Revision as of 03:19, 11 August 2021

Shillong Town, 1908

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value. Head-quarters of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills District, and summer capital of the Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam, situated in 25 34' N. and 91 53' E. It is connected with Gau- hati by a metalled road, 63 miles in length, on which there is a daily tonga service, and which is continued to Cherrapunji, a village over- looking the plains of Sylhet. The population at the last three enume- rations was : (r88r) 3,737, (1891) 6,720, and (1901) 8,384.

Shillong first became the civil station of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills in 1864, in the place of Cherrapunji. In 1874, on the formation of Assam into a separate Province, it was chosen as the head-quarters of the new Administration, on account of its salubrity and its con- venient position between the Brahmaputra and Surma Valleys. The climate is singularly mild and equable, and the thermometer seldom rises in the hottest weather above 80 Fahrenheit. In the winter shallow water freezes at night, but snow seldom falls. The average annual rainfall is 82 inches, The town has been laid out with great taste and judgement among the pine woods at the foot of the Shillong range, which rises to a height of 6,450 feet above the sea. It is sur- rounded with rolling downs ; and visitors enjoy facilities for riding and driving, polo, golf, and cricket, which cannot usually be obtained in the hill stations of the Himalayas.

Prior to 1897 most of the public offices and private houses were built of rough-hewn masonry. The earthquake of June 12 in that year reduced them to a heap of ruins in the space of a few seconds, wrecked the water-supply, and destroyed the embankment which dammed up the waters of the lake near Government House, The shock occurred at 5 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, when nearly every one was out of doors, and only 2 Europeans and 27 natives were killed.

Had it taken place at night, there would have been few survivors. The station has since been rebuilt, but the use of brick and stone has been sedulously avoided. The water-supply is derived from the neighbouring hill streams, and is distributed in pipes all over the town. Shillong is the head-quarters of the Officer Commanding the Assam Brigade, of the heads of all the departments of Government, and of the Welsh Presby- terian Mission, which has done much to promote the spread of educa- tion in the hills, The garrison consists of a regiment of native infantry and a volunteer corps, which in 1904 had a strength of 34. There are a large Government press and two small private presses. Three monthly papers appear in the Khasi vernacular.

The jail contains accommodation for 78 persons, and the charitable dispensary has 17 beds. Shillong is administered as a Station under (Bengal) Act V of 1876. The municipal receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs, 29,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 25,500, chiefly from taxes on houses and lands and water-rate (Rs, 17,100), while the expenditure of Rs. 22,800 included conservancy (Rs. 10,100) and public works and water-supply (Rs. 7,100). The receipts and expenditure from cantonment funds in 1903-4 were Rs. 8,300 and Rs. 7,000 respectively. The bazar contains a few shops, at which both Europeans and natives can satisfy most of their requirements, while the Khasi market is one of the principal centres of trade in the hills. The principal educational institution is a high school, which in 1903-4 had an average attendance of 135 boys.