Khasi cinema

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Khasi Cinema is the term used to refer to the Khasi language film industry based in Shillong in Meghalaya, India.

Contents

History

Pre-2000

In 1981, Hamlet Bareh Ngapkynta's film Ka Synjuk Ri ki Laiphew Syiem became the first ever film to be made in Khasi language. In 1984, Ardhendu Bhattacharya's film Manik Raitong became the first ever colour film in Khasi language. [1] The film industry later suffered due to militancy in the state of Meghalaya.

Post-2000

After 2000s, when militancy in the state came down drastically, a market for entertainment and movies opened up. Many short films and telefilms began being produced in Khasi. The production of feature films in Khasi got a major fillip after entry of national award winning filmmakers like Pradip Kurbah.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meghalaya</span> State in northeastern India

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khasi language</span> Austroasiatic language of Meghalaya state, India

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shillong</span> City and state capital of Meghalaya, India

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 refer to it as the "Scotland of the East".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khasi people</span> Ethnic group in North-East India

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Khasi Hills district</span> District of Meghalaya in India

East Khasi Hills is an administrative district in the state of Meghalaya in India. The district headquarters are located at Shillong. The district occupies an area of 2,748 km2 and has a population of 825,922. As of 2011, it is the most populous of Meghalaya's 12 districts.

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 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.

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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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council</span>

Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) is an autonomous district council in the state of Meghalaya in India. It covers West Khasi Hills district, Eastern West Khasi Hills district, East Khasi Hills district and Ri Bhoi district. It is one of the three autonomous district councils within Meghalaya, and one of twenty-five autonomous regions of India. Between its foundation on 27 June 1952 and 14 June 1973 it was known as the United Khasi-Jaintia Hills District Council. The total area of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council is 11,718 km2 having a population of 1,578,375 as of 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council</span> Militant organization

The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council is a militant organization operating in Meghalaya, India. It claims to represent the Khasi-Jaintia tribal people, and its aim is to free Meghalaya from the alleged domination of outsiders from the Indian mainland. It was proscribed in India on 16 November 2000, but the ban was later lifted, before banning it again in 2019.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Nongkynrih</span> Indian concert pianist and conductor (1970–2022)

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.

Patricia Mukhim is an Indian social activist, writer, journalist and the editor of Shillong Times, known for her social activism. A recipient of honours such as Chameli Devi Jain award, ONE India award, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry FLO award, Upendra Nath Brahma Soldier of Humanity award, Siva Prasad Barooah National award and North East Excellence award, she was honored by the Government of India, in 2000, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caves of Meghalaya</span> Large cave system in India

The Caves of Meghalaya comprise a large number of caves in the Jaintia, Khasi Hills, and Garo Hills districts in the Indian state of Meghalaya, and are amongst the longest caves in the world. Of the ten longest and deepest caves in India, the first nine are in Meghalaya, while the tenth is in Mizoram. The longest is Krem Liat Prah in the Jaintia Hills, which is 30,957 m (101,600 ft) long. The word "Krem" means cave in the local Khasi language.

Silverine Swer (1910–2014), popularly known as Kong Sil, was an Indian social and environmental activist, educationist and civil servant. She was the first person of tribal origin to hold senior posts with the Government of Meghalaya, and was a recipient of the Silver Elephant Medal of the Bharat Scouts and Guides Award and Kaisar-i-Hind Medal. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1990, making her the first recipient of the award from the state of Meghalaya.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matrilineal society of Meghalaya</span> Migration flow in Meghalaya

Multiple tribes in the state of Meghalaya in northeast India practise matrilineal descent. Often referred to as Khasi people and Garo people, among the Khasi people which is a term used as a blanket term for various subgroups in Meghalaya who have distinguishing languages, rites, ceremonies, and habits, but share an ethnic identity as Ki Hynniew Trep whereas the Garo people refers to the various groups of Achik people. The Khasi, Garo, and other subgroups have a proud heritage, including matrilineality, although it was reported in 2004 that they were losing some of their matrilineal traits. The tribes are said to belong to one of the "largest surviving matrilineal culture[s]" in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hill tribes of Northeast India</span> Indian ethnic group

The hill tribes of Northeast India are hill people, mostly classified as Scheduled Tribes (STs), who live in the Northeast India region. This region has the largest proportion of scheduled tribes in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meitei people in Meghalaya</span> Meiteis in Meghalaya

The Meitei people, also called Manipuri people, is one of the minority ethnic groups in Meghalaya.

References

  1. "Let's talk films". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.