The formation of Shillong
In the 1862-63 Annual Report
on the Administration of the Bengal Presidency, the Lieutenant Governor, Sir
Cecil Beadon, had authorised the transfer of the Civil Station of the Cossyah
and Jynteah Hills from Cherra to Shillong, in the territory of the Rajah of Moleem, and the question of
establishing a Sanatorium and a Military Cantonment in that locality awaited
the decision of the Government of India[1].
Since then it had been
decided that the Civil Station should be established, not at Shillong itself,
but in the adjoining plateau of Yeodo, which was warmer than Shillong and
better supplied with water. The whole of the lands selected around both
Shillong and Yeodo, including the space between them, had been secured by
purchase from the owners, with the consent of all parties concerned, and the
transfer included the quasi-sovereign rights of the Rajah of Moleem. The entire area taken was estimated to be over
2,449 acres, the sum paid for it amounted to Rs.8,325, exclusive of an annual
payment of Rs.108 for 680 acres not purchased outright.
The land was then being
accurately surveyed, and measures were being taken for the construction of the
necessary Civil Buildings at Yeodo, and for opening out public roads etc.
Grounds had also been reserved at Yeodo for a military cantonment, ample enough
for accommodating one native battalion, a battery of artillery, and barracks
for convalescent European troops, but no orders had been received for the
construction of military buildings.
There was a change in the
workforce as well, and Pollock[2]
provides the following glimpse:
“After many years of misgovernment, Assam at
last has been made a Chief Commissionership and separated from Bengal. The head
quarters have been removed from Gowhatty, one of the most unhealthy spots in
Assam, to Shillong, one of finest climates in the world, though it has many
drawbacks. A great improvement in the constitution of the commission has also
taken place; thoroughly well-trained civilians have been introduced into the
province, and the military civilian has no longer everything his own way; but
if he wish (sic) to hold his own with the new element, he has to work doubly
hard to keep pace with those better trained than himself in all the niceties of
civil government”.
Captain Kelsall, whose name
survives in ‘Kelsall Road’ and ‘Kelsall Lodge’, was the Executive Engineer, who
laid out the new station and Major H.S. Bivar was the Deputy Commissioner
during the period of construction[3].
The pre-cursor to the Raj Bhavan, the Government House, must have been a
building without any architectural merit as a Mr Arundell, who designed the new
house, described it as a “building which
had been added to from time to time upon no preconceived plan and was in many
ways inconveniently and wastefully arranged”.
It was a stone building like
most of the other houses in Shillong at that time and had a corrugated iron
roof. The accommodation was probably very meagre judging from the sketch plan
for the new house which was drawn up after 1897 and which faithfully followed
the old ground plan.
At that time the
construction of the Court-house at Shillong had commenced, and it was reported
that it was progressing fairly. The new Cantonment at Shillong had been marked
off and the main roads laid out. Semi-permanent buildings for the Eurasian
Artillery had been provided at Cherra Poonjee. The lands about Shillong had
been reserved for people who may wish to locate themselves at the new Station.
In
1863, Shillong was conceived as a pleasant hill resort and the Head Quarters of
the District comprising of 31 British villages in
the Khasi Hills and the present Jaintia Hills District[4].
The most significant and durable contribution of British administration was the
settlement of a large number of plainsmen, mostly Bengali clerks, and Gurkha
personnel of what later came to be known as the Assam Rifles. The first group
chose the township as their habitat, the second group spread over the fringe of
the town and the more remote rural areas. Assamese penetration in the town
started late in the British period and was accelerated after the transfer of
power when Assamese representation in the bureaucracy was enhanced.
The building of Shillong was made
possible due to the considerable skill of Khasi workmen. These skills were
acquired from the tireless work of the Welsh Missionaries. Pollock mentions the
following skills in the context of Cherra[5],
but they could equally apply to Shillong:
“The Cossyahs are great adepts (sic) at
building in rubble masonry, and in carpentry, and have a capital idea of
constructing decent houses. The excellence of their workmanship is shown by the
way in which many houses, though dismantled of their roofs and exposed to the
fearful rainfall for many years past, are still standing. House building was
not dear in those days in Cherra, but still it cost something, and one day the
fiat went forth that Cherra was to be deserted and Shillong formed into a
station”.
As
noted above, under the Agreement of 18 December 1863, the Syiem ceded Raj known as
the Shillong lands, the Kurkontong Nongkseh land and Shillong-Laban land.
Besides, some private land was also purchased. The boundaries of the 4.19 square
miles of lands thus ceded to the British were surveyed in January 1864 and the
layout plan was prepared by Mr. R. Barclay, Senior Sub-Assistant Surveyor
showing the area into three distinct parts viz, Shillong – 3.13 sq. miles,
Iewduh (Civil Station) 0.54 sq. miles and Iewduh Cantonment 0.52 sq. miles[6].
The
area in question was that between the 7th mile and the Umshyrpee stream, about
half a mile in breadth, and in general known as Upper Shillong, the Military
Lines and Jhalupara upto Umshyrpee stream, and the area now under the
Cantonment, Police Bazar, Jail road and European Quarters (ward). Thus Shillong
as we know it today had grown up at the site Iewduh (Civil Station) and not at
Shillong (plateau). This was due to the
apparent surface likeness of the two places and the Engineering party deputed
to construct the station failed to distinguish between the above two places.
Allen confirms that, strictly
speaking, the name is a misnomer, as the town was situated on the plateau of
Yeodo, and Shillong was the name of the peak and of the high plateau to the
west of the present station[7].
This plateau was only about 5 miles from the cutcherry, not as the crow flies, but by a beautifully graded road,
which, after crossing the Umshirpi, wound its way through bracken and pinewoods
to the higher levels. The Committee who were appointed in 1862 to report on the
desirability of Shillong as the headquarters of the district, proposed to
locate the station and the sanatorium on the higher plateau of Shillong, and to
reserve Yeodo for a depot for invalid European troops and for the lines of a
native regiment.
Shillong was about 900 feet
higher than Yeodo, and though the average rainfall was a little higher, there
was a very perceptible difference in the temperature. Allen was of the view
that most people would probably regret that effect was not given to the
original proposal, and that the station was not built on the higher of the two
plateaus. From a perusal of the correspondence, it would appear that the
difference between the two places was not clearly borne in mind.
The
Committee distinctly recommended that the civil station and the sanatorium
should be located on the plateau of Shillong and the slopes descending from
there towards Yeodo, but the Lieutenant-Governor, in his letter acknowledging
the receipt of their report, expressed his approval of the removal of the sadr station of the district from Cherra
to Yeodo. A beginning was no doubt made on the lower plateau, and once houses
and offices were erected there, people were loathe to start building 5 miles
away.
During
1863-64, a new divisional charge was formed – the Shillong Division, comprising
the Sanatorium of Shillong and the Civil Station of Yeodo, and the roads from
the plains to Shillong[8].
The transfer of the Civil Station of the Cossyah and Jynteah Hills from Cherra
Poonjee to Shillong had been completed. The head quarters of the police, the
jail, the treasury, and the Deputy Commissioner’s office had all been removed
to the new Station, which had been called Shillong, as the name best known to
the natives. The question of establishing a Sanatorium and Military Cantonment
there had not yet been finally disposed of by the Government of India.
Pollock states that the views of
the snowy Himalayas from Shillong in October and November were beautiful, but
the great drawback of Shillong was its distance from a navigable river[9].
Gowhatty was sixty-three miles away, and the road was dangerous at times. No
labour was procurable along it, and coolies
had to be impressed in the plains to take goods from Gowhatty to Nongpoh,
thirty-two miles away. The money had to be lodged in court before any attempt
was made to procure labour. Despite this, they seldom got paid. They often faked
illness, threw down their loads in the jungle, and bolted. He goes on to say:
“From Nongpoh to Shillong, the Deputy
Commissioner had to impress coolies all over the hills, and it was a cause of
perpetual driving to get anything up, and then at a great cost of money for
actual coolie hire, and loss owing to breakage. The Cossyahs for themselves,
and even for us, till some idiot of a Deputy Commissioner put them up to other
tricks, would carry always a maund[10], or 84 lbs., but this
bright old woman ruled that 40 lbs. was ample, and beyond that, for the future,
they would not carry an ounce. Each coolie cost three to four rupees between
Gowhatty and Shillong, and they were probably a week or more on the way.
Coolies at Shillong cost one rupee a maund, at
Cherra four ans (sic). To bring things up from Cherra to Shillong was nearly as
expensive, for though the Cossyahs would take up a load for four annas to
Cherra, further they would not go, as they were afraid of getting ill, if they
went to their Golgotha[11] – Laban, or the
present Shillong.
Col. Briggs, who had been employed under Col. Kennedy in the
construction of the Thibet road, laid out his usual skill a capital hill
cart-road[12],
but it was eighty-four miles to Mooflong; and after several lacs of rupees had
been spent, Col. Rowlatt’s line, via the Oomean-Nongpoh and Burneyhat, was
chosen, and it is now the road used, and along which I marked out a cart-road”.
At this time, Pollock was in charge
of the Public Works in the Cossyah and Jynteah hills[13].
Pollock himself was involved in the construction of a road to Dewangiri in Bhootan.
He also laid out and partially constructed a cart-road between Gowhatty and
Shillong.
Gowhatty and Sylhet Road (via Shillong) – During 1863-64, the line between Gowhatty
and Shillong had been opened to only a width of 10 feet and had been well
advanced towards completion[14].
Timber bridges had been placed over every stream. Little progress had been made
on the descent towards Sylhet – about 20 miles only had been opened as a mule
track and timber bridges had been built.
Gowhatty and Sylhet Road (this road is likely to be Scott’s
Road) – This road
was to connect Gowhatty with Sylhet, and with Shillong in the Cossiah Hills. A
Bridle Track[15] 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.
Cossyah Hill Trunk Road (also referred to as the Shillong
Cart Road and Brigg’s Trace) – A
set of levels was carried 92 miles from Gowhatty to Shillong via Marbesu for
this road. On the south face of the Cossyah Hills a careful exploration was
made to find a practicable descent to the Sylhet plains in continuation of the
Hill Trunk Road[16]. It was
believed that the difficulty had been overcome, but the exploration could not
be entirely completed in that season. The construction of the Hill Trunk Road
was actively recommenced, but stopped in December by order of the Government.
Eighty miles of road were open to half width, of which 10 were executed that
year in spite of the difficulties, such as heavy rock-cutting etc.
Pollock’s job was to search for new and
better routes and he had the following to say[17]:
“Colonel Briggs, who had been employed under
Major Kennedy in the construction of the hill road towards Nepaul, laid out
with his usual skill a road connecting Shillong and Gowhatty, and also Shillong
and Jowai. These were far too good for bridle paths, and never completed as a
cart road. The distance too was excessive. The consequence was that it was
never used; a shorter and a rougher route being preferred by Europeans and
natives alike. There is now a capital road from Gowhatty to Shillong; I laid it
out and commenced it, but it was finished after my time.”
Birney Haut Bridle Road – A line of levels, 62 miles long, was run on
the route.
Gowhatty to Moflong Bridle Road (80 miles) – On this road, 27 timber and rubble bridges
and two masonry bridges were constructed during the year. Interestingly, the
road was made passable for elephant traffic.
On the Bridle Road between Shillong and
Sylhet by Lailankote and Lacaut, 20 miles were opened out to a width of 6 feet
from the Bogapanee River to Tunginath, and a trial line had been traced 6 miles
further towards Lacaut. The adoption of this route for the descent of the
Cossyah Hill Trunk Road to the Sylhet plains was, however, barred by the
necessity of placing the terminus of the line at a point on the Surmah
accessible to steamers from Calcutta all the year round.
The Bridle Road from Moflong by Cherra
Poonjee to Bolagunge, 30 miles was being extended 5 miles further to
Companygunge on the Peine River for the convenience of traffic. The line then
ended in the swampy Terrai at Bolagunge, and in the early and latter portion of
the rains, when there was not enough water in the Bolagunge Nullah, travellers
and goods were obliged to make their way across country from Bolagunge to the
Peine River at Companygunge, and the want of a road was a great drawback and
source of delay.
The Lailankote Road (Bridle Road between
Shillong and Sylhet by Lailankote and Lacaut) was designated as an Imperial
Road (all others were Local Roads) and was between Shillong and Lailankote (44
miles) – it had 2 sections - Lacaut to Lailankote (30 miles), commenced in
January 1864 and Shillong to Lailankote (14 miles) commenced in November 1864
at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,400[18].
The Shillong Station Road was from Yeodo to
Shillong (13 miles), commenced in February 1864 at an estimated cost of Rs.
24,383. The Oomean Road was from Shillong to Nungrun Chilla (15 miles),
commenced in January 1863 at an estimated cost of Rs. 3,400. The Nuncklow and
Gowhatty Road (Gowhatty to Moflong Bridle Road) was between Gowhatty and
Mofflong (84 miles), commenced in March 1866 at an estimated cost of Rs.
12,137.
According to Philemon, three paths were made
to enter into Shillong from Guwahati[19].
The journey to reach Shillong by any of these three bridle paths was found much
tiresome, having to be performed on horseback or on foot, the luggage being
carried by coolies, and the
construction of the car road, by which passengers could reach Shillong more
quickly by pony tonga, was no doubt
eagerly welcomed by the people of Shillong.
One path was from Guwahati to Shillong via
Rani, Nongkhlaw, Mairang and Mawphlang (this is likely
to be Scott’s Road). The second was a bridle path made during 1863-64 to
the east of the old hill path (likely reference to Scott’s Road) and to the
west of the present motorable road and it emerged at Marbisu, a village at the
19th kilometre of the Shillong-Mawphlang road and from there branched to
Shillong and to Laitlyngkot (this is likely to be Brigg’s Trace, which was
later abandoned). The third was another bridle path from Guwahati to Shillong
via Nongpoh (likely to be the present day Guwahati Shillong Road)[20].
The
process of transfer of the Military was however delayed as a result of Anglo-Bhutanese
war of 1864-65[21]. A long continued series
of raids into British territories – forced on a war with the Government of
Bhutan in November 1864. The campaign was the first in which the 1st and 2nd
Gurkha Battalions were engaged alongside and defeated an enemy.
In
October 1865 the 44th (Sylhet) Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry again
proceeded to Dewangiri returning finally to Cherrapunjee in March 1866. In 1864
the 44th Regiment formed part of the Bhootan Field Force. And in 1867 the Military
Head Quarters were finally moved to Shillong.
On or about April 1865, the
Lieutenant-Governor of the Bengal Presidency, Sir Cecil Beadon, spent a few
days at Cherra Poonjee, where he received the Cossyah Chiefs and from there he went
on an inspection of the new Station at Shillong and the Hill Road in course of
construction from Gowhatty to the Soorma.
According to the
original plan by the British, the future capital was to be located south of
Shillong Peak which was within the State of Khyrim. That would have accurately
reflected on the name of Shillong. However, the site was abandoned due to
inadequacy of water supply. As noted previously, in 1864, the District Head
Quarters were shifted from Cherra Punji to Iewduh. Besides Iewduh, the villages
in the valley had a few scattered huts in Laban, Mawkhar, Laitumkhrah, Nongkseh
and Lawsohtun. It was the British who gave the name ‘Shillong’ to these
villages taken together[22].
The valley where Shillong now nestles is on the north eastern part of the
Shillong Peak within the bounds of the Syiem
of Mylliem.
From 1864 onwards progress had been made
towards transferring the public offices (civil) of the Cossyah and Jynteah
Hills from Cherra Punji to Yedeo[23].
There were however some hurdles as to the transfer of the Sudder Civil Station of the Cossyah and Jynteah Hills from Cherra
Punji (Sohra) to Yeudeo (Iewduh) because of the delay in completing the
building to the 'Kutchery' or the
Deputy Commissioner's office. Simultaneously, the Government had sanctioned for
the construction of other suitable buildings at Iewduh.
"...the Lieutenant Governor's sanction to the
expenditure of rupees 500, incurred in excess of the amount authorised in
November last, in constructing at Youdoe suitable buildings which are intended
to be let out as shops as an inducement to tradesmen to settle at that new
station ... rupees 216 which was estimated will be realised as rent from the
tradesmen by whom these buildings are to be occupied may be carried to the
credit of the Government.”
When the Station
was shifted from Sohra to Youdeo or Shillong, the Government felt the pressing
requirements of the Public Service, and thus sanctioned two experimental
offices, one at Youdeo or Shillong and the other at Jowai[24].
There had also been a line of road between these two Stations. The Deputy
Commissioner's office was constructed in 1866 and Shillong became the District
Head Quarters. The Rules for the grant of lands at Shillong were framed by the
Government.
[1] Annual
Report on the Administration of the Bengal Presidency for 1863-64.
[2]Sport in British Burmah, Assam, and the Cassyah and Jyntiah
hills. with notes of sport in the hilly districts of the northern division,
Madras Presidency, indicating the best localities in those countries for sport,
with natural history notes, illustrations of the people, scenery, and game, together
with maps to guide the traveller or sportsman, and hints on weapons,
fishing-tackle, etc., best suited for killing game met with in those provinces.
Volume 2.
Lieutenant Colonel Fitz William Thomas Pollock, Chapman and Hall, London, 1879.
Harvard University.Pg.65.
[4]Sengupta,
Sutapa. & Dhar, Bibhash. & North-East India Council for Social
Science Research. 2004, Shillong: a
tribal town in transition / editors, Sutapa Sengupta, Bibhas Dhar
Reliance Pub. House, New Delhi: Status of
Non-Tribal Residents in Shillong, S.K.Chattopadhyay.
[5]Sport in British Burmah, Assam, and the Cassyah and Jyntiah
hills. with notes of sport in the hilly districts of the northern division,
Madras Presidency, indicating the best localities in those countries for sport,
with natural history notes, illustrations of the people, scenery, and game,
together with maps to guide the traveller or sportsman, and hints on weapons,
fishing-tackle, etc., best suited for killing game met with in those provinces.
Volume 2.
Lieutenant Colonel Fitz William Thomas Pollock, Chapman and Hall, London, 1879.
Harvard University.Pg.73.
[6]The Gurkhas,
settlement and society : with reference to Shillong, 1867-1969 / Sanjay Rana.
New Delhi : Mittal Publications, 2008.
[7]Assam
district gazetteers, Volume 10, B.C. Allen, Baptist Mission Press, 1906,
Harvard University.
http://www.archive.org/stream/assamdistrictga00allegoog#page/n48/mode/1up.
[9]Sport in British Burmah, Assam, and the Cassyah and Jyntiah
hills. with notes of sport in the hilly districts of the northern division,
Madras Presidency, indicating the best localities in those countries for sport,
with natural history notes, illustrations of the people, scenery, and game,
together with maps to guide the traveller or sportsman, and hints on weapons,
fishing-tackle, etc., best suited for killing game met with in those provinces.
Volume 2.
Lieutenant Colonel Fitz William Thomas Pollock, Chapman and Hall, London, 1879.
Harvard University.Pg.75,76.
[13]Wild
sports of Burma and Assam (1900), Colonel Fitz William Pollock, Late Staff
Corps, and W. S, Thom, Assistant District Superintendant of Police, Burma.
Hurst and Blackett Limited, London,1900.University of California.Pg.429.
[15]A bridle
path (also bridleway, bridle road) is a thoroughfare originally made for horses.
Bridle paths were transport routes where the country was so steep that the
route was impassable by wheeled traffic.
[16]A trunk road
is a major road, usually connecting two or more towns, ports, etc. which is the
recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic.
[17]Wild
sports of Burma and Assam (1900), Colonel Fitz William Pollock, Late Staff
Corps, and W. S, Thom, Assistant District Superintendant of Police, Burma.
Hurst and Blackett Limited, London,1900.University of California. Pg.490-491.
[19]Philemon, E.
P. 1995, Cherrapunjee: the arena of rain: a history and guide to Sohra
& Shillong / E.P. Philemon Spectrum Publications, Guwahati.
[20]Taylor, S.B
; "Ecclesiastical Report of Lower Assam for the Year 1880", One
Hundred Years, A short account of the Anglican Church in Assam, 1930, pp. 6-7.
[21] The Gurkhas, settlement and society
: with reference to Shillong, 1867-1969 / Sanjay Rana. New Delhi : Mittal
Publications, 2008.
[22]Sengupta, Sutapa. &
Dhar, Bibhash. & North-East India Council for Social Science Research.
2004, Shillong: a tribal town in
transition / editors, Sutapa Sengupta, Bibhas Dhar Reliance Pub.
House, New Delhi: Rymbai, p.29.
[23]The Khasis
Under British Rule (1824-1947), Helen Giri, published by Regency Publications,
New Delhi, 2002.
[24]The Khasis
Under British Rule (1824-1947), Helen Giri, published by Regency Publications,
New Delhi, 2002.
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