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History
As the legend goes, there were originally 16 families, nine in heaven and seven on earth. The golden vine that connected them was severed when sin polluted the earth. From then onwards, the people were divided into 16 warring families with different chiefs. These families belonged to the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo tribes. Today, they are the people of Meghalaya and this is their legendary beginning! And they do fight amongst themselves quite a bit!
Tribal law prevailed until the British took over the administration in 1820 and allowed Christian missionaries into the area. Today, most people are Christians. Present day Meghalaya was incorporated into the state of Assam after the independence of India in 1947. On 21 January 1972, Meghalaya was made an independent state of the Indian Union.
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Economy
85% of Meghalaya's population is engaged in agriculture. Maize, rice and vegetables are grown here. Its major cash crops are oranges, potatoes, jute, cotton, areca nut, ginger, turmeric, betel leaf and black pepper. Pineapple, lemon, guava, jackfruit and bananas are its fruit products. Forest products include timber, bamboo, reed, cane, medicinal herbs and plants. It is rich in minerals like mica, coal, and gypsum and provides 95% of India’s total sillimanite produce.
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Travel Tools
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