UPSC Articles
Matrilineal Meghalaya to give land rights to men
Part of: Prelims and GS I – Society
Context Matrilineal Meghalaya is set to break the tradition of parents hand down a major share of parental property to the khatduh, which means the youngest daughter in the Khasi language.
- The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) is scheduled to introduce the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Khasi Inheritance of Property Bill, 2021, for equal distribution of parental property among siblings, both male and female.
- The bill will enable equitable distribution of property among the heirs irrespective of gender.
- The Bill also has a provision for denying share of property to any ward who marries a non-tribal and accepts the culture and tradition of his or her spouse.
About the tradition of the Khasis
- Khasis – who account for Meghalaya’s largest ethnic community – are one of the last existing matrilineal societies in the world.
- Here, children receive their mother’s last name, husbands move into their wife’s home, and the youngest daughters inherit the ancestral property.
- Khasi is used as an umbrella phrase to refer to many subgroups in Meghalaya who have distinguishing languages, rites, ceremonies, and habits, but share an ethnic identity as Ki Hynniew Trep (The Seven Huts).
