The Khasi ‘seng khasi’ movement: rethinking Khasi identity in a changing India

The seng khasi movement, founded in 1899 as a defence of Khasi customs against colonial and missionary pressures, shaped the modern idea of Khasi identity — language, law, and the matrilineal order.

A century and a quarter on, the movement’s heirs are asking harder questions: how does a customary identity hold in a state of migrants and malls?

The debates are vigorous and public — in newspapers, town halls and, inevitably, on Instagram.