H.K.Singh : Man of the Prefaces ( On the occassion of his 100 Death Anniversary November 13, 1923-2023)

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of u Hajom Kissor Singh Nongbri who died on November 13, 1923, at Puriang. Not much about him except that he was only known as the founder of the Unitarian Church in the Khasi Jaintia and Karbi Anglong district of Assam. His contribution to the nascent Khasi literature then is not being appreciated. Hajom Kissor Singh’s literary contribution to the emerging Khasi literature and the knowledge about the tribe can be found in almost all important publications published then.  

The Khasis by PR Gurdon

One cannot study the people who live in the Khasi and Jaintia areas without flipping through the pages of PR Gurdon’s book The Khasis. The Khasis is like a main door for outsiders who want to study the Khasis’, and Gurdon’s books are in fact like a bible for those who study Khasi culture and history. In the preface to the book “The Khasis by PR Gurdon”, Gurdon the author mentioned Hajom Kissor Singh, and his brother Nissor Singh on the preface of this book. Gurdon a foreigner rely on the natives who can speak English to help him in his work, and of the nine Khasi names mentioned in the preface as people who had helped Gurdon to come up with the book, the names of the brothers u Hajom Kissor and his brother u Nissor Singh finds mentioned. 

His Contribution to LP and UP School Education 

Born to Boor Singh Malngiang and ka Bida Nongbri on the 15 June in 1865 at Saitsopen, Sohra, H.K. Singh studied up to Matriculation. His love for education was obvious when in his initiative and while still working in the DC’s office in the late eighteen and early nineteen hundred; he started an Upper Primary School in Jowai called Unitarian Free School which caters to the needs of the students in Jowai. H. K. Singh was also a signatory of the petition sent by the school administrators in Jaintia Hills in which it was pleaded with the Government to allow Khasi Pnar students to appear for their Upper Primary School examination in their mother tongue. Unlike Assamese and Bengalis students, Khasi Pnar students had to appear for their examination in English language while the former wrote their exam in Assamese and Bengali respectively. Under the leadership of u Hajom Kissor Singh, a petition was sent to the government requesting that the Khasi Pnar be allowed to write their Upper Primary school exam in Khasi. 

In a letter to the Director of Public Instruction, Assam (Through the Sub Inspector of Schools, Jaiñtia Hills) dated Jowai, the 8th of February 1902 the administrators of the three schools in Jaiñtia Hills pleaded that the Khasi Pnar students be allowed to write their exams in Khasi. The application was signed by Hajom Kissor Singh Manager, Unitarian Free School, u Soso Tham Headmaster Shangpung U.P. School, and Samuel Challam officiating Headmaster Jowai. Before the three gentlemen intervened, students in the Khasi and Jaintia appeared for their Upper Primary School Scholarship and Pass Examination in English as students of other communities were allowed to appear for their examination in their lingua franca.  

In response to the petition of the three heads of school, the Director of Public Instruction, Assam W. Booth in his letter to the Sub-Inspector of Schools, Jaintia hills, Jowai number 7327 dated Shillong the 21st October wrote: ‘About your Memo. No. 17, dated the 8th February 1902, from the manager, Unitarian Free School, Jowai, and the Headmaster of Jowai Middle English School and the Shangpung Upper Primary School, I have the honour to say that I agree with the applicants on all points stated in their application, the Children must be taught in their own vernacular to the end of the Upper Primary standard.’    

His contribution to the Text Book Committee

The government in the early 1900s constituted a Textbook Committee and in this connection, U Khasi Mynta wrote that it was surprising that the Committee members only comprised of the DPI of Schools, the Deputy Commissioner, and J.C. Evans. Earlier Khasi u Babu Jeebon Roy was made a member of the Committee but after his demise, the government has not appointed any native to the Committee. The report in U Khasi Mynta requested the Governor to consider the request to appoint a member from the local community to the committee. Later U Khasi Mynta in its September 1903 edition reported that the DPI had made some corrections and nominated Hajom Kissor Singh as a member of the Textbook Committee along with Dr. Roberts. H.K. Singh not only replaced Babu Jeebon Roi and became the native member of the Textbook Committee which was responsible for selecting textbooks for use in the school in the region, but he also played a very important role in the government’s effort to bring out the first English Khasi dictionary. 

In the Preface of the First English Khasi Dictionary 

The first English Khasi Dictionary was published for the first time in the year 1920 and it took the committee about 11 years to complete the arduous task. In the preface of the Dictionary the then Deputy Commissioner of Khasi and Jaintia Hills A.W. Dentith wrote about the story of how the project was started till the dictionary saw the light of day. Dentith remarked that according to office letter Number 4445C Dated 30th March 1907, the government constituted a committee to work on the project of coming up with the first-ever English Khasi Dictionary which comprised Mr. F.E. Jackson, Mr. L.O. Clark, and Mr. B.C. Allen members representing the Deputy Commissioner and the other three members were Rai Sahip Dohory Ropmay, u Hajom Kissor Singh and u Nissor Singh the author of the dictionary. The importance of the project can be seen from the fact that the government was involved in it and has also made all effort to see the dictionary see the light of day.      

In the later part of the project, a committee to revise the manuscript was constituted with Rev. Walter Firminges, Rev. C.L. Stephens, Rev. J.C. Evans, and Khan Sahib Amjad Ali as members. The preface also mentioned that the author Nissor Singh read the part of the manuscript sent to him from the Printing Press and was able to proofread only from alphabet A to O. Unfortunately Nissor Singh died on February 20, 1918, while serving as the Inspector of School in Tura, in the Garo region. A.W. Dentith in the preface concluded that the proof of the remaining letters from P to Z was read by his brother Hajom Kissor Singh. H.K. Singh not only completed the unfinished task that his brother had left, but he also wrote the keys to pronunciation and the list of abbreviations in the dictionary. Hajom Kissor Singh is therefore instrumental in bringing out the first English Khasi dictionary.      

On the Preface of the Jingsneng Tymmen

Ki JIngsneng Tymmen is a collection of old saying which elders use to inculcate good manners to the young ones and it was one of the important publications of the time. H.K. Singh also contributed to the project of bringing out ka Jingsneng Tymmen and he along with Babu Jeebon Roy wrote the introduction to the book. The relationship between H.K. Singh and R.S. Berry grew deeper and stronger and the latter ultimately converted to Unitarianism. Any study of R.S. Berry’s work will remain complete if his contribution to the Unitarian Church is not taken into consideration. Radhon Sing Berry composed 35 hymns in the Unitarian hymnal and has also written the chapter “ki Kpieng Ksiar ban deng” which was once part of the Unitarian hymnbook.  

His major literary contribution 

H.K. Singh also composed 72 hymns for the Unitarian Church hymnal and he has also translated many hymns published in the hymn book and this is not a small feat by any means. When H.K. Singh sent the first Khasi Unitarian hymnal to u Khasi Mynta, the journal reported that it had nothing to say about the book, because it is already known that it is a book of worship but added that it appreciated the beauty of the Khasi language used in the book. Perhaps H.K. Singh’s hymn should also be appreciated for the language and the grammar used in the hymns. His translation of English hymns both by foreign and native composers is commendable   

The only prose that H.K. Singh wrote was a piece about his journey from Jowai to Jaintiapur and the sub-title of the write-up is ‘The Journey, the Forest and the People.’ Again the journey was part of his assignment to address the grievances of the people in Jaintiapur. At that point, in time Jowai and Jaintiapur were part of the same subdivision under the then-British Empire. This piece was included as a chapter in the Mawpun Jingtip which was one of the prescribed textbooks of the Meghalaya Board of School Education.    

U H.K. Singh may not have written his book but he had immensely contributed to the development of the Khasi literature which was still in its nascent stage then.  

An able Administrator

H.K. Singh was also an able administrator, U Khasi Mynta in its November 1905 issue; observed that it is important to have a native appointed as the Head Clerk in the Deputy Commissioner’s office and the courts in Jowai and Shillong because local people know the culture, tradition and religion of the Khasi, moreover they can understand, read and write better in Khasi than the non-native head clerk. Having a native officer in the office will also help the government communicate better with the Syiem, the Wahadar, the Sordar, the Dalloi, etc. Perhaps it was also due to the lack of qualified Khasi candidates to take the job that no Khasi was appointed to the post till then. The Newspaper appreciated Major Gurdon for appointing Hajom Kissor Singh to replace Babu Radhanath who was transferred for posting in the plain area and hoped that H.K. Singh would be able to do justice to his work and bring pride to the community.   

The government also appointed H.K.Singh as the Dewan (Prime Minister) of Khyrim state for some time to help the Syiem of the Hima. S.E. Rita in his order dated 23-9-1902 stated that Hajom Kissor Singh was recalled before the expiration of leave and appointed temporarily as Dewan of Khynrim State by Chief Commissioner of Assam in a letter No. 156 confd dated 15-9-1902, 4219 on condition that the Khyrim State bear the cost of his pay at Rs. 150 P.M. and pensionary contribution as calculated under the rules in force. 

These are some of the contributions that this man has made to the development of the Khasi literature and the Khasi Pnar Community in general. On his 100th anniversary, we remember him for his contributions not only to the progress and development of the Unitarian church in the region but to the society at large.