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Silverine Swer (1910–2014), popularly known as Kong Sil (Kong means ''Elder sister'' in
Khasi language Khasi () is an Austroasiatic language with just over a million speakers in north-east India, primarily the Khasi people in the state of Meghalaya. It has associate official status in some districts of this state. The closest relatives of Khasi ...
), was an Indian social and environmental activist, educationist and civil servant. She was the first person of tribal origin to hold senior posts with the Government of
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 ...
, and was a recipient of the ''Silver Elephant Medal of
the Bharat Scouts and Guides The Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG) is the national Scouting and Girl Guides, Guiding association of India. The national headquarters of BSG is recognised by the Government of India. Scouting was founded in India in 1909 as an overseas branch of ...
Award'' and
Kaisar-i-Hind Medal The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the Emperor/Empress of India between 1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have distinguished himself (o ...
. The
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
awarded her the fourth highest civilian award of
Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
in 1990, making her the first recipient of the award from the state of
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 ...
.


Biography

Silverine Swer was born on 12 November 1910 in a Khasi Christian family in
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 ...
, the capital of the Northeast Indian state of
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 ...
. After passing her matriculation from the Welsh Mission Girls School, Shillong, she graduated (BA) from
Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in Asia. ...
, under the
University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
, in 1932, and continued there to secure her graduate degree in education (BT) in 1936. Her career started in 1937 at her alma mater, Welsh Mission Girls’ High School, and a year later, she was appointed as the Advisor/Trainer of the Girl Guides Movement, in 1938, in charge of the various schools located in the
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
n regions of Assam, Mizoram and
East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...
(present day Bangladesh). In 1944, Swer was selected as the Assistant Controller of Rationing under the British Indian government. She held the post until 1949 when she resigned from government service to take up the job of a teacher at Pine Mount School, Shillong. She stayed at the school for three years until she had a chance meeting with N. K. Rustomji, then Adviser to the Governor of Assam on NEFA, who persuaded her to take up the post of the Chief Social Education Officer of the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) with office at
Pasighat Pasighat is the headquarters of East Siang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Situated at the eastern foothills of the Himalayas at above mean sea level, Pasighat is Arunachal's oldest town. The Government of India included Pas ...
. She stayed with NEFA from 1952 to 1968 and returned to Shillong that year for a two-year stint at her native place where she was involved with the activities of the ''Good Will Movement'' of the
Moral Re-Armament Moral Re-Armament (MRA) was an international moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman headed MRA for 23 years until his death in 1961. In 2001, the movement was renamed I ...
(MRA). She was among the Indian delegates who visited Sweden in 1970 in connection with MRA activities. Towards the latter part of her career, she chaired the International Year for Women and the Social Advisory Board of Meghalaya state, headed the State Guides movement as its commissioner and was a member of the Executive council of the
North Eastern Hill University North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is a Central University established on 19 July 1973 by an Act of the Indian Parliament. The university is in the suburb of Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, India. The university has two campuses ...
. Silverine Swer, who remained a spinster throughout her life, died on 1 February 2014, aged 103, at her residence in Riatsamthiah in Shillong. Her mortal remains were buried at Mawkhar Presbyterian Church Cemetery in the high range city.


Awards and recognitions

Her services as the Assistant Controller of Rationing in the 1940s earned her the award of
Kaiser-i-Hind Medal The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the Emperor/Empress of India between 1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have distinguished himself (o ...
from the British Government. She received the Silver Elephant Medal of the
Bharat Scouts and Guides The Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG) is the national Scouting and Guiding association of India. The national headquarters of BSG is recognised by the Government of India. Scouting was founded in India in 1909 as an overseas branch of the Scout A ...
in 1976. She was also a recipient of the Patogan Sangma Award for social service and RG Buruah Smriti Rakhya Samiti Award. The Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of the
Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
in 1990. In 2010, when she turned a centenarian, the Governor of Meghalaya hosted a special party at Raj Bhavan, his official residence.


See also

*
Khasi people The Khasi people are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic Ethnicity, ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the ...
*
Moral Re-Armament Moral Re-Armament (MRA) was an international moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman headed MRA for 23 years until his death in 1961. In 2001, the movement was renamed I ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swer, Silverine Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work Scientists from Meghalaya Indian women environmentalists Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal 1910 births 2014 deaths Khasi people People from Shillong Indian environmentalists 20th-century Indian women educational theorists Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Indian civil servants Indian women centenarians 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian women scientists Women educators from Meghalaya Educators from Meghalaya Activists from Meghalaya Women scientists from Assam 21st-century Indian social scientists 21st-century Indian women scientists Social workers from Meghalaya 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women civil servants 20th-century Indian civil servants