Shillong: The (Un) Making of a North-East Indian City?

Cities in north-east India have received little critical attention in the ongoing South Asian urban scholarship perhaps because of the predominant focus on globalisation — a phenomenon that this region is often mistakenly regarded, as being somewhat remote from. ¹ This is very much the case with the city of Shillong, ² the capital of the North-Eastern state of Meghalaya, with a population of more than two hundred thousand. ³ Shillong has traditionally been hailed as a cosmopolitan haven in an otherwise conflict-torn region. A survey of the historical development and contemporary life of this city, however, reveals that at crucial moments, its cosmopolitan character has been challenged and proven fragile. Like other recent re-examinations of the post-colonial city have argued, Shillong did not, as is commonly thought, evolve as an idyllic, cosmopolitan and modern town in an otherwise ‘savage’ region. Deep divisions were ingrained in its social and cultural relations and have affected its social geography from the very start. However, Shillong’s multi-layered colonial and post-colonial history, lends it to the varied imaginings of different interest groups. While extremist groups challenge the liberal and normative idea of the city as an inclusive space equally open to all its peoples, and lobby for adherence to a ‘pure’ local culture, other organisations have a more complex approach to ideas of indigineity and cultural plurality.