Meghalaya: District council to introduce Bill changing age-old Khasi matrilineal inheritance custom

The Khasis are a matrilineal society and trace inheritance and descent through the mother’s clan.

“In the Khasi custom, the youngest daughter inherits all the property of the parents. As a result, the siblings (not just boys, but eldest girl siblings too), do not get their share,” KHADC chief Titosstarwell Chyne told The Indian Express, adding that it had resulted in a “lot of problems”.

“Many times, boys are 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.”

While “equitable distribution” of ancestral property is the “main objective” of the Bill, Chyne said that another provision will let parents decide who they want to will their property to. “One more provision will prevent a sibling from getting parental property if they marry a non-Khasi and accept the spouse’s customs,” he said.

If it is put into effect, the proposed Bill would make a rare, significant alteration in an age-old, tribal practice of Meghalaya.

Commentators in Meghalaya say that it is too early to say whether such a Bill will actually be made into a legislation as the process is long-drawn and may draw opposition. Moreover, even if the KHADC does pass it, Paragraph 12A of the Sixth Schedule says that the right of passing a district council law ultimately rests with the state legislature.