Meghalaya

Welcome

The Land Of Clouds

Meghalaya…

In Brief…

• M e g h a l a y a   i s a n I n d i a n s t a t e a n d l o c a t e d i n n o r t h - e a s t o f I n d i a .

• T h e w o r d " M e g h a l a y a " l i t e r a l l y m e a n s   t h e l a n d o f C l o u d s   i n   S a n s k r i t   a n d o t h e r I n d o -I r a n i a n l a n g u a g e s .

• T h e p o p u l a t i o n n u m b e r e d 2 , 1 7 5 , 0 0 0 i n 2 0 0 0 .

• T h e s t a t e i s b o u n d e d o n t h e n o r t h b y   A s s a m   a n d b y   B a n g l a d e s h   o n t h e s o u t h .

• T h e c a p i t a l i s   S h i l l o n g   a l s o k n o w n a s t h e   S c o t l a n d o f t h e E a s t .

History

• Meghalaya was formed by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: the United  Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills, and the Garo Hills on January 21, 1972.

• At the time of Indian independence in 1947, present day Meghalaya constituted two districts of Assam and enjoyed limited autonomy within the state of Assam.

• The Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act of 1969 accorded an autonomous status to the state of Meghalaya. The Act came into effect on 2 April 1970, and an Autonomous State of Meghalaya was created within the State of Assam.

• The Autonomous state had a Legislature in accordance with the Sixth schedule to the Constitution.

• The Legislature had 37 members.

• In 1971, the Parliament passed the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganization) Act, 1971, which conferred full statehood on the Autonomous State of Meghalaya.

• Meghalaya attained statehood on 21 January 1972, with a Legislative Assembly of its own.

Area

• Total22,720 km2(8,770 sq mi)

• Area rank22nd

Population

• Total2,964,007  (2011)

• Rank 23rd

Literacy

• Literacy 72.1% (15th rank)

• Official languages – Khasi–  Pnar– Garo– Hindi– English

Culture & Society

• The main tribes in Meghalaya are the Jaintias, the Khasis and the Garos.

• One of the unique features of the state is that a majority of the tribal population in Meghalaya follows a matrilineal system where lineage and inheritance are traced through women.

• The Khasi and Jaintia tribesmen follow the traditional matrilineal norm, wherein the "Khun Khadduh" (or the youngest daughter) inherits all the property and acts as the caretaker of aged parents and any unmarried siblings.

Government

• Governor : Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary

• Chief Minister : Mukul Sangma 

 • High Court : Gauhati High Court - Shillong Bench

Famous Personalities

Arundhati Roy was born on Friday, November 24, 1961 in Shillong and she is a famous author from India of Atheist religion.

Religion

70.25%

13.27%

4.27%

0.71%

11.52%

ChristianityHinduismIslamSikhism, Jainism, BuddhistOther

Geography

• Meghalaya is one of the Seven Sister States of India.

• It consists mainly of Archean rock formations. These rock formations contain rich deposits of valuable minerals like coal, limestone, uranium and sillimanite.

• Meghalaya has many rivers. Most of these are rainfed and are therefore seasonal.

Agriculture Nearly 10% of the total geographical area of

Meghalaya is under cultivation.

Limited use of modern techniques and low productivity. As a result, despite the vast majority of the population being engaged in agriculture.

The contribution of agricultural production to the state’s GDP is low.

The most of the population engaged in agriculture remain poor.

Education

• As part of a developmental program in north eastern states, the Ministry of Human Resource Development opened the seventh Indian Institute of Management in Shillong, which is named as the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management.

• Recently the National Institute of Fashion Technology Shillong and the NEIGRIHMS opened in Shillong.

IIM Shillong

Tourism

• Earlier, foreign tourists required special permits to enter the areas that now constitute the state of Meghalaya.

• The restrictions were removed in 1955.• Meghalaya is considered to be one of the most

picturesque states in the country. • It has enough tourism content to attract tourists

of many different interests.

Nohkalikai fall

Problems & Constraints

• The state has a relatively poor road and communication network.

• Banking facilities are also limited and only a few establishments in the state accept credit cards.

• Tourism in the North East in general has also suffered on account of years of insurgency and the resulting security concerns.

Thankzzz…