Kyndiah’s son not a Khasi, rules Khasi district council

The organisation claimed that as Waibha was not using his mother’s surname, which is mandatory to be recognised as a Khasi (Khasi is a matrilineal society), he ceased to be from the tribe, under Section 10 of KHADC (Khasi Social Custom of Lineage) Act 1997.

The order said, “Waibha K Kyndiah has violated Section 3 of the Act and according to Section 10, he ceases to be a Khasi.”

The case is also scheduled to be heard on Tuesday by the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner to decide on whether Waibha is a Khasi and an ST.

Waibha is the Congress’s candidate from Nongkrem constituency, which is reserved seat for the ST. KHADC Chief Executive member (CEM) H S Shylla had also applied for the party ticket from the same constituency but was overlooked. Shylla has accused P R Kyndiah of using his influence to get the party ticket for his son. He raised the issue of Waibha not being a Khasi and therefore not eligible to contest from the Nongkrem constituency.

The KHADC Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) had some days ago replaced Shylla with C B Syiem as its leader and virtually thrown him out from the post of the CEM.

A formal KHADC session will be held to elect Syiem as the next CEM.

When contacted, Waibha said he’s very much a Khasi and the final authority to decide his ST status is the Deputy Commissioner.