Polity update - Khasi Inheritance of Property Bill, 2021

A new Bill in Meghalaya is attempting to change a customary matrilineal practice of property sharing.

Polity update - Khasi Inheritance of Property Bill, 2021

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• The story: In October 2021, a district autonomous council (DAC) in Meghalaya said it would introduce the ‘Khasi Inheritance of Property Bill, 2021, aimed at “equitable distribution” of parental property among siblings in the Khasi community. The Bill would modify an age-old customary practice of inheritance of the matrilineal Khasi tribe. This brings into focus the practice of matriliny in Meghalaya.
• Matriliny in Meghalaya: The three tribes of Meghalaya — Khasis, Jaintias, and Garos — practise a matrilineal system of inheritance.

1. The lineage and descent are traced through the mother’s clan (not father's).
2. Children take the mother’s surname, the husband moves into his wife’s house, and the youngest daughter (khatduh) of the family is given the full share of the ancestral — or the clan’s — property.
3. The khatduh becomes the “custodian” of the land, and takes all responsibility associated with the land, including taking care of aged parents, unmarried or destitute siblings.
4. Custom says the khatduh cannot sell the property, without permission of her mother’s brother (maternal uncle) — since he technically belongs to the mother’s clan, through which descent is traced.
5. Self-acquired property can be distributed equally among siblings. If a couple does not have any daughters, then the property goes to the wife’s elder sister, and her daughters. If the wife does not have sisters, then the clan usually takes over the property.

• Women empowerment: Activists have pointed out that the matrilineal system in Meghalaya rarely empowers women. Why so?

1. Custodianship is often wrongly understood as ownership vested in just one person, i.e. the youngest daughter. This custodianship comes with the responsibility to care for aged parents, unmarried or destitute siblings and other clan members.
2. The custodian cannot buy or sell the land, without taking permission from her maternal uncle. The property is in the hands of the family or the clan, and the woman cannot make a decision on the property without consulting her maternal uncles. Studies show only about 35 to 38 per cent of women own property in the state, and most property is clan property or community property.
3. People confuse matrilineal with matriarchal, where women function as heads. While women may have freedom of mobility and easier access to education, they are not decision makers in Meghalaya. There are barely any women in positions of power, in politics, or heading institutions. In fact, the Dorbar Shnong (traditional Khasi village governing bodies) debar women from contesting elections.

• What may change now: The Bill is yet to reach the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), and its provisions have not been made public. The framers claim their goals as “equitable distribution” of parental property among siblings – both male and female. Another provision would let parents decide who they want to will their property to. The third provision would prevent a sibling from getting parental property if they marry a non-Khasi and accept the spouse’s customs and culture.

1. The logic being given is that boys are sometimes not able to take loans because there is no collateral to show. Sometimes, when a couple has no children, and there is no genuine heir, the clan takes over the property, as per custom. It leads to a number of litigations by children against their parents.
2. Over the years, a few groups have protested the system of property inheritance, saying it “disinherits” men, and pressed for equitable property distribution between all children in the family.

• Constitutional position: The KHADC is a body under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, and does not have the power to legislate. Paragraph 12 A of the Sixth Schedule gives the final right of passing a law to the state legislature.
• Those who support: Some say that hopefully bestowing property rights equally on all children will also further and make caring for the aged and destitute in our society a shared responsibility. But the defining organising principles of Khasi matrilineal society, namely lineage and inheritance needs to be protected. There was growing landlessness among the Khasi community, and 70 per cent of Khasi families are property-less.
• EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the differences between matriarchal societies and matrilineal ones. (2) What are the pros and cons being expressed about the new Bill by a district autonomous council (DAC) in Meghalaya (the ‘Khasi Inheritance of Property Bill, 2021)? Explain in brief.

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