The name is absent

APPENDIX 7

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ANGLO-INDIANS IN

SHILLONG, MEGHALAYA

The matrilineal descent of the Anglo-Indian community in
Shillong who are members of the Scheduled Khasi Tribe.
The Khasi Anglo-Indian men revert to their tribal
status, when they take their mother's surname. The Khasi
Anglo-Indians belong to the Khasi Scheduled Tribe.

The group was interested in how they were going to be
included in a research about Anglo-Indians if their
society was matriarchal. The answer lies in the
definition of the Constitution of India. An Anglo-Indian
was descended in the male line from a European. The
Khasi Anglo-Indians fulfilled this criteria, and the
Constitution of India did not mention surnames. The
definition was based on patrilineal descent, and these
Anglo-Indians were descended from the British, although
they are matrilineal.

The Constitution of India describes the Anglo-Indian as a
person of European descent in the male line. The
Anglo-Indians in Shillong fulfil this criteria. However,
the community is a matrilineal one, and this research is
the first one to investigate the Anglo-Indians who live
in the North-Easter Frontier State of Meghalaya.
(Capital: Shillong)

The Anglo-Indians in Meghalaya are called Khasis. They
are descendants of British tea planters, Civil Servants,
Army Officers and Presbyterian Ministers. Most of the
Anglo-Indians in Meghalaya are of Scottish descent. They
usually receive their education in an Anglo-Indian school
called Dr. Graham's Homes, in Kalimpong. There are
Anglo-Indians who do not have Khasi mothers, and these
Anglo-Indians retain their Anglo-Saxon surnames. They
are a very closely knit community with excellent
communication links between families, and this supports
the group interaction process. See, Shaw, M. (1964)
Communication Networks ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY Vol.l pp.111-47 (p.lll). There are
approximately ten thousand Khasi Anglo-Indians/Schedule
Tribe, and when the group was asked the question about
size, one man said,

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