‘Here We Play’ ignites excitement for Meghalaya Games 2024

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Jan 5:  Meghalaya Games 2024 is set to make a resounding start as it unveils its official anthem, “Here We Play,” a harmonious collaboration between Shillong-based folk fusion outfit Summersalt and Tura’s NOKPANTE. The anthem, a cultural blend of English, Khasi, Garo, and Pnar languages, encapsulates the vision of the Government of Meghalaya, promoting unity through sportsmanship and diversity.

In an exclusive event at Tura, the launch of the anthem added a symphony of excitement to the upcoming Meghalaya Games scheduled from January 15 to January 20. Crafted under the West Garo Hills DC Initiative for the Department of Sports & Youth Affairs, Government of Meghalaya, the anthem carries the essence of Meghalaya’s rich cultural tapestry, making it a unifying force for communities across the state.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said,“The anthem ‘Here We Go’ embodies the values of unity, perseverance, and the indomitable Meghalayan spirit. May it echo through stadiums, inspire our athletes to push their limits, and create lasting memories for all who participate and witness the Meghalaya Games.”

Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs Shakliar Warjri, while unveiling the anthem song stated, “The anthem encapsulates the essence of unity, passion, and the unwavering determination that defines our Meghalaya Games. It is a testament to the Vision of Hon’ble Chief Minister to harness the power of sports in bringing people together, transcending boundaries, and fostering a sense of pride in our rich cultural heritage. I extend my gratitude to the talented individuals, Summersalt and NOKPANTE, who have contributed to the creation of this anthem that will resonate in the hearts of our youth, encouraging them to strive for excellence and embody the true spirit of sportsmanship.”

The lyrics, composed by Kit Shangpliang of Summersalt, along with Mikhael Marak from NOKPANTE, weave a motivational narrative echoing the values of hard work, discipline, and resilience. The orchestration, led by Augustine Kurbah, incorporates indigenous musical elements, creating a rhythm that mirrors the heartbeat of Meghalaya.

Summersalt’s Kit Shangpliang expressed gratitude for the collaboration, stating, “As a band, we have taken many similar projects in the recent past, but this one has been a labour of love. The melody is hummable, the rhythm foot-tapping, and the lyrics motivational. Our partnership with NOKPANTE has been seamless, and we thank the District Administration for their trust.”

NOKPANTE’s Mikhail Marak adds, “We’ve made it a point to incorporate the Garo and Khasi chants to inject indigeneity into what we’d like to believe is a big song, also, being intentional to have equitable representation of the musical identities of both Khasi and Garo hills. We hope the crowd, especially, the sports community like it.”

‘Here We Play’ will be played throughout the Meghalaya Games 2024 and beyond, becoming the anthem for the event and accompanying medal ceremonies. The convergence of victory chants, symbolized by ‘Hoikiw’ and ‘Ahowee,’ reflects Meghalaya’s dedication to sports excellence.

Meghalaya Games has evolved into a premier sporting event, providing a platform for over 3,000 athletes across 19 disciplines.

The success of the 4th edition in Shillong showcased the state’s commitment to nurturing sporting talent, with 700-plus medals awarded to outstanding individuals and teams. As Meghalaya Games 2024 approaches, the unveiling of ‘Here We Play’ heralds a celebration of unity, diversity, and sporting prowess of the state.

JHADC told to work with JMB on garbage management

The Meghalaya High Court has asked the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) to act in conjunction with the municipality to ease the citizens’ woes in regard to the garbage collection in Jowai town.

“In the meantime, the Jaintia District Council should act in conjunction with the Municipality to ease the citizens’ woes,” the division bench said in its order passed after hearing a PIL filed by the Synjuk Ki Waheh Shnong Jowai.

An affidavit has been filed by the Jowai Municipality pursuant to the order dated April 17, 2023.

The petitioner flagged several issues and said that all is not well in the matter of collection of garbage in the town of Jowai.

The petitioner’s affidavit in such regard should be filed within a week from date, the bench said while adding that the matter will appear 10 days hence.

The next hearing on the matter will be held on May 12.

Councils still against inclusions in proposed amendment to 6th Schedule

The three autonomous district councils – KHADC, JHADC and GHADC – has reiterated their strong opposition against the inclusion of ‘unrepresented tribe’ and ‘village council’ in the proposed amendment to the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

After a joint meeting held here, KHADC chief Titosstarwell Chyne told reporters that the matter was discussed by the three ADCs after the Centre had yet again sought for their views.

“We are totally against implementation of the unrepresented tribe and the state government is also in the same line with us. Regarding the village council issue, we had maintained that instead of this, we propose village development council,” Chyne said.

He said that the two issues have been pending as they needed elaborate discussion.

“We have discussed this matter seriously. We have highlighted to our friends from Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills that in KHADC, we have passed the Village Development Council Bill and we would also like to that even in these two ADCs, they also should pass this Bill so that implementation of village council will not be applicable as we have our own traditional institutions,” Chyne said while adding that “because according to this proposed amendment, the implementation of the village council in the state will dilute the powers and functions of our traditional institutions. We will not like to see our traditional institutions will go away, we would like to see them to remain with our traditional practice that is why we have decided this matter will be discussed in the respective councils soon.”

When asked, the KHADC chief said, “These are the two issues which the central government has written to the state government to look into these issue.”

“Once we clear these two issues, then I think the central government also will be willing to pass this amendment at the earliest possible. Once we give green signal from here I think the Centre will take a call,” he added.

Regarding the number of seats, Chyne said, “We (three ADCs) have already agreed that it should not exceed 40 seats. That we have agreed.”

Further, the three autonomous district councils have also unanimously oppose the implementation of the Swamitva Scheme by the Centre.

“We totally oppose the implementation of this scheme in the state as our land tenure system is totally different from other states in the country. We have our traditional practices, we have our own land holding system in our state so that is why implementation of this scheme in the state is not acceptable,” Chyne said.

Meanwhile, the KHADC chief also informed that they demanded the state government to transfer back the subject relating to issuing of Scheduled Tribe certificate to all the three ADCs as it was done in the past.

“Issuing of PRCs by respective DCs was also discussed. The district administration should first get the confirmation from the ADCs before issuing any PRCs,” he stated.

ADCs want details of their share from royalty, taxes

The three autonomous district councils have asked the state government to provide the actual calculation of their respective shares from royalty on minor and major minerals and from the motor vehicle taxes.

Informing this after a joint meeting today, KHADC chief Titosstarwell Chyne told reporters that the issue relating to the financial matters to the three ADCs including GHADC and JHADC was discussed.

“We urge the state government that we should at least get the actual calculation regarding this matter,” Chyne said.

“We used to get share from the state government like minor and major mineral share and motor vehicle tax share from the state government. But unfortunately all these years, we never get a correct calculation how much our share used to be, we always got lump sum amount of share,” he added.

Urging the state government to also get more funds for the 3 ADCs, Chyne said, “We urge the state government to get more funds for all the three ADCs especially like the plan scheme, other financial assistance.”

Further, the KHADC chief said that they have also discussed about the delay in the release of the 15th Finance Commission Award from the Centre government and requested the need to release the funds in time.

“(We) urge the government to release our funds in time because delaying in the release of funds lead to delay in the implementation of the scheme. The central government use to give us pressure to submit the utilization certificates (UCs) but we cannot submit our UCs in time because we too did not get the funds in time,” he said.

According to him, the three ADCs are yet to get funds relating to Untied scheme for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 till now.

“Therefore, we would like to jointly to urge the state government to see these kinds of delay in the implementation of the schemes should not take place,” he added.

ADCs say ‘NO’ to implementation of Uniform Civil Code

The three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) have unanimously decided to jointly pass a resolution to oppose the Centre’s move to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.

The decision was taken at a joint meeting of the chief executive members (CEMs) of the three Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) and Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) – held in Shillong here today.

“We have unanimously decided that we will jointly pass a resolution that implementation of UCC in the Sixth Schedule area will be totally opposed (by us) and we also pass a resolution in our respective councils soon regarding this matter,” KHADC chief Titosstarwell Chyne told reporters after the meeting.

The UCC is a proposal to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply on all citizens equally.

He said that the meeting had discussed at length the intention of the central government to introduce the UCC Bill in the country while adding that “we feel that UCC will directly had an impact on the powers and functions of the ADCs especially with our customs, our traditional practices, community as a whole.”

When asked if a special session will be convened in this regard, Chyne said hopefully a special session will be called by next month as they would like to speed up this matter.

“There are so many problems as I have said that it (UCC) will affect our traditional customs like marriage system. Once this UCC is implemented, we will have a uniform marriage system but here in our custom we have different, so religious and traditional custom will be affected. As Scheduled Tribe, we feel implementation of this UCC will not be acceptable in the state,” he said.

Further, the KHADC chief said that the state government will also have to go in the same line once a resolution is passed by the three ADCs as was done in the case of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

“…the CAA has been exempted in the Scheduled area I think the UCC should also be exempted from the Sixth Schedule. Therefore, we are demanding for exemption of the UCC from the Sixth Schedule area,” he further maintained.