page_title: Hill tribes of Northeast India
section_title: Meghalaya
hierarchical_section_title: Hill tribes of Northeast India / States / Meghalaya
caption_attribution_description: English: An Indigenous Assamese Tiwa tribal woman during community fishing
context_page_description: The hill tribes of Northeast India are hill people, mostly classified as Scheduled Tribes, who live in the Northeast India region.
  This region has the largest proportion of scheduled tribes in the country.
  Northeast India comprises the former British province of Assam and part or all of the former princely states of Manipur, Tripura and Sikkim.
  There are areas of plains in the modern State of Assam, but otherwise the region is mostly hilly or mountainous. The hills have long been populated with Tibeto-Burman and Sino-Tibetan hill people, some of whom originate in other parts of the Himalayas or of Southeast Asia.
  There are many distinct groups with unique languages, dress, cuisine and culture.
  The British made little effort to integrate the hill people into British India, but governed through a system of village chiefs and headmen. They gave these leaders greater authority than they had traditionally enjoyed.
  In some areas Protestant missionaries converted the people to Christianity and educated an elite. This elite pushed for greater autonomy for the hill people within the state of Assam, and obtained some autonomy at a district level after Indian independence in 1947.
context_section_description: Meghalaya was previously part of Assam, but on 21 January 1972 the districts of Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills became the new state of Meghalaya.
  Meghalaya, uniting the Khasi-Jainta and Garo districts, was the only state formed of more than one district, and as early as 1975 tensions were emerging between the Khasis and Garos.
  Meghalaya is bounded to the south and west by Bangladesh and to the north and east by Assam.
  The state is the wettest region of India, with an average of 12,000 mm (470 in) of rain a year.
  Due to its rugged terrain, the British imperial authorities called the region the "Scotland of the East".
  The state is covered by the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion Its mountain forests are distinct from the lowland tropical forests to the north and south.
  As of 2001 about 70% of the state was forested.
  As of 2005 about 85.53% of the population of Meghalaya were members of scheduled tribes.
  English is the official language. 
  The other principal languages spoken include Khasi, Garo, Pnar, Biate, Hajong, Assamese and Bengali.
  Unlike many Indian states, Meghalaya has historically followed a matrilineal system where the lineage and inheritance are traced through women; the youngest daughter inherits all wealth and she also takes care of her parents.
  The economy is mostly agrarian, with a significant commercial forestry industry. 
  The important crops are potatoes, rice, maize, pineapples, bananas, papayas, spices, etc. 
  The state is geologically rich in minerals, but it has no significant industries.
caption: Tiwa tribal woman of Meghalaya
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