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.
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 served as a member of the Lok Sabha from Tura in Meghalaya from 2014 to 2016, 1991 to 2008 and from 1977 to 1989 and the minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Rao ministry from 1995 to 1996. He was the founder of National People's Party and co-founder of Nationalist Congress Party.
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, in Shillong and Tura. Both campuses are in Meghalaya state. 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.
The Garo people are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group who live mostly in the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya with a smaller number in the neighbouring 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 state of 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.
Agatha Kongkal Sangma is an Indian politician serving as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha representing the Tura constituency of Meghalaya. At the age of 29, she is the youngest member of parliament ever in India to be appointed Union Minister in Government of India till date. Sangma is the second woman from Northeast India to be appointed a union minister in the Government of India after Renuka Devi Barkataki from Assam. She is a member of National People's Party.
Conrad Kongkal Sangma is an Indian politician who is the 12th and current Chief Minister of Meghalaya since 2018. He is a member of the National People's Party. His father was former Chief Minister, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha P. A. Sangma. He was also a Member of Parliament from Tura (2016–2018). He represents the South Tura constituency since 2018 and Selsella constituency from 2008 to 2013. Sangma was also minister of finance, power and tourism, Government of Meghalaya from 2008 to 2009. He is former leader of the opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. He also served as National President of the Nationalist Youth Congress.
Williamson Ampang Sangma, was a Garo leader, and the first Chief Minister of Meghalaya. He was also the first ever Governor of Mizoram among the Garos in 1989.
Evangelization of Meghalaya began in the 19th century during 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.
The Meghalaya Games are a sports event held in Meghalaya, India which were started in 2001. After a long break, the event was revived in 2019, and is to be held annually from 2024 onwards.
