Editor, It was a coincidence that I read the letter to the editor (ST June1, 2026) by B Dutta on the loss of forest cover around Shillong.

I am currently on a short visit to Shillong, my birthplace and also where I grew up. I left Shillong in 1968 and am now based at Bangalore. On Monday morning I went for a walk to the Golf Course area and noticed the unmindful and systematic degradation of the greenery and the ugly concrete structures that deface the entire area. I clearly recall how green and forested the area used to be during the 1960s. While development must happen, those governing the state must apply their minds to balance development with ecology. I am distressed that this is happening to Shillong. I also know that Mr Dutta's grievances and my own disappointment at what I saw on this visit will hardly matter because what matters ultimately is money power and the corruption prevalent in our society today.
Yours etc.,
Dr HK Roychoudhury,
Camp: Shillong

A Wild Goose Chase: Tribal Edition

Editor,
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma recently announced the state government would fund a research project to study the origins of the Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo tribes. According to him, this comprehensive study will involve "DNA mapping, along with the study of linguistic and cultural linkages," and is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete. At first glance, this appears to be a commendable effort to preserve indigenous heritage. However, a closer analysis reveals a troubling narrative: a potentially wasteful expenditure of public money on a project of questionable academic value, led by a provincial academic apparatus that has yet to demonstrate world-class calibre.
The central flaw of this project is that it is a redundant research question. The origins of the Austroasiatic (Khasi-Jaintia) and Tibeto-Burman (Garo) populations are not the mysterious black box that some people pretend it to be. Decades of peer-reviewed research in linguistics, anthropology, and population genetics have already provided robust, evidence-based conclusions.
Linguistically, the Khasi language belongs to the Khasic branch of Austroasiatic languages. Genetically, multiple high-resolution studies have confirmed that the Khasi and Garo tribes carry distinct lineages. Studies clearly show that the Khasi predominantly carry a marker deeply associated with the Austroasiatic migration from Southeast Asia, while the Garo carry lineages common in East and Southeast Asia. Anthropologically, the matrilineal system of the Khasis, while unique within India, has parallels in pockets of Southeast Asia and has been documented exhaustively since the colonial era. What new "facts" could a two-year DNA mapping project possibly uncover that global science hasn't already clarified? Unless the government expects to find evidence of an Atlantis-like origin or a direct lineage to Martians, this is an exercise in academic redundancy. Spending public funds to replicate established findings is not research; it is an expensive form of intellectual wheel-carting.
The most indefensible aspect of this project is its opportunity cost. Meghalaya is not a state with limitless resources. According to numerous respected Central Government agencies and research bodies, Meghalaya has consistently struggled with HDIs such as healthcare access and educational outcomes. The Ministry of Education recently brought out a survey that highlights Meghalaya's poor ranking in school retention rates and high rates of rural unemployment. Every rupee spent on this tribal origin study is a rupee diverted from improving a government school classroom in a remote village in West Jaintia Hills, from purchasing medicines for a primary health centre in South Garo Hills, or from improving the state's notoriously pathetic joblessness. The cost of DNA sequencing - including sample collection, laboratory analysis, and collaboration with "national and international institutions"- will not be a free deal and will easily run into several crores. For a state struggling to lift its HDIs, funding this ill-defined and badly conceived exercise is a luxury it cannot afford. It signals a government more interested in romanticized identity politics than in the mundane but vital duties of governance.
This announcement implies that Meghalaya's own academic institutions will be central to this research. But here lies a second, more uncomfortable critique: the calibre of academia in Meghalaya. While institutions like the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) have produced sincere scholars, they are not global leaders in population genetics or archaeological linguistics. A quick survey of leading journals - Nature, Science, The American Journal of Human Genetics - shows a glaring underrepresentation of first-author papers from Meghalaya-based researchers. The state's universities struggle with chronic vacancies, underfunded laboratories, and a research culture often limited to low-impact, descriptive studies rather than hypothesis-driven science. As of now, local faculty lack the expertise, peer recognition to lead such a complex project without external crutches. The government should look into supporting them to get to a higher level.
As per news reports, the project will rely on "consultations with national and international institutions". That is wonderful! So why do these Khasi, Jaintia and Garo academics have to force our government to pay for these "research trips"? If they possess such high academic calibre and intellectual abilities, they should jolly well be able to get international grants and funding. In my opinion, this entire thing is nothing more than an excuse that some people have devised to get to travel abroad and spend our public money as they please. Also, another crucial question come to mind: what exactly will these researchers from here do when they land up at Angkor Wat? Start digging into some random mounds, excavating tons of soil to get to some Austro Asiatic truth? When they hear words like "khon, kha, phi, khao" (which are words heard everywhere in SE Asia) will they weep joyously and embrace the speakers as fellow "kur" (clansmen). The comedic potential is tremendous!
None of this is to say that the history and origins of the Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo people are unworthy of study. On the contrary, our unique matrilineal culture and linguistic heritage are treasures of human diversity. However, scholarship must have clear questions and a justification that goes beyond "we would like to see more documentation." In a mature democracy, public funds demand accountability. What is the precise budget, including salaries, equipment, travel and staying expenses of this budget? Until such answers are provided, this project stands as a monument to intellectual vanity and fiscal imprudence. It uses the cloak of "research" to obscure a basic failure of priority. Meghalaya's children do not need a map of their ancestors' Y-chromosomes; they need functional schools. Its citizens do not need a linguistic linkage to Vietnam; they need reliable electricity. The government's money would be better spent not on digging up the past, but on securing the future.
Yours etc.,
Avner Pariat,
Via email