The Khasi Anglo-IndiansZScheduled Tribe living in Meghalaya
are descendants from the European colonialists and Khasi
women. This group of Anglo-Indians are for the first time
being included in a research project about the
Anglo-Indians in India, and the Khasi
Anglo-IndiansZScheduled Tribe were eager to meet the
researcher and participate in the survey.
In Meghalaya, forty three people were interviewed (see
Appendices 1 and 3) . There were thirty-five Khasi women,
one Khasi Anglo-IndianZScheduled Tribe woman, one
Anglo-Indian man who was not a member of the Khasi tribe,
five Khasi Anglo-IndianZScheduled Tribe men and one Indian
Christian. These forty three people were interviewed in
Shillong the capital city of the state of Meghalaya.
There were two group interviews conducted. Seven people
attended the first group interview. There were six men and
one woman. One man was an Anglo-Indian, and five men were
Meghalayan Anglo-Indians. They were all Christians, and
were bilingual in Khasi and English. The Meghalayan or
Khasi AngloZlndians possess an Anglo-Indian ethnicity, if
one accepts the definition of an Anglo-Indian in the
Constitution of India. These KhasiZAnglo-Indians were
descended in the male line from European colonialists.
In addition to this group, another group of thirty five
Khasi women were interviewed, an Indian Christian who was
a member of the Salesian Religious Order in Shillong, a
Mizo Scheduled TribeZAnglo-Indian and an Armenian woman
were also interviewed. Anglo-Indians in Meghalaya do not
register with any Anglo-Indian Association, because they
are members of the Khasi Scheduled Tribe.
The descent in the male line from European colonialists
and women who belong to the Khasi tribe is matrilineal.
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