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 population of Meghalaya as of 2014 is estimated to be 3,211,474. Meghalaya covers an area of approximately 22,429 square kilometres, with a length-to-breadth ratio of about 3:1.
Purno Agitok Sangma was an Indian politician who has served as the 4th Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990 and the 11th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998. He also served as a member of the Lok Sabha from Tura from 2014 to 2016, 1991 to 2008 and from 1977 to 1989 and the minister of 21st Information and Broadcasting in the Rao ministry from 1995 to 1996, founder of NPP and Co- founder of NCP. He was the candidate for the 2012 Indian presidential election, supported by BJP and AIADMK, however he lost to Congress politician Shri Pranab Mukherjee. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, posthumously in 2017 in the field of Public Affairs and was the first recipient of Padma Vibhushan from Meghalaya.
A.tong is one of the Garo dialect Sino-Tibetan language which is also related to Koch, Rabha, Bodo other than Garo language. It is spoken in the South Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills districts of Meghalaya state in Northeast India, southern Kamrup district in Assam, and adjacent areas in Bangladesh. The correct spelling "A.tong" is based on the way the speakers themselves pronounce the name of their language. There is no glottal stop in the name and it is not a tonal language.
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".
North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is a Central University established on 19 July 1973 by an Act of the Indian Parliament. The university is in the suburb of Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, India. The university has two campuses: Shillong and Tura both are in Meghalaya. The first pro-vice chancellor was Early Rising Singha
West Garo Hills is an administrative district in Garo Hills of the state of Meghalaya in India. Tura town is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district occupies an area of 3714 km². In 2011 its population was 643,291. As of 2011 it is the second most populous district of Meghalaya, after East Khasi Hills.
Baghmara is the headquarters of the South Garo Hills district in the state of Meghalaya in India. The place is bordered by the Mymensingh Division of Bangladesh and is about 113 km from Tura; 248 km from Guwahati; and 287 km from state capital Shillong. It has the famous river, Someshwari, also known as the Simsang in the Garo language, flowing through its expanse and is also covered in hills and tracts along the way. This southern part of the Garo Hills region has lots of tourist spots compared to other districts and is a popular tourist destination for both domestic and international tourists when it comes to tourism in Western Meghalaya.
The Garo people are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group inhabiting predominantly in Northeast Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura and Nagaland, and in some neighbouring areas of Bangladesh. Historically, the name Garo was used for a large number of different peoples living on the southern bank of Brahmaputra river, but now refers primarily to those who call themselves A•chik Mande or simply A•chik or Mande and the name "Garo" is now being used by outsiders as an exonym. They are the second-largest tribe in Meghalaya after the Khasi and comprise about a third of the local population.
The Garo Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. They are inhabited by the Garo people. It is one of the wettest places in the world. The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion.
The Khasi Hills are a low mountain formation on the Shillong Plateau in the Meghalaya state of India. The Khasi Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi-Jaintia range and connect with the Purvanchal Range and larger Patkai Range further east. The Khasi Hills, and the whole Garo-Khasi-Jaintia range, are in the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion.
Balpakram National Park is a national park to the south of Garo Hills in Meghalaya, India, located at an altitude of about 910 m (3,000 ft) close to the international border with Bangladesh. It was inaugurated in December 1987 and provides habitat for barking deer, Asian golden cat, Bengal tiger, marbled cat, wild water buffalo, red panda and Indian elephant. Balpakram means "land of the eternal wind" according to the myth of the Garo 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.
Tura is a municipality in the West Garo Hills district of the Indian state of Meghalaya. One of the largest towns in Meghalaya, Tura is located in the foothills of the Nokrek range of Garo Hills. Before the British came to the Garo Hills, Tura was known as Dura and the British called the place, Tura as it was easier for them to pronounce. The climate in Tura is moderate throughout the year, and the town has many interesting and unexplored areas.
Williamson Ampang Sangma, a Garo leader, former Chief Minister of Meghalaya, twenty-first state of India on 21 January 1972. He was also the first ever Governor of Mizoram among the Garos in 1989.
Evangelization of Meghalaya began in the 19th century under the British era. In the 1830s, American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society had become active in Northeast to evangelize indigenous tribes to Christianity. Later, they were offered to expand and reach into Sohra Meghalaya, but they lacked the resources to do so and declined. Welsh Presbyterian Mission took the offer and they began work at Sohra mission field. By the early 1900s, other Protestant denominations of Christianity were active in Meghalaya. The outbreak of World Wars forced the preachers to return home to Europe and America. It is during this period that Catholicism took root in Meghalaya and neighbouring region. Currently, Catholics, Presbyterians and Baptists are three most common Christian denominations found in Meghalaya.
Thangboi Singto is an Indian professional football manager who is the head coach and technical director of Indian Super League club Hyderabad.
Verna Elizabeth Watre Ingty was an Indian social worker and a former chairman of Meghalaya State Welfare Advisory Board. She was the president of Mothers' Union of Tura. She was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award, making her the first person from Garo tribe to receive the award. Ingty died, aged 72, at Shillong, Meghalaya on 14 January 2004. Her son, P. W. Ingty is an author and an IAS officer.
Manas Chaudhuri is an Indian journalist and the former editor of Shillong Times, an English-language daily published from the Meghalayan capital of Shillong. He won as a legislator to the Shillong Assembly twice from Mawprem constituency as an independent candidate. . He is a former cabinet minister of the State and served Shillong Times as its Editor from 1978 to 2008, when he resigned from the post for Patricia Mukhim to take over. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2005, for his contributions to Indian journalism. He is the founder of the Ardhendu Chaudhuri Charitable Trust.
Dadenggre is a town in the West Garo Hills district and one of the 60 Legislative Assembly constituencies of Meghalaya state in India. It is part of West Garo Hills district and is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Tribes. It falls under Tura Lok Sabha constituency. Current MLA from this constituency is James Sangma of National People's Party.
