The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council Chief Executive member H S Shylla has said whoever takes surname from the father’s side would lose his tribal identity.

This is bad news for the Synkhon Ka Rympei Thymmai, which has been advocating for taking up father’s surname. Meghalaya follows the matrilineal system where the surname is taken up from the mother’s side.

However, there is a movement initiated by the Synkhon Ka Rympei Thymmai to discard the matrilineal system and follow the patriarchal system. Shylla also said the children born out of wedlock of a tribal and non-tribal couple would be considered a tribal and would get all the benefits of a schedule tribe.

He said the district council has the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council Khasi Social Custom of Lineage Act 1997 and according to the Act, the offspring of a tribal and a non-tribal is considered a tribal. He asserted that “if a woman is a tribal, her offspring can claim scheduled tribe status.” The decision of the district council to continue with the act by according the schedule tribe status to the children born out of non-tribal father and tribal mother is contradictory to the Supreme Court ruling that children born out of the non-tribal father and tribal mother cannot be treated as a tribal.

Shylla said the SC ruling is applicable only to the Oraon tribe which has a patriarchal system unlike in Meghalaya which follows a matrilineal system. However, acting on the Supreme Court ruling the Income Tax department has decided not to allow exemption of income tax to children born out of wedlock of non-tribal father and tribal mother.

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