Northeast India · Meghalaya
Meghalaya
Sources: wikimedia
About Meghalaya
- Hills
- Forest
Where it is
Meghalaya is a hill state in north-east India on the Shillong Plateau, made up of the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills, between Assam's Brahmaputra valley to the north and the plains of Bangladesh to the south; its capital is Shillong.
History
The Khasi, Jaintia and Garo hills were long governed by their own chiefs and the Jaintia kingdom before coming under British control in the 19th century, when Shillong became the capital of Assam. Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as an autonomous state in 1970 and became a full state on 21 January 1972.
People
The Khasi, Jaintia (Pnar) and Garo peoples follow matrilineal traditions, with descent and clan names passing through the mother; among the Khasi the youngest daughter traditionally inherits the family home. English, Khasi and Garo are official languages.
Known for
- Living root bridges
- Cherrapunji and Mawsynram, among the wettest places on Earth
- The clear waters of the Umngot River at Dawki
- Limestone caves
Did you know?
The living root bridges of the Khasi and Jaintia hills are grown by training the aerial roots of rubber fig trees across streams, and can last for hundreds of years.
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