Mawlynnong is a village in the

East Khasi Hills district 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 2,748 km2 and has a population of 825,922 (as of 2011). , it is the most ...

of the

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

state in

North East India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, M ...

. It is notable for its cleanliness and also was chosen by Discover India magazine as Asia's cleanest village. The village comes under the Pynursla

community development block In India, a community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of District, administratively earmarked for planning and development. In tribal areas, similar sub-divisions are called tribal development blocks (TD blocks). T ...

and

Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, also known as the Vidhan Sabha or the Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in each of the states and certain union territories of India. Members of the legislative assembly are often directly elected to serve fiv ...

(legislative assembly) constituency.

Geography

Mawlynnong is located 90 km from

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

, along the India–

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

border. Kalain "The Gateway Of Barak Valley" is 187 km from Mawlynnong. A famous geographical occurrence in Mawlynnong is the Balancing Rock of Mawlynnong

Demographics

As of 2019, Mawlynnong had 900 residents.Nieves, Evelyn.
Girls Rule in an Indian Village

Archive
. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. 3 June 2015. Retrieved on 5 June 2015. , there are about 95 households in Mawlynnong. The literacy rate is 90%.Eco Destination
Department of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

is the chief occupation of the local population, with

betel nut The areca nut ( or ) or betel nut () is the fruit of the areca palm ('' Areca catechu''). The palm is originally native to the Philippines, but was carried widely through the tropics by the Austronesian migrations and trade since at least 1 ...

being the main crop. During summers, one can find pineapples and lychees which are then exported to the nearby regions as well. The people residing in the community are Khasi people. The population is mostly Christian and the village has three churches.

Matrilineal Society

As is the tradition of the Khasi people, Mawlynnong property and wealth are passed from the mother to the youngest of her daughters, who also keeps the mother's surname.

Sanitation

Mawlynnong is known for its cleanliness. The waste is collected in the dustbins made of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

, directed to a pit and then used as

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nut ...

. A community initiative mandates that all residents should participate in cleaning up the village. Smoking and use of polythene is banned while

rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a Rainwater tank, tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), Aquifer s ...

is encouraged. The travel magazine ''Discover India'' declared the village as Asia's cleanest village in 2003, and the cleanest in India in 2005. This reputation has boosted local tourism; in 2017

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

reported that, according to the village headsman, incomes had increased by 60 percent due to increased tourism.

2024 Incident

on December 26, 2024, influencer Akash Sagar made slogan Jai Shree Ram after trespassing church in Mawlynnong, caused outrage.

References

{{Commons category, Mawlynnong Villages in East Khasi Hills district