Meghalaya is a state in northeast India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills and (b) the Garo Hills. The estimated population of Meghalaya in 2014 was 3,211,474. Meghalaya covers an area of approximately 22,429 square kilometres, with a length-to-breadth ratio of about 3:1.
Khasi is an Austroasiatic language with just over a million speakers in north-east India, primarily the Khasi people in the state of Meghalaya. It has associate official status in some districts of this state. The closest relatives of Khasi are the other languages in the Khasic group of the Shillong Plateau; these include Pnar, Lyngngam and War.
Shillong is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with a population of 143,229 according to the 2011 census. It is said that the rolling hills around the town reminded the British of Scotland. Hence, they would also refer to it as the "Scotland of the East".
The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of Meghalaya, that is Khasi Hills, constituting 78.3% of the region's population, and is the state's largest community, with around 48% of the population of Meghalaya. They are among the few Austroasiatic-speaking peoples in South Asia. The Khasi tribe holds the distinction of being one of the few remaining tribes that have a matrilineal society. Under the Constitution of India, the Khasis have been granted the status of Scheduled Tribe.
Carry On Up the Khyber is a 1968 British comedy film, the 16th in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). It stars Carry On regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth. It is the second of two Carry On film appearances by Wanda Ventham; and Roy Castle makes his only Carry On appearance, in the romantic male lead part usually played by Jim Dale.
Ri Bhoi is an administrative district in the state of Meghalaya in India. The district headquarters are located at Nongpoh. The district occupies an area of 2378 km² and has a population of 258,840. As of 2011 it is the second least populous district of Meghalaya, after South Garo Hills.
The Khasic or Khasian languages are a family of Austroasiatic languages native to the Shillong Plateau, spoken in the northeastern Indian state Meghalaya and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh, spoken by the Khasi people.
Garo, also referred to by its endonym A·chikku, is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Northeast Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam, and Tripura. It is also spoken in certain areas of the neighbouring Bangladesh. According to the 2001 census, there are about 889,000 Garo speakers in India alone; another 130,000 are found in Bangladesh.
The Pnar, also known as Jaiñtia, are a sub-tribal group of the Khasi people in Meghalaya, India. The Pnar people are matrilineal. They speak the Pnar Language, which belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family and is very similar to the Khasi language. The Pnar people are natives of West Jaintia Hills and East Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya, India. They call themselves as "Ki Khun Hynñiew Trep". Their main festivals are Behdeinkhlam, Chad Sukra, Chad Pastieh and Laho Dance.
Thomas Jones was a Welsh Christian missionary, who worked among the Khasi people of Meghalaya and Assam in India and of Bangladesh. He recorded the Khasi language in Roman script, and the inscription on his gravestone calls him "The founding father of the Khasi alphabet and literature".
The Presbyterian Church of India (PCI) is a mainline Protestant church based in India, with over one and a half million adherents, mostly in Northeast India. It is one of the largest Christian denominations in that region.
The Khasi–Palaungic languages are a primary branch of the Austroasiatic language family of Southeast Asia in the classification of Sidwell. This is a departure from Diffloth (2005) classification of Khasi-Khmuic with Khmuic and Mangic (Pakanic) now being separate branches within Austroasiatic family.
Skendrowell Syiemlieh was a Khasi folk and Gospel singer. He was a master musician and an accomplished artist of the folk instrument known as the duitara. He was also the playback singer for the Khasi film U Manik Raitong.
Lyngngam is an Austroasiatic language of Northeast India closely related to Khasi language. Once listed as a dialect of Khasi, Lyngngam has in recent literature been classified as a distinct language. Lyngngam speakers have food and dress similar to the neighboring Garo people.
Williamson Ampang Sangma, was a Garo leader, and the first Chief Minister of Meghalaya. He was also the first Governor of Mizoram among the Garos in 1989.
Neil Nongkynrih was an Indian concert pianist and conductor. He founded the Shillong Chamber Choir (SCC), which won the reality show India's Got Talent in 2010. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India in 2015.
Dkhar, is a term used by the Khasis to refer to non-Khasi people in Meghalaya. It is non derogatory but some perceived it as derogatory. For Khasis any non-tribal is a dkhar and they address them by that term. Sometimes the word dkhar have been collectively used with the term heathen (Non-believers), as most of the native Khasis are christian, While non-tribals are mainly hindu. In real, the term is mostly used against affluent Bengali Hindu settlers from West Bengal or the Bengali Hindu refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan It is sometimes abbreviated to ′Khar and may also denote a Khasi clan with the same name.
Hamlet Bareh Ngapkynta (1931–2012) was an Indian writer, historian and film director from the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. He is known as the first person from the Khasi tribe, an indigenous ethnic group of the state, to secure a doctoral degree (PhD) and as the maker of the first feature film in the Khasi language, Ka Synjuk Ri ki Laiphew Syiem. He was the chairman of the executive committee of the Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, and a recipient of the 2004 Meghalaya Day Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004.
Gwalia in Khasia is a 1995 travelogue by Welsh author Nigel Jenkins. Published by Gomer, it won the Wales Book of the Year in 1996.
Badaplin War is an Indian professor and a litterateur. In 2022, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian Government for her contribution in literature and education.
