4.0 Tracing Scott’s Road - A visual journey

4.0  Tracing Scott’s Road - A visual journey

Even though Scott’s Road is firmly embedded in the modern history of the Khasi Hills, yet so little is known about it. The entire route is literally strewn with history, both political and natural. I have delved into long-forgotten and obscure texts to piece together what Scott’s Road might have been when it was created.
A string of botanists and naturalists traversed the Khasi Hills after it was constructed, and they must have taken this very same road, and from them I have attempted to gauge the sense of discovery and romance that existed in the mid-19^th Century. The British perseverance to link the Brahmaputra and the Surma valley and their quest for a sanatorium led them first to Nongkhlow, followed by Myrung, Maflong, Cherra Punji and ultimately Shillong. Ironically, Scott’s Road is largely forgotten and has only recently been revived in sections by the Indian Army as a trekking route for enthusiasts.

Background

It was early in 1826, at the conclusion of the Burmese war, that a Treaty was made by which Assam proper, was ceded by the Burmese to the East India Company. The province of Assam was included in the Bengal Presidency. The Khasi Hills, therefore, lay between two British possessions – the Assam or Brahmaputra valley in the north, and the Surma valley (containing the plains of Sylhet) in the south.

After the expulsion of the Burmese from Assam and the occupation of that province by the Company, the Government of Bengal turned its attention to the Khasi Hills. On 1 November 1826, David Scott, the Governor General’s Agent and the Commissioner of Assam, entered the Khasi State of Nongkhlaw along with a Major White[1], in order to negotiate for the construction of a road through the territory of Teerut Singh, the Syiem of Nongkhlaw[2]. The aim was to link the principal towns of the Surma and Assam valleys - Sylhet and Gauhati.

At that time Nongkhlaw was one of 24 petty Khasi States. It was second in importance to only the Khasi State of Shyllong. However, in 1830, the Company was instrumental in bringing about a split of Shyllong State into the States of Khyrim and Mylliem. Apart from establishing communication between the Surma and Brahmaputra valleys, there was another motivating factor for the British. With incessant wars on several fronts, the Company wanted to establish a sanatorium in the Khasi Hills for invalid European troops to “eat the Europe Air”[3]. For the Khasi Syiems the main reason was trade – produce from the Khasi Hills could only be sold in the markets in the plains of Kamrup to the north or Sylhet to the south. So the proposal of a road connecting both these places may not have been entirely disagreeable to the Syiems of the Khasi States affected.

When Assam was acquired by the Company in 1826, Scott wanted to establish communication through the Khasi Hills with Sylhet, and while the new administration of Kamrup refused to recognise the right of the Khasi rulers to encroach in the plains of Assam, Scott was able, by agreeing to allow Tirot Singh to rent some lands in Bardwar to induce Tirot Singh and to persuade the other Syiems to permit a road to be made through the Khasi Hills via Sohra (Cherra punji), Mawphlang and Nongkhlaw to Gauhati.

On 3 November 1826, an Agreement was signed between Scott and Tirot Singh. Amongst others, the Syiem agreed to furnish materials for the construction of a road through his territories for which he was to be reimbursed. He also agreed to keep the road in good repair after its completion. When there was unanimity of opinion in favour of the British, the latter constructed a bungalow with quite a good number of workers. The construction of Scott’s Road was immediately taken up. Lieutenants Beddingfield and Burlton were posted to supervise the construction work at Nongkhlaw. Tirot Singh helped in supplying materials for the work.

On 12 September 1829, a Treaty was concluded between Dewan Singh, the Syiem of Sohra and Scott, on behalf of the Company, by which Dewan Singh surrendered Saitsohpen (near Cherra) in exchange for certain lands in the plains of Sylhet (near Pandua/Mouzah Burryaile). Pandua lay at the foot of the Khasia Hills, immediately below Cherra poonjee[4]. At that time it was an important mart, and the meeting place of Khasis and Bengalis. Though it lay in the plains, it still belonged to the Khasi kingdom of Cherra poonjee.

The search for a suitable sanatorium started with Nongkhlow and then continued with Myrung, Mawphlang, and Cherra Punji. The Company finally settled for Cherra Punji and it soon became the base of military operations for the British. Cherra Punji was the principal station in the Khasi Hills until 1866, when Shillong became the Headquarters of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills District.

In 1874, the Assam Province was separated from Bengal Presidency, and Sylhet (along with Cachar, Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Naga and Garo Hills) was added to it and its status was upgraded to a Chief Commissioner's Province. Shillong remained the permanent seat of the Assam Government. It was chosen as the headquarters of the new administration because of its convenient location between the Brahmaputra and Surma valleys and more so because the climate of Shillong was much cooler than tropical India. 

This state of affairs continued (except during the partition of Bengal from 1905-1912 when East Bengal was added to the Assam Chief Commissioner's Province. The new region, was ruled by a Lieutenant Governor, had its capital at Dhaka) till the time of independence from the British in 1947. In 1947, the 25 Khasi States had formed a federation with the objective of acting as an intermediary body between the Khasi States and the Government of India. After India’s attainment of Independence in 1947, the chiefs of the States agreed to their accession to the Indian Union. 

These 25 Khasi States continued to be within Assam and Shillong remained the capital of Assam. In 1947, following a referendum, almost all of erstwhile Sylhet became a part of East Pakistan, barring the Karimganj subdivision, which was incorporated into the new Indian state of Assam. East Pakistan became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971. On 21 January 1972, the Indian state of Meghalaya was carved out of the state of Assam.  

Meghalaya lies in the turbulent north eastern region of the country. The name itself rolls out somewhat awkwardly from native tongues. Its author was S.P. Chatterjee, a geographer who came to this region in the late 1920s[5]. He called the plateau where the three main tribes – the Khasis, Syntengs (Pnars) and Garos - reside ‘Meghalaya’, the Abode of Clouds. First used in a doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of Paris in 1936, the term has come to denote the state and its people. 

Scott’s Road

Before the advent of the British, apart from the village paths that connected villages and criss-crossed the Khasi Hills, there were existing, well-frequented routes, to the plains both in the north (towards Kamrup) and in the south (towards Sylhet)[6]. Khasi traders used to go to markets in the plains regularly not only to get articles that they needed but also to sell what they produced. These old trade routes were in all probability extensions of village paths.

In 1826, Scott almost certainly followed a well-marked route on his first historic mission to Nongkhlaw. In the south, where the terrain is rocky and precipitous, lines of communication were probably few, but nonetheless they were there. From Robert Lindsay’s[7] account it is apparent that they were hazardous, men apparently had to stand on the very edge of steep drops to shield the women in their party from falling into the depths below.

Except in the uplands where horses would have been used, the only mode of travel was on foot. Women and others unused to steep climbs, as between the plains of Sylhet and Cherra Punji[8], often depended on the Koh-kit-briew (basket to carry people) which had a backward facing seat with foot rest and a hood for protection against the sun and rain.

Yet, so lucrative was the business at the markets in the southern plains that probably more Khasi traders sought outlets for their products there. Another factor was the comparative freedom of the southern approaches from the virulent diseases that were endemic in the northern terai country. The market at Bholaganj called by the Khasis ‘Hat Majai’ was a very important market till after independence in 1947. The market is still held every Tuesday, but at a much reduced scale.

Before Scott’s Road was built, on or about 1827, there was an existing route from Pandua to Cherra, a distance of nearly 20 miles[9]. The first 2 miles from Pandua passed over the Sylhet plain, through a jungle of low bushes, grass, and a few trees, much of which had been cleared by the inhabitants of a Cosya village, recently settled. A gradual ascent then led to the crest of a low range of hills, about 300 feet above the plain, along which a path proceeded, about 4 miles to the west.

The track then met with that from Para Punji, turned northwards, and passed over a second range of hills, rather more steep and abrupt than the first. On the summit of this range, 1,300 feet above the plains, was Bairang Punji, a Cosya village, occupying a commanding position. This was the only defining attribute of the village as it had no other natural advantages, being surrounded by jungle and lacking in water supply.

On the hillsides there were extensive plantations of betel nut and oranges. The lime-stone quarries were seen in the valleys on either side of the road. On the north of Bairang Punji, was a valley through which ran a water course, and along it were situated the villages of Neyumdah, Sorkoolong, and Motang. The road passed through the latter, to the foot of the third ascent termed Mahadeo ki Chatee, a winding, and rather difficult pathway, out in the side of the mountain, and rising to the height of a 1,000 feet, or 2,300 feet above Pandua. From the summit of this elevation, commenced a table land, sloping upwards very gently to the north.

The pass of Mahadeo was paved, for the accommodation of foot passengers, and could scarcely be rendered available to cattle, without becoming less practicable to men. From the Mahadeo pass, to the summit of the fourth ridge, 3,500 feet above Pandua, the distance was about 2 miles, and on to Moosmye, was a mile and a half, and from that to Chira Punji, about 3 miles, making a total distance of 10 miles from Bairang Punji.

This was not the only road that existed before the Scott’s Road. On or about 1829 there was another alternate route from Pandua to Cherra. There was a comfortable Bungalow at Pandua provided by the Company[10]. At night tigers could be heard roaring in the neighbourhood. The ascent was steep, and the usual mode of travelling in the hills then was to be borne in chairs and hampers, on the backs of the Khassias. It took 6 hours to reach Cherra punji, which was one of the principal Khassia villages, elevated about 4,000 feet above the plains. In a few hours one could be transferred from a sultry to a temperate climate. The pure and cool mountain breeze was refreshing.

The two sections – the one noted by Robert Lindsay in about 1776 and the one used by Scott in 1826 – were to be part of the road that Scott later planned to connect Guwahati with Sylhet – i.e. Scott’s Road. At the time of its construction in 1829, the surveying work was almost entirely performed by local surveyors, Bengalees and Assamese[11]. The European surveyor, or his assistant marked out the given tract, and surveyed the boundary.  

The interior portion of the area was entirely filled up by local surveyors, and protracted by the European surveyor, or his assistant. There were many local surveyors employed on very small salaries. The nature of the country and its unhealthiness were serious obstacles. Most of the surveyors were Bengalees, who suffered severely from sickness and this impeded progress. The surveyor then was Mr. Matthews, and the work was superintended by the late Lieutenant Bedingfield of the Artillery. 

The current Guwahati Shillong Road (G.S. Road as it is commonly known) began its existence as one of three bridle paths[12] that were constructed by the British[13]. This road originally carried on to Sylhet via Cherra punji, but of course it had to be truncated after independence in 1947. Travellers found the journey by all the three bridle paths to be tiresome. This was because the journey had to be performed on horseback or on foot and the luggage had to be carried by coolies[14]. When the current G.S. Road was finally converted to a car road, passengers could reach Shillong more quickly by pony tonga[15].  

Scott’s Road: The first of these bridle paths from Guwahati to Theria Ghat via Rani, Nongkhlaw, Mairang and Mawphlang was known as Scott’s Road. The construction of this bridle path by the Company started in 1829 and was the cause of a bitter five-year war between the British and the Khasi people from 1829-1833. The actual cause is still a matter of dispute, Khasi verbal history insists that it resulted from a duplicity on the part of the British in the breaking of a Treaty, whereby they were given permission to build the road through Khasi territory on condition that previously seized territory be returned to Khasi sovereignty[16].

Before Shillong was formed in 1866, the country lying between Gowhatty and the main axis of the Cossyah Hills, of which Shillong (reference to Shillong Peak) was the crowning height, was only known to Europeans along the Nunklow hill-path (i.e. Scott’s Road), and this was held in so bad repute from its unhealthiness, that those who ventured the journey along it did so as fast as the means at their command permitted, and considered themselves fortunate if they escaped the malarious fever which, undoubtedly pervaded it at almost all seasons of the year[17].

In the Annual Report on the Administration of the Bengal Presidency for 1863-64, there is a reference to the Gowhatty and Sylhet Road (i.e. Scott’s Road). This road was to connect Gowhatty with Sylhet, and with Shillong in the Cossiah Hills[18]. A bridle track had been cleared throughout the 86 miles between Gowhatty and Shillong, and portions had been opened out to a width of 10 feet. The line had been surveyed, and a bridle path had also been opened for 10 miles on the Sylhet side from Shillong.

In 1879, William Hunter noted that the road from Gauhati to Sylhet (i.e. Scott’s Road), was about 130 miles[19]. This road ran from Gauhati across the Hills, via Nongklao, Mao-flang, Cherra punji, and Tharighat, and finally to Bholaganj in Sylhet. The repairs to this road were affected partly by the inhabitants of the Khasi Native States, and partly by the Government.

During the great earthquake of 1897, the Khasia path from Maophlang to Cherra punji, which was part of the old main road across the hills from Tharia Ghat[20] to Gauhati, did not suffer much, because it generally avoided the side slopes of the hills. On the other hand, the cart road from Shillong to Cherra punji had entirely disappeared in places.

All over the country there were Khasi paths which were generally passable by a mounted man. Across some of the streams that intersect these hill paths, the Khasis had constructed living bridges. In 1903-04, 94 miles of cart road and 356 miles of bridle path were maintained in the district.

In 1906, B.C. Allen made the following observation about Scott’s Road. From Maoflang a bridle path ran north and westward through Sohiong (7 miles), Mairang (15 miles), and Nongkhlao (25 miles) to the border of the Kamrup district, 30 miles beyond Nongkhlao[21]. There were inspection bungalows at Mairang and Nongkhlao. This was the old road which connected Assam with the Surma valley before the headquarters of the district were transferred to Shillong.

Hamlet Bareh provides the most definitive guidance to the existence of Scott’s Road. He states that the road construction started in earnest in 1826. According to him, the road started from Rani Kudam (Godam) in Nongwah Syiemship and curved westward to Jirang where it took an abrupt eastward bend to Nongkhlaw and emerged in Sohiong[22]. Then it curved southward to Sohrarim and then to Sohra and still southward across the southern slopes and terminated at Chatak in Sylhet District.

On the Sylhet side, it is apparent that Scott’s Road also connected Pandua, as there is reference to it in Scott’s memoirs. From Tom LaTouche’s reports to Richard Oldham in 1897, it is apparent that Scott’s Road, started in Companyganj and went on to Theria Ghat, passing near Pandua on the way[23]. There is an existing bridle path from Companyganj (in present day Sylhet, Bangladesh) to Sohbar via Bholaganj[24]. This could be the remnant of the old Scott’s Road. There is also an existing trail from Laitkynsew to Mamluh. How this connects to Scott’s Road is not known.

Hamlet Bareh however mentions that the road was not made by Scott and was an old horse track over which a few innovations were introduced by the Company. After all that, Scott’s Road was later abandoned.

The original bridle path in the Khasi Hills has been referred to by many names - old Nongkhlow Road, old main road, old hill path, Scott Path, government road, old government road, Nunklow hill path, Theria road, Scott’s pony trail, old bridle road, old mule track, Scott Trail – amongst them. Parts of this historic bridle path exist today in its near original state, e.g. the section from Mawphlang to Ladmawphlang, Ladmawphlang to Mawngap, and Mawmluh to Laitkynsew, although it has long since ceased to be maintained.

Significantly, after the state of Meghalaya was carved out of Assam, at the inaugural proceedings of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on 29 June 1972[25], Jor Manik, Syiem of Mylliem made a passionate plea for its upkeep:

“I would like to draw the attention of the Government to one road, a very good road and the old political road of late Scott which runs from near Mawbeh to Lad Mawphlang. This road requires some soiling and metalling to make it motorable. So sir, I would like to place these facts before the Government to get certain clarifications.”

Briggs Trace[26]: The second of these bridle paths was made by the British during 1863-64 to the east of the old hill path (i.e. Scott’s Road) and to the west of the present motorable road and it emerged at Marbisu, a village 19 kilometres from Shillong on the Shillong-Mawphlang Road. From here it branched to Shillong and to Laitlyngkot. This bridle path was known as Brigg’s Trace which was later abandoned as well.

Rowlatt's line:         The third of these bridle paths was from Guwahati to Shillong via Nongpoh[27]. This is the current G.S. Road and was constructed by the British on or about 1866. This was known as Rowlatt's line[28], and ran via Oomean, Nongpoh and Burneyhat. In 1861, the designation Principal Assistant Commissioner was changed to Deputy Commissioner. Major E.A. Rowlatt was the third Principal Assistant Commissioner of the Cossyah and Jynteah Hills.

The principal works carried out by the Public Works Department prior to 1890 were the metalled road from Gauhati to Shillong and from Shillong to Cherra punji. And by 1906, an excellent metalled cart road ran from Gauhati to Cherra punji, via Shillong, a distance of 97 miles[29].

Shillong was also connected via Cherra punji, Therria ghat and Companyganj. The gradients between Shillong and Gauhati was carefully adjusted, and a tonga and bullock train service was maintained between these two towns. Except in the immediate neighbourhood of Shillong, few roads were suitable for wheeled traffic. This road opened up commerce especially with upper Assam. Potatoes were largely carried to Shillong by porters, where the tuber was readily bought by Marwari merchants, who loaded it in carts to be conveyed by road to Gauhati, from where it was again shipped to Calcutta and Upper Assam.

In about 1866, the distance from Gowhatty to Shillong was 63 miles, and the road was very dangerous in places[30]. No labour was available along the road, and coolies had to be engaged in the plains to take goods from Gowhatty to Nongpoh, a distance of 32 miles. As they seldom got paid, money had to be lodged in court before any attempt was made to procure labour. Despite this safeguard, coolies used to fake illness, unload in the middle of the jungle, and abscond.

From Nongpoh to Shillong, the Deputy Commissioner had to muster coolies from all over the hills, and it was a case of constant goading to get anything up. Fitzwilliam Thomas Pollock was an Executive Engineer who had a significant role to play in the future of Shillong. In about 1866, according to Pollock, one had to contend with the great cost of the actual coolie hire, and sometimes loss owing to breakage. The Cossyahs for themselves, and even for Europeans, would carry always a maund[31], however this was changed to 40 pounds (20 kgs.) and beyond that, the coolies would not carry an ounce. 

According to Pollock, each coolie cost Rupees 3-4 between Gowhatty and Shillong, and it took them a week or more to get there. Coolies at Shillong cost one Rupee a maund, at Cherra punji four annas[32]. To bring things up from Cherra punji to Shillong was nearly as expensive, for though the Cossyahs would take up a load for four annas to Cherra Punji, they would not go any further, as they were afraid of getting ill, if they went to their Golgotha[33] — Laban, or Shillong as it was known then. Pollock further states that in 1867 there was no road worthy of its name in Shillong. Coolies had to carry up stores, and often they would throw them about the jungles and scamper, inflicting great loss to their employers.  

According to E.P. Phelamon, a fine bullock-cart road ran through the district from Guwahati to Sohra[34]. Earlier settlements like Nongkhlaw, Mairang, Mawphlang, Sohra and Theria Ghat were linked with Guwahati and Sylhet. This road, which covered a total distance of 208 kilometres, lost its importance after the G.S. Road was completed.