The Daughters of Himalaya

The seven states of North East are also known as ‘ the seven sisters’. This makes them a family unit in the foothills of the Himalayas.  But once you visit the North East you will realize that only 6 of these states are sisters. The 7^th state, Assam is more like an elder brother who flexes his muscles occasionally and even resorts to bullying sometimes.

The six sisters are quite similar and it’s hard to reach each one’s home. They have traditionally had no ports to reach them and are ‘landlocked’ to date.  In many ways, being ‘landlocked’ has been a blessing for them, as they remain untouched by the negatives of development. These places may not be connected to the world or the rest of India by ports but other means such as roads, railways and flights are slowly connecting them. Satellite, other communication technologies and the Internet have helped the gradual development of these regions in the past few years. That in turn has raised the aspirations of the population living in these states. But opportunities are still scarce and infrastructure is weak which makes them unable to tap their natural potential and hence fulfill their aspirations.  That is perhaps why disappointment has been on a rise in these states. The rise in disappointment is a long and complex debate and we can talk about in another time.

Typically these states are adorned with small but lush, life-giving mountains. There are small and tiny villages, cradled in the lap of the Himalayas. Even villages with average household count of 25 are kilometers apart from each other. The women in these villages are more hardworking than the men. But their society has traditionally been patriarchal in nature.

Of these 7 states, Meghalaya is the only state that has a matriarchal society.  Here, the son or daughter of the family are not known by their father’s name, but are known because of their mother. It is not the woman who leaves her home post marriage, but the man that leaves his family, moves into the bride’s house and become a a part of her family.

The daughters of the house inherit family money and property as opposed to the common male-dominated power structure in a patriarchal society. In Meghalaya, if a son is incapable or unable to earn his livelihood and look after himself, the women in the family support him. It’s the women who jointly decide on providing such a man, requisite land to earn his living and support himself and his family. But the ownership rights still remain with the daughters of the house.  In Meghalaya, the younger daughter of the family is responsible for her parents and family.

When you drive down to Meghalaya, you may not see anything unique on the surface. It’s a common sight to see women running shops across the North East. Meghalaya looks similar. It’s when you connect with the people and understand their customs that you realize that Himalaya loves his daughters, not just Ganga and Parvati, but Meghalaya’s daughters too.