Meghalaya

Meghalaya—often called “the abode of clouds”—is a hill state in Northeast India whose cultural roots lie with the Khasi, Jaintia (Pnar) and Garo peoples. In the 1800s, British administration expanded into these hills, and Shillong was made a civil station for the Khasi–Jaintia Hills in 1864. When Assam was organized as a Chief Commissioner’s Province in 1874, Shillong was chosen as the headquarters because of its location and climate, and it remained the capital of undivided Assam well into the post-Independence period. During the 1960s, demands for greater self-rule led to a new political arrangement: Parliament passed the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act, 1969, creating an autonomous State of Meghalaya within Assam, which took effect on 2 April 1970 with its own legislature under constitutional protections for tribal areas. Meghalaya became a full-fledged state on 21 January 1972; Shillong became its capital, while Assam shifted its capital to Dispur (Guwahati). Since then, Meghalaya has grown as a distinct state—modern in administration, yet strongly shaped by indigenous institutions, community traditions, and a powerful sense of cultural identity.