, Kishan Lal, for sharing the details of the case with the media during the trial and getting it published like a story in a crime magazine with his photograph, which the court called a move “aimed at self glorification”.

The judge directed that the fine of Rs 7 lakh will be remitted to the the family of Victor in Nigeria. In case, she does not pay, she will have to undergo simple imprisonment for another one year.