A book on the history of the Khasi states before and after Indian independence has been released to try and shed more of a light on the history of the local kingdoms in Khasi Hills and how they came to be part of India.
The book has been authored by John F Kharshiing Adviser & Spokesperson, Federation of Khasi States, and Professor Bodhi S Ranee of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. It has been made available as an e-book that can be downloaded and printed for free. Due to the Covid-19 situation, availability of a hardcopy will only be feasible in the future.
This first edition chronicles and documents the events and history of the Khasi states since 1773 onwards, leading right up to 2017.
The book has been published under the umbrella of the Tribal Intellectual Collective India, an association of tribal teachers and academicians from various universities in India and across the globe.
This detailed documentation of the history-epistemology and politics of the Khasi states is to also help benefit future students and scholars.
This ebook attempts to capture and document the events of the Khasi Hima from 1773, the occupation by the British, the independence of the Khasi states from August 1947 to January1950, the emergence of the Federation of Khasi States, the election and constitution of the Constituent Assembly, the Standstill Arrangements, the unfolding and signing of the Instrument of Accession and Annexed Agreement of August 17, 1948, etc.
The second edition of the book will cover the period up to 2021 and will, it is hoped, be published in 2022 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Meghalaya statehood.
