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Description
The Study attempts to explore the Urban planning and the incorporation of indigenous land governing institutions in the Urban land governance of the Shillong city. Shillong is the capital city of the state of Meghalaya situated in North-eastern part of India. About 86% of the population in the state consists of indigenous people of three major tribes namely Garo, Khasi and Jaintia. The city of Shillong is located in the East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya where indigenous people are about 80% of the total population. Among the indigenous population of the district, about 90% belong to the Khasi and related tribes. Therefore, the land governance in the region has been historically managed by the indigenous land governing institutions of the Khasi tribe. With the colonial expansion, the independent Khasi states became the part of the colonial India after Anglo-Khasi war (1829- 1833). Later, India attained independence from colonial rule in 1947 and Khasi states became the part of the Indian state. During the Colonial era, Shillong was developed as the capital of Assam province since 1874 and it continued to be the capital of Assam after the independence of India too. Further, it became the capital of the state of Meghalaya after its partition from Assam in 1972. However, despite the long administrative control of colonial empire and then Indian state, the indigenous land governing institutions in khasi hills remained untouched. Colonial empire recognized the indigenous institutions for the administrative convenience and avoiding conflicts. Whereas Indian welfare state conserved the indigenous institutions with the provision of sixth schedule of the constitution to safeguard the culture of indigenous people. Indigenous land governing institutions had been duly recognized along with the modern land governing institutions which came firstly with colonial empire and later with the Indian state. Urban areas produce complex management issues and require expertise which might lack in indigenous land governing institutions. Hence, the first objective of this research paper is to analyze the Urban Planning in incorporating the indigenous land governing institutions in Urban land governance of Shillong and the second objective is to study the interface of indigenous and modern land governing institutions in the Shillong city. Document analysis, Key informant interviews and Ethnographic field survey has been used to gather the information of land governing institutions and Urban planning in the Shillong city. Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development Framework has been used for the analysis of the working rules of the of the indigenous and modern land governing institutions. It has been found that although, indigenous land governing institutions have not been historically intervened but they have evolved and adapted to the workings of the modern land governing institutions over the period of time in several ways. There are visible power relations between the indigenous and modern land governing institutions. Urban Planning by the modern institutions shapes the transitions of indigenous land governing institutions whereas Indigenous people in return negotiate to frame the urban plans for preserving their indigenous institutions. However, in the process, indigenous institutions have also adapted to the modern needs of the people in the Shillong city.
| Keywords | Urban Planning; Urban Land Governance; Ostrom's IAD Framework |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
