Shillong (pop. 143,229) is the capital of Meghalaya, a small state in northeastern India. It lies in the eastern part of the state. Shillong is the largest city in Meghalaya. Most of the people in the state live in rural areas. Shillong is a government administration center and an important center for trade in northeastern India. Eastern Command, one of the Indian Air Force’s five operational commands, is in Shillong. The town was built on the site of a Khasi tribal settlement. The majority Khasi population are mainly Methodist and Baptist Christians.
Shillong first became an important town in the 1800’s, when it gained popularity with the British as a hill station during the time of colonial rule. A hill station was a post in the hills or foothills where troops, government officials, or others were stationed as a refuge from summer heat. Some buildings from this period still survive in the area around Ward Lake, at the center of town. After an earthquake in 1897, much of the town was rebuilt. Shillong became capital of the province of Assam in 1874, and it has been an administrative center for northeastern India ever since. Before the formation of the union territory (now state) of Arunachal Pradesh in 1972, Shillong housed the headquarters of the North East Frontier Agency, as the region was then known.
