Prof J. B. Bhattacharjee has analyzed how the India's North- Eastern region is the homeland of a number of ethnic and cultural groups with different languages, religions, faiths and beliefs and traditions.
The important part of the region is the hilly people by the Indo- Mongoloid tribal groups, while the Indo- Aryan (non-tribal) population is mostly concentrated in the Brahmaputra Valley and the Barak valley of Assam and the plain areas of Tripura. The importance of the tribal population is in the hilly areas. The region is the homeland of a number of ethnic and variegated cultural groups with their languages, religions, faiths and beliefs and traditions.
Meghalaya was declared the 21st state of India on 21st January 1972. It united the areas of the Khasi, Jaintia and the Garo Hills under the leadership of Captain Williamson A. Sangma, the state's first Chief Minister.
Meghalaya, approximately 22,429 square kilometers (8,659 square miles) in area, lies between the latitudes 251degree - 265 N and the longitudes 8549- 9252 E. it is bounded by Assam in the North an Eastern and the plains of Bangladesh in the South an West Meghalaya is divided into two main administrative divisions; West and East Meghalaya.
The hilly state of Meghalaya has been termed as ‘a patch of beauty and grace'. It is linked to the Borail Range, an offshoot of the Himalayan Mountains. The sedimentary rocks that characterize Meghalaya's upper surface protect the hills from being washed away during the violent monsoon.
Meghalaya has been a very exciting subject in many respects for pre-historic investigations and research works. The state is divided into four geographical regions; the Northern Slope, the Central upland, the Southern Slope, and the northern and Western Lowlands. The northern Slope has undulating Hills and thick forests with 'sacred groves'.
At the time of the first contacts of the Khasis with the British, the Khasis had organized into 25 principalities. The largest of these principalities. The largest of these principalities were Khyrin, Mulliem, Nongkhlaw, Nongstin and Cherra. Fourteen of them were under constitutional heads called ‘Syiems’, seven were under Sirdars, three under priest- rules called ‘Lyngdohs’ and one actually a confederacy of independent villages Southern Khasi Hills.
The offices of Syiems and Lyngdohs have always been hereditary and according to the Khasi usage, succession falls on the eldest son of the previous incumbent's sister.
Contacts between the British and the Khasis began by the end of the eighteen century. The British East India Company had obtained the Diwani of Bengal from the Mughals and began to established themselves in the plains of Sylhet which lies in the South of the Khasi country.
The Khasi Hills, what is now called Meghalaya, lay between the new possession of the British in the plains of Assam and their already occupied areas of Sylhet. David Scott, the agent to the Governor General for the North- East Region, planned to have communication between Sylhet and Guwahati. U. Tirot Singh was the Syiem of Nongkhlaw. His predecessor had owned some duars in the plains of Assam which were occupied by the British. Mr. Singh wanted them back. David Scott agreed, he wanted to build a route to link Guwahati with Sylhet through Mr. Singhs territory.
Shillong is the capital of the present state of Meghalaya, and was the seat of the Government of Assam from 1874 until 1905. Shillong's picturesque setting and salubrious climate were considered suitable for sanatoriums and holiday homes for British Civilians suffering from the sweltering heat of the4plains. It was described a "Mini London".
Cradled in the rain shadows of Shillong peak, flanked by Mawpat Hill in the North and overlooking hum Diengiei further west, Shillong lies in the midst of idyllic surroundings.
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