West Khasi Hills is an administrative

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the state of

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

The West Khasi Hills district was carved out of the Khasi Hills district, which was divided into West and

East Khasi Hills East Khasi Hills is an administrative district in the state of Meghalaya in India. The district headquarters are located at Shillong. The district occupies an area of 2752 km² and has a population of 825,922 (as of 2011). , it is the most ...

districts on 28 October 1976.

Geography

The district headquarters is located at

Nongstoin Nongstoin (IPA: ˈnɒŋˌstɔɪn) is the headquarters of West Khasi Hills district in the state of Meghalaya in India. Geography Nongstoin is located at . It has an average elevation of 1409 metres (4622 feet).e The Langshiang Falls is loc ...

. The district occupies an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

of 5247 km²

Divisions

Administrative divisions

West Khasi Hills district is divided into four blocks:

Demographics

According to the 2011 census West Khasi Hills district has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 383,461, roughly equal to the nation of

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. This gives it a ranking of 562th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

over the decade 2001-2011 was 30.25%. West Khasi Hills has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species d ...

of 980

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 77.87%. The district is predominantly inhabited by Khasi tribe. There is a significance presence of Garo Tribe in the Mawshynrut C n RD Block of West Khasi Hills District.

Culture

Khasi society has greatly been transformed by many factors which have arisen in recent times. Adoption of the Western style of life, especially among the literate and educated, have been quite rapid although the matrilineal laws of inheritance and succession and the other cultural traits are still retained.

Places of interest

Langshiang Falls The Langshiang Falls is located near the village of Sangriang, from Nongstoin, in West Khasi Hills district in the Indian state of Meghalaya. It can also be seen from Mawpon village. The total height of the falls is generally quoted at aroun ...

, third-highest waterfalls in India * Mawthadraishan Peak, second highest peak in Meghalaya *

Nongkhnum River Island Nongkhnum River Island is the biggest river island in the Indian state of Meghalaya. The island is formed by the river Wah Kynshi on the west and south and river Namiliang on the north and east. Often erroneously claimed to be the second largest r ...

, Langshiang Falls, Weinia Falls, Thums Falls * Umyiap Paddy Field, longest paddy field in northeast India * Ranikor * Kyllang Rock * Rambrai * Langpih, a village which is the subject of a territorial dispute with neighbouring

Kamrup District Kamrup Rural district, or simply Kamrup district (Pron: ˈkæmˌrəp or ˈkæmˌru:p), is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India formed by dividing the old Kamrup district into two in the year 2003; other being Kamrup Metro ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

References

External links

West Khasi Hills website

Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council website

{{Coord, 25.5167, N, 91.2667, E, type:adm3rd_source:itwiki, display=title Districts of Meghalaya 1976 establishments in Meghalaya Autonomous regions of India