Ajay Kumar at 13:04, 31 August 2023

2023-08-31T13:04:10Z

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{{short description|District in Meghalaya, India}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name =
|name = Eastern West Khasi Hills
|other_name =
|native_name = 
|nickname =
|settlement_type = [[List of districts of Meghalaya|District]] of [[Meghalaya]]
|motto =

|image_skyline =
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|city_logo =
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|image_map = Eastern West Khasi Hills in Meghalaya (India).svg
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|image_map1 =
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|pushpin_map_caption = Location of Eastern West Khasi Hills district

|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
|subdivision_type1 = [[States of India|State]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Meghalaya]]
|seat_type = Capital
|seat = [[Mairang]]

|government_footnotes = <ref name=inauguration>{{cite web |last=Rashir |first=Princess Giri |date=10 November 2021 |url=https://www.eastmojo.com/meghalaya/2021/11/10/meghalaya-mairang-civil-sub-division-announced-as-eastern-west-khasi-hills-district/ |title=Meghalaya Mairang Civil Sub-Division announced as Eastern West Khasi Hills District |newspaper=EastMojo |accessdate=28 December 2021}}</ref>
|government_type =
|leader_title = Deputy Commissioner
|leader_name = Shri Gideon Kharmawphlang
|established_title = Established
|established_date = 10 November 2021

|area_footnotes =<ref name=census2011>{{cite report |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/1704_PARTB_DCHB_WEST%20KHASI%20HILLS.pdf |title=District Census Handbook: West Khasi Hills, Part XII-B |page=11 |publisher=Directorate of Census Operations, Meghalaya |date=December 2020 |accessdate=28 December 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_km2 =1356.77
|area_land_km2 = 
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|population_as_of = 2011
|population_footnotes = <ref name=census2011/>
|population_total = 131451
|population_density_km2 = auto

|timezone = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
|utc_offset = +5:30
|coordinates = {{coord|25.56|N|91.62|E|region:IN_type:adm2nd|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes =
|elevation_point =
|elevation_m =
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_max_footnotes= <ref name=armymap>{{cite map |url=https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/india/txu-oclc-6614190-ng46-9.jpg |title=Sheet NG 46-9: Tura |series=Series U502 |scale=1:250,000 |publisher=Army Map Service, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army |date=December 1959}}</ref>
|elevation_max_m = 1924.5
|elevation_max_point = Mawthadraishan Peak
|website =
}}
'''Eastern West Khasi Hills''' is a [[List of districts in India|district]] in the [[India]]n state of [[Meghalaya]], located approximately {{convert|25|km}} west of the state capital of [[Shillong]]. It was created in 2021, after bifurcation of existing [[West Khasi Hills district]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Das|first=Manosh|title=Eastern West Khasi Hills is Meghalaya's 12th district {{!}} Shillong News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/shillong/eastern-west-khasi-hills-is-meghalayas-12th-district/articleshow/87642724.cms |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> The territories which make up the district recorded a total population of 131,451 in the [[2011 Census of India|2011 census]].<ref name=census2011/> The district headquarters is the town of [[Mairang]].<ref name=inauguration/>

==Geography==
The Eastern West Khasi Hills district is located in the [[Khasi Hills]] of central Meghalaya. It borders the districts of [[Ri Bhoi district|Ri Bhoi]] to the north, [[East Khasi Hills district|East Khasi Hills]] to the southeast, [[South West Khasi Hills district|South West Khasi Hills]] to the south, and [[West Khasi Hills district|West Khasi Hills]] to the west. It covers an area of {{convert|1356.77|km2}} and comprises 6% of the state's area.<ref name=census2011/>

The Mawthadraishan Range runs east to west through the district.<ref name=mining>{{cite report |last=Wann |first=F.M. |url=https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s33d8e28caf901313a554cebc7d32e67e5/uploads/2020/01/2020010727.pdf |title=District Survey Report of Minor Minerals other than Sand Mining or River Bed Mining, West Khasi Hills |pages=14, 18, 59 |publisher=District Task Force, West Khasi Hills |date=January 2020 |accessdate=28 December 2021}}</ref> The highest elevation in the district is Mawthadraishan Peak at {{convert|1924.5|m}} above sea level, located approximately midway between the towns of [[Nongstoin]] and Mairang.<ref name=armymap/> Another notable elevation in the district is Kyllang Rock, a large granitic dome located {{convert|9|km}} northwest of Mairang at {{convert|1774|m}} above sea level. This rock is personified as a man in various [[Khasi people|Khasi]] legends: one says that he is married to [[Thadlaskein Lake]] near [[Jowai]], and another describes his battles with Symper Rock to the south near [[Mawkyrwat]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Allen |first=Basil Copleston |title=The Khasi and Jainta Hills, the Garo Hills and the Lushai Hills |volume=10 |work=Assam District Gazetteers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8HEoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA8 |location=Allahabad |publisher=Pioneer Press |year=1906 |page=8}}</ref>

The central uplands of the district form a divide between the drainage basins of the [[Brahmaputra River]] to the north and the [[Meghna River]] to the south. Notable rivers in the district are the [[Kynshi River]] in the south; the [[Khri River]] in the north, which becomes the [[Kulsi River]] when it enters Assam at [[Ukiam]]; and the Khrisynnia (or Krishniya) River, a tributary of the Khri.<ref name=mining/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Das |first1=Krishna Kamal |last2=Sarma |first2=Bibhash |date=June 2018 |title=Irrigation Planning for Kulsi River Basin for Maximizing Net Benefit |journal=International Journal for Research in Engineering Application & Management |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=594–600 |url=http://ijream.org/papers/IJREAMV04I0339138.pdf}}</ref>

The district's climate varies from temperate in the central uplands to mildly tropical in the northern and southern foothills. Most of the rainfall in the district occurs during the [[southwest monsoon]] between May and August.<ref name=agriculture>{{cite report |url=https://kvkwestkhasihills.nic.in/kvkwkh/publication/2017/InventoryOfAgricultureWKH2015.pdf |title=West Khasi Hills District: Inventory of Agriculture |publisher=[[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]] |pages=9–10, 14 |year=2015 |accessdate=28 December 2021}}</ref> Mairang receives an average annual rainfall of about {{convert|2500|mm}}.<ref name=mining/>

==History==
The [[Khasi people]] are the indigenous inhabitants of the area. [[Tirot Sing]], the leader of Khasi resistance in the [[Anglo-Khasi War]] of 1829–1833, was the ''syiem'' or chief of Nongkhlaw, which is located about {{convert|15|km}} north of Mairang. A memorial in his honour was erected in Mairang in 1953–1954.<ref name=census2011/> Never formally part of British India, the 25 Khasi states acceded to the [[Dominion of India]] in 1948 and were given [[Autonomous administrative divisions of India|autonomy under the Sixth Schedule]] of the [[Constitution of India]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://khadc.nic.in/archive/historical_background.html |title=Historical Background |website=Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council |accessdate=28 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://khadc.nic.in/archive/roles_of_khadc.html |title=Role of the K.H.A.D.C and its Constitutional Mandate |website=Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council |accessdate=28 December 2021}}</ref>

When the state of Meghalaya was created in 1972, the Khasi Hills were part of the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills District, which was separated into the districts of Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills later that year. The Khasi Hills district was divided into West and East Khasi Hills districts on 28 October 1976, and Mairang Subdivision was created on 10 November 1976 in West Khasi Hills.<ref name=census1981>{{cite report |last=Tayeng |first=J. |url=http://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/4454/1/47349_1981_PPT.pdf |title=Provisional population totals, series 14, Meghalaya: paper 1 of 1981 |page=80 |work=[[1981 Census of India]] |publisher=Directorate of Census Operations, Meghalaya |accessdate=28 December 2021}}</ref> The [[community development block]] of Mawthadraishan was created on 20 March 2001 from parts of the Mairang, Mawkyrwat and Nongstoin CD blocks.<ref name=census2011/> On November 10, 2021, the Mairang and Mawthadraishan CD blocks were separated from West Khasi Hills to form the new district of Eastern West Khasi Hills.<ref name=inauguration/>

There was also a lot of controversy concerning the name chosen for the district, as the nomenclature was a geographical and topographical anomaly.

==Administration==
Eastern West Khasi Hills is divided into two community development (CD) blocks, Mairang and Mawthadraishan. The current deputy commissioner of the district is Wilfred Nongsiej.<ref name=inauguration/> The district falls within the [[Scheduled Areas|scheduled area]] of the [[Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://khadc.nic.in/archive/Introductory.htm |title=Introductory |website=Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council |accessdate=28 December 2021}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Bar box
|float=left
|title=Religion in Eastern West Khasi Hills (2011)<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011|title=Table C-01 Population by Religion: Meghalaya|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11384/download/14497/DDW17C-01%20MDDS.XLS|website=censusindia.gov.in|publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India]]}}</ref>
|titlebar=#Fcd116
|left1=Religions
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Christianity in Meghalaya|Christians]]|dodgerblue|94.94}}
{{bar percent|Others*|chartreuse|3.69}}
{{bar percent|Other or not stated|black|1.37}}
|caption=*<small>Animists and [[Tribal religions in India|ethnic religions]]</small>
}}

The district has a total population of 131,451, of which 66,016 are males and 65,435 are females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 11 (0.01%) and 129,758 (98.71%) of the population.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011|title=District Census Meghalaya - West Khasi Hills|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/872/download/36356/DH_2011_1704_PART_A_DCHB_WEST_KHASI_HILLS.pdf|website=censusindia.gov.in|publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India]]}}</ref>

==Economy and infrastructure==
The main economic activity in the district is agriculture. Main crops grown include paddy rice, maize, and potatoes.<ref name=agriculture/>

[[National Highway 106 (India)|National Highway 106]] runs east to west through the district, connecting it to Shillong in the east and Nongstoin in the west. Meghalaya State Highway 3 runs north from Mairang through Nongkhlaw, connecting the district to Ri Bhoi district and the state of Assam.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Meghalaya}}

[[Category:Eastern West Khasi Hills district| ]]
[[Category:Districts of Meghalaya]]
[[Category:2021 establishments in Meghalaya]]

Eastern West Khasi Hills district - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 13:04, 31 August 2023