GOOD MORNING..Supreme Court to hear pleas challenging the legality of Citizenship (Amendment) Act; Municipal polls in Telangana and panchayat polls in Rajasthan; PM Modi to chair meeting on project implementation; World Economic Forum annual meet at Davos; Greece to elect first woman president. 1. How powerful should the Speaker really be?A question: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Parliament to rethink the power of the Speaker in deciding petitions seeking disqualification of lawmakers and suggested devising an independent mechanism to deal with such pleas since the Speaker also belongs to a political party (and may not always be impartial).The case: The suggestion came in a judgment by which the top court asked the Manipur Assembly Speaker to decide within four weeks the plea of a Congress leader seeking disqualification of BJP lawmaker and the state Forest Minister Th Shyamkumar. The BJP minister had won the assembly election on a Congress ticket and later joined the saffron party and became a minister.The role: A Speaker represents the House and is required to be impartial to uphold the traditions of parliamentary democracy. He also enjoys a unique position. A government may fall if a simple majority of members present in the House votes against it during a trust vote. But to remove a Speaker, the number of votes against him must be higher than half of the total strength of the House.The politics: Before being chosen to head the House, a Speaker is like any other MLA or MP who contested the election on a party ticket. Even after he leaves the post, he stands a chance to become a minister and therefore harbours political ambitions. Not the best scenarios for him to act in a non-partisan manner. The Constitution had entrusted the Speaker with the power to disqualify an MLA to maintain the sanctity and purity of the polity of the House. Instead, it has become a weapon to help the ruling party maintain its numbers when in crisis. So, there have been cases of MLAs being disqualified even after petitions for removal of the Speaker has been moved or even when the MLAs didn't officially leave the party or defy party directives (like in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in 2016).Limits of power? In 1992, the Speaker of the Manipur assembly disqualified an MLA. The SC set it aside. The Speaker refused to obey the SC order and was summoned in contempt. Still, he refused to appear. While ordering the Union government to produce him before the SC, the court said, "no one in the country is above the law and governance is not of men but of rule of law."(2.) Is there strife after Dhoni?.The search for nailing Team India's wicketkeeping spot in white ball cricket, 'Endgame MS Dhoni' or not, may well take some time. Just think back when Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket in 2014. Since then, five players had been tried behind the wickets in the longest format, with Wriddhiman Saha currently top of the pecking order.Indian keepers in Tests (After Dhoni played his last Test on Dec. 30, 2014) Tests.In ODIs (and consequently in T20Is, perhaps) captain Virat Kohli conceded that the experiment with KL Rahul, who found recent success in the dual role of wicketkeeper and middle-order batsman in the home ODI series versus Australia, will continue for a while as it brings great balance to the Indian side. Which means comebacks into the playing XI for Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson may take a while. And then there's the likes of KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan waiting in the wings as well.Indian keepers in ODIs (After Dhoni played his last ODI on Jul. 10, 2019)ODIsIndian keepers in T20Is (After Dhoni played his last T20I on Feb. 27, 2019)T20IsAnd Team India's search for the gloveman could play out like the phase soon after Nayan Mongia's departure. The likes of MSK Prasad, Saba Karim, Vijay Dahiya, Sameer Dighe, Deep Dasgupta, Ajay Ratra, Rahul Dravid, Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik were all given a go — India used five keepers in 16 months in the period — before Dhoni finally settled into the role. In fact, KL Rahul's current role is similar to that of Dravid's in the 2003 World Cup.Updates: India outclassed debutants Japan by 10 wickets in their second match of the ICC U-19 World Cup 2020 in Bloemfontein on Tuesday to all but secure a spot in the quarterfinals. Also, with Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of the upcoming New Zealand series due to injury, the BCCI named Sanju Samson and Prithvi Shaw as his replacement in the T20I and ODI squads, respectively.In ODIs (and consequently in T20Is, perhaps) captain Virat Kohli conceded that the experiment with KL Rahul, who found recent success in the dual role of wicketkeeper and middle-order batsman in the home ODI series versus Australia, will continue for a while as it brings great balance to the Indian side. Which means comebacks into the playing XI for Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson may take a while. And then there's the likes of KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan waiting in the wings as well.Indian keepers in ODIs (After Dhoni played his last ODI on Jul. 10, 2019)ODIsIndian keepers in T20Is (After Dhoni played his last T20I on Feb. 27, 2019)T20IsAnd Team India's search for the gloveman could play out like the phase soon after Nayan Mongia's departure. The likes of MSK Prasad, Saba Karim, Vijay Dahiya, Sameer Dighe, Deep Dasgupta, Ajay Ratra, Rahul Dravid, Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik were all given a go — India used five keepers in 16 months in the period — before Dhoni finally settled into the role. In fact, KL Rahul's current role is similar to that of Dravid's in the 2003 World Cup.Updates: India outclassed debutants Japan by 10 wickets in their second match of the ICC U-19 World Cup 2020 in Bloemfontein on Tuesday to all but secure a spot in the quarterfinals. Also, with Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of the upcoming New Zealand series due to injury, the BCCI named Sanju Samson and Prithvi Shaw as his replacement in the T20I and ODI squads, respectively. 3. Does self-employment really pay in India?3. Does self-employment really pay in India?Better to be salaried: The World Employment and Social Outlook 2020 report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) damns the concept of self-employment in India, saying that the self employed in India earn just about 20% of what the average salaried worker earns. Of course, part of the reason why the self employed will earn less is because of the absence of employer contribution to social security such as provident fund or medical and health insurance.Peanuts & pakoras: More than two thirds of the people who can be classified under the category of the self-employed — including perhaps the pakora sellers — earn no more than Rs 7,500 per month. In fact, 2 out of every 5 self employed people earn up to Rs 5,000 per month.Self made paupers (3)Counting the self employed: While a majority — 60% — of India’s self-employed are farmers, there are also a high number of workers employed in the 'gig economy', such as drivers of cab aggregator companies like Ola and Uber, who are counted as self employed. They, in fact, are counted among the better earning self-employed with average earnings of Rs 10,000 per month. That's more than the average earnings of an Indian farmer, who earns less than Rs 9,000 per month. And let's not forget the humble pakora sellers, who average about Rs 6,000 a month in earnings — as per 'official' estimates. X-PLAINED4. Novel Coronavirus4. Novel CoronavirusEven as the Union Health Ministry has sounded an alert at international airports for thermal screening of passengers arriving from China for the novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) — also known as the Wuhan virus — the WHO is convening an Emergency Committee later today to discuss steps to contain its spread. So what’s 2019-nCoV and how can it be prevented?Name: Coronavirus is an umbrella term for viruses that cause illness ranging from common cold to diseases such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).Transmission: According to the WHO, CoV are zoonotic — meaning they are transmitted from animals to humans, though the 2019-nCoV, suspected to have spread from consumption of seafood, is now starting to spread from human to human as well. This can happen when an uninfected person comes into contact with the secretions of an infected person — such as via sneezing, handshake or cough. In fact, several such CoV are present among animals which haven't yet infected humans. FYI: MERS was said to have spread from camels to humans while the needle of suspicion for SARS rests on civet cats.Symptoms: As per WHO, "common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death."Why is it 'novel': 2019-nCoV is a new strain of CoV, discovered in 2019 which is why it's written as 2019-nCoV. It's called novel since this strain has previously not been detected in humans. It was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China — which is why it's also called the Wuhan virus — and brought to WHO's notice on December 31, 2019 after cases of pneumonia caused by unknown reasons came to light.Is it fatal? Yes, unfortunately. So far, of the nearly 300 cases of the 2019-nCoV that have been detected — 291 in China, 2 in Thailand and 1 each in South Korea, Japan and now, even the US — there have been 6 deaths, all of them in China, including 2 on Tuesday. However, a report by the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London puts the total number of infected people at 1,700.Is there a cure? Unfortunately, right now there's no known cure or vaccine for the 2019-nCoV or for the other CoV. This means that prevention is the best option to reduce the risk of infection — which includes avoiding contact with people who are sick as also avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth, in addition to frequently washing your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds. NEWS IN CLUES5. Who made his Bollywood debut in 1983 with 'Andha Kanoon'?Clue 1: In 1988, he made his only Hollywood appearance — in Bloodstone — where he played an English-speaking Indian taxi driver.Clue 2: He has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan (2000) and the Padma Vibhushan (2016) by the Government of India.Clue 3: Born in a Marathi Koli family, his father Ramoji Rao was a police constable.Scroll below for answer 6. Look who's coming for Republic Day this year6. Look who’s coming for Republic Day this yearSamba @ Rajpath: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro will arrive on Friday for a four-day State visit, during which he will also preside over the 71st Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest, which he had agreed to last November when PM Narendra Modi had met him at the BRICS Summit. This, however, won't be the first time a Brazilian President will be gracing India's Republic Day — in 1996, then Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso was the chief guest while in 2004, Luiz Lula da Silva presided over as chief guest.Why Brazil: India and Brazil are members of several multilateral fora, such as BRICS, IBSA, G-20 and G-4, even though bilateral trade between them is relatively low, at $7 billion. Moreover, the invite to Bolsonaro came after he announced last year that Indians will be allowed visa-free travel to Brazil. The South American country's importance has also gone up due to the requirement of crude oil by India — especially after Venezuela, which was India's fourth largest supplier, came under US sanctions, along with Iran. India's crude oil imports from Brazil have been on the rise once again, after a drastic fall in 2015-16, when India imported $1.24 billion worth of crude oil — a decline of almost 51% from the $2.51 billion worth of crude oil imported in 2014-15. In 2018-19, India's crude oil imports from Brazil were close to $1.6 billion.Who's not happy: Well, for one, India’s sugarcane farmers who have taken exception to Brazil's stance against India at the WTO regarding the prices paid by the Centre to sugarcane farmers. Brazil, which is the world's largest sugarcane producer — India being the second largest — contends that India's support prices for its sugarcane farmers, as also its export subsidy, is far in excess of the permissible limits under the WTO. Then again, Bolsonaro's own reputation as a person with far-right views, including sexist and homophobic slurs, have led many to question the Indian government's decision to invite him as chief guest for India's grand military and cultural pageant. 7. Oh Maria, that's a hat-trick!7. Oh Maria, that’s a hat-trick!There are comeback queens and then there are returning ogres. Safe to say, most tennis fans perceive Maria Sharapova as the latter these days — an unwanted intruder. A doping ban can do that to even the most celebrated of athletes. The Russian though is ploughing ahead, determined to show the fire still burns in her, sans any unwanted fuel of course. Admittedly, things aren't going her way. On Tuesday, the five-time Grand Slam winner crashed out of a major in the first round for the third straight time, losing 6-3, 6-4 loss to 19th-seed Donna Vekic at the Australian Open. That's the first undignified hattrick in the 32-year-old's long career. The road ahead isn't clear either. "I don't know," Sharapova said, post-match. "I don't have a crystal ball to tell you if I can or if I will [play the number of tournaments I would like], but I would love to, yeah." Note: Sharapova served a 15-month ban beginning 2016 for taking the banned drug meldonium.On a high note, Rafael Nadal had little trouble moving past a Bolivian bump in the road, beating Hugo Dellien 6-2, 6-3, 6-0. Nadal, remember, is chasing a Federer-equalling 20th Grand Slam title here. In other noteworthy contests, Simona Halep survived a scare (and a few tumbles) to beat the American Jennifer Brady 7-6 (7/5), 6-1. 8. Norway brought home an ISIS wife, and its PM lost her majority8. Norway brought home an ISIS wife, and its PM lost her majorityA Norwegian-Pakistani woman who had travelled to Syria and got married twice there (bearing two children) returned to Norway on Saturday. The repatriation was carried out by the Norwegian government so that one of the woman's seriously ill children could be treated in Norway. Norway has not made the name of the 29-year-old woman public; she is reported to have grown up in Oslo. The woman and her children — a boy, 5, and a girl, 3 — were brought to Norway from a detention centre in Kurdish-controlled territory in Syria, and since then has been kept in surveillance in an Oslo hospital.The humanitarian gesture, however, has kicked off a political crisis in Norway, with an anti-immigrant party that is part of the ruling coalition withdrawing its support. Prime Minister Erna Solberg, though, has vowed to stay on as the head of a minority government. The ISIS wife, though, is not free to move in Norway; she has been charged with "participation in a terrorist organisation", reports the New York Times. PM Solberg said Norway had originally wanted to repatriate just the sick child, but could not separate him from his mother. She reiterated that the decision to bring home the family was “correct”.The issue of "ISIS brides" is not limited to Norway. Last year, the British government revoked the citizenship of Shamima Begum, a 19-year-old London girl who had left for Syria in 2015, after a heated debate over the right course of action. About 12,300 foreigners were detained in camps in Syria at the end of 2018, according to reports, including more than 8,700 children from more than 40 countries. 9. Move over 5G, 6G's got a 2030 date9. Move over 5G, 6G's got a 2030 dateAccording to a report by Nikkei, Japan is planning a comprehensive strategy for "post-5G" (6G) technology. Expected to roll out by 2030, it is believed that the new technology will be 10 times faster than the current 5G. Nikkei also claimed that China, South Korea, and Finland have also started research and development (R&D) and investment in this segment. But Japan, who have been surprisingly slow with the adoption of 5G technology, is hoping to make up with an early push toward 6G.The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan will set up a government-civilian research society in January. Additionally, people from NTT and Toshiba will also be invited to discuss 6G performance goals and policy support by June. The government will promote the development of 6G technology and will pump in $2.03 billion in R&D.In November 2019, the Chinese government had announced that it would establish two 6G R&D institutions. Finnish universities and government-affiliated institutions have also launched 6G R&D projects. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics each set up research centres in 2019.6G networks will be able to use (unused) higher frequencies than 5G networks and provide substantially higher capacity and much lower latency (the amount of time a message takes to traverse a system). Also, the 6G technology market is expected to facilitate large improvements in the areas of imaging, presence technology, location awareness and AI. YOU SHARE YOUR B'DAY WITH...YOU SHARE YOUR B'DAY WITH...Source: Various BEFORE YOU GO10. Wheels of change in Iraq10. Wheels of change in IraqIraqi protesters and tuk-tuk drivers clash with riot police in Baghdad on Monday (AFP); Al Jazeera reports at least five demonstrators died after security forces opened fire in Baghdad, Karbala and Baqubah. Tuk-tuks have become a symbol of Iraq's anti-government protests as many drivers volunteer to bring protesters to Baghdad's Tahrir Square, if not participating themselves. There is also a newspaper named Tuktuk — its editor says it is "one of the few ways protesters on the street can get real, reliable reports of the unrest happening in the country". You can read our explainer on the months-long protests in Iraq here and more on those Bajaj tuk-tuks here. NICRajinikanth. Days after a Dravidian outfit — the Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam — demanded an apology from the actor-politician for his comments on a rally taken out by late social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy decades ago, the southern superstar on Tuesday asserted that he will neither express regret nor tender an apology and maintained that his remark was factual. Showing clippings from magazines and newspapers, the top actor said the idols of Lord Ram and Sita were taken out without dress and the deities also featured a garland of sandals in a rally led by Periyar in 1971.

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The state is bounded to the south by the Bangladeshi divisions of Mymensingh and Sylhet, to the west by the Bangladeshi division of Rangpur, and to the north and east by India's State of Assam. The capital of Meghalaya is Shillong. During the British rule of India, the British imperial authorities nicknamed it the "Scotland of the East".[7] Meghalaya was previously part of Assam, but on 21 January 1972, the districts of Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills became the new state of Meghalaya. English is the official language of Meghalaya. Unlike many Indian states, Meghalaya has historically followed a matrilineal system where the lineage and inheritance are traced through women; the youngest daughter inherits all wealth and she also takes care of her parents.[7]The state is the wettest region of India, recording an average of 12,000 mm (470 in) of rain a year.[6] About 70% of the state is forested.[8] The Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion encompasses the state; its mountain forests are distinct from the lowland tropical forests to the north and south. The forests are notable for their biodiversity of mammals, birds, and plants.Meghalaya has predominantly an agrarian economy with a significant commercial forestry industry. The important crops are potatoes, rice, maize, pineapples, bananas, papayas, spices, etc. The service sector is made up of real estate and insurance companies. Meghalaya's gross state domestic product for 2012 was estimated at ₹16,173 crore (US$2.3 billion) in current prices.[9] The state is geologically rich in minerals, but it has no significant industries.[7] The state has about 1,170 km (730 mi) of national highways. It is also a major logistical center for trade with Bangladesh.[6]In July 2018, the International Commission on Stratigraphy divided the Holocene epoch into three,[10][11] with the late Holocene being called the Meghalayan stage/age,[12][13] since a speleothem in Mawmluh cave indicating a dramatic worldwide climate event around 2250 BC had been chosen as the.Ancient EditMeghalaya, along with the neighbouring Indian states, have been of archaeological interest. People have lived here since Neolithic era. Neolithic sites discovered so far are located in areas of high elevation such as in Khasi Hills, Garo Hills and neighbouring states. Here neolithic style jhum or shifting cultivation is practised even today. The highland plateaus fed by abundant rains provided safety from floods and a rich soil.[15] The importance of Meghalaya is its possible role in human history through domestication of rice. One of the competing theories for the origin of rice, is from Ian Glover, who states, "India is the center of greatest diversity of domesticated rice with over 20,000 identified species and Northeast India is the most favorable single area of the origin of domesticated rice."[16] The limited archaeology done in the hills of Meghalaya suggest human settlement since ancient times.[17]After the Conquest of Taraf in 1304, Shah Arifin Rafiuddin, a disciple of Shah Jalal, migrated and settled in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills where he preached Islam to the local people. His khanqah remains in Sarping/Laurergarh on the Bangladeshi border but the part containing his mazar is in Meghalaya on top of Laur Hill.[18]Modern history EditThe British discovery of Camellia sinensis in 1834 in Assam and later companies to renting land from 1839 onwards.[19]Meghalaya was formed by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: the United Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills, and the Garo Hills on 21 January 1972. Before attaining full statehood, Meghalaya was given semi-autonomous status in 1970.[20]The Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia tribes had their own kingdoms until they came under British administration in the 19th century. Later, the British incorporated Meghalaya into Assam in 1835.[7] The region enjoyed semi-independent status by virtue of a treaty relationship with the British Crown. When Bengal was partitioned on 16 October 1905 by Lord Curzon, Meghalaya became a part of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. However, when the partition was reversed in 1912, Meghalaya became a part of the province of Assam. On 3 January 1921 in pursuance of Section 52A of the Government of India Act of 1919, the governor-general-in-council declared the areas now in Meghalaya, other than the Khasi states, as "backward tracts." Subsequently, the British administration enacted the Government of India Act of 1935, which regrouped the backward tracts into two categories: "excluded" and "partially excluded" areas.At the time of Indian independence in 1947, present-day Meghalaya constituted two districts of Assam and enjoyed limited autonomy within the state of Assam. A movement for a separate Hill State began in 1960.[20] The Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act of 1969 accorded an autonomous status to the state of Meghalaya. The Act came into effect on 2 April 1970, and an autonomous state of Meghalaya was born out of Assam. The autonomous state had a 37-member legislature in accordance with the Sixth Schedule to the Indian constitution.In 1971, the Parliament passed the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganization) Act, 1971, which conferred full statehood on the autonomous state of Meghalaya. Meghalaya attained statehood on 21 January 1972, with a Legislative Assembly of its own.Meghalaya is one of the Seven Sister States of northeast India. The state of Meghalaya is mountainous, with stretches of valley and highland plateaus, and it is geologically rich. It consists mainly of Archean rock formations. These rock formations contain rich deposits of valuable minerals like coal, limestone, uranium and sillimanite.Meghalaya has many rivers. Most of these are rainfed and seasonal. The important rivers in the Garo Hills region are Ganol, Daring, Sanda, Bandra, Bugai, Dareng, Simsang, Nitai and the Bhupai. In the central and eastern sections of the plateau, the important rivers are Khri, Umtrew, Digaru, Umiam or Barapani, Kynshi (Jadukata), Umngi, Mawpa, Umiam Khwan, Umngot, Umkhen, Myntdu and Myntang. In the southern Khasi Hills region, these rivers have created deep gorges and several beautiful waterfalls.Farming on hilly terrain (tea plantation).The elevation of the plateau ranges between 150 m (490 ft) to 1,961 m (6,434 ft). The central part of the plateau comprising the Khasi Hills has the highest elevations, followed by the eastern section comprising the Jaintia Hills region. The highest point in Meghalaya is Shillong Peak, which is a prominent IAF station in the Khasi Hills overlooking the city of Shillong. It has an altitude of 1961 m. The Garo Hills region in the western section of the plateau is nearly plain. The highest point in the Garo Hills is Nokrek Peak with an altitude of 1515 m.The town of Sohra (Cherrapunji) in the Khasi Hills south of capital Shillong holds the world record for most rain in a calendar month, while the village of Mawsynram, near Sohra (Cherrapunji), holds the record for the most rain in a year.[23]Flora and fauna EditSee also: Meghalaya subtropical forestsMeghalaya's forests host 660 species of birds[24] and numerous species of other wildlife. Peacock pheasant (top) and hoolock gibbon (bottom) are found in Meghalaya.[25]About 70% of the state is forested, of which 9,496 km2 (3,666 sq mi) is dense primary subtropical forest.[8] The Meghalayan forests are considered to be among the richest botanical habitats of Asia. These forests receive abundant rainfall and support a vast variety of floral and faunal biodiversity. A small portion of the forest area in Meghalaya is under what are known as "sacred groves" (see Sacred groves of India). These are small pockets of an ancient forest that have been preserved by the communities for hundreds of years due to religious and cultural beliefs. These forests are reserved for religious rituals and generally remain protected from any exploitation. These sacred groves harbour many rare plant and animal species. The Nokrek Biosphere Reserve in the West Garo Hills and the Balphakram National Park in the South Garo Hills are considered to be the most biodiversity-rich sites in Meghalaya. In addition, Meghalaya has three wildlife sanctuaries. These are the Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary, the Siju Sanctuary, and the Baghmara Sanctuary, which is also the home of the insect-eating pitcher plant Nepenthes khasiana also called "Me'mang Koksi" in local language.Due to diverse climatic and topographic conditions, Meghalaya forests support a vast floral diversity, including a large variety of parasites, epiphytes, succulent plants and shrubs. Two of the most important tree varieties are Shorea robusta (sal tree) and Tectona grandis (teak). Meghalaya is also the home to a large variety of fruits, vegetables, spices, and medicinal plants. Meghalaya is also famous for its large variety of orchids — nearly 325 of them. Of these, the largest variety is found in the Mawsmai, Mawmluh and Sohrarim forests in the Khasi hills.Nepenthes khasianaMeghalaya also has a large variety of mammals, birds, reptiles and insects.[26] The important mammal species include elephants, bear, red pandas,[27] civets, mongooses, weasels, rodents, gaur, wild buffalo,[28] deer, wild boar and a number of primates. Meghalaya also has a large variety of bats. The limestone caves in Meghalaya such as the Siju Cave are home to some of the nation's rarest bat species. The hoolock gibbon is found in all districts of Meghalaya.[29]Common reptiles in Meghalaya are lizards, crocodiles and tortoises. Meghalaya also has a number of snakes including the python, copperhead, green tree racer, Indian cobra, king cobra, coral snake and vipers.[30]Meghalaya's forests host 660 species of birds, many of which are endemic to Himalayan foothills, Tibet and Southeast Asia. Of the birds found in Meghalaya forests, 34 are on worldwide threatened species list and 9 are on the critically endangered list.[24] Prominent birds spotted in Meghalaya include those from the families of Phasianidae, Anatidae, Podicipedidae, Ciconiidae, Threskiornithidae, Ardeidae, Pelecanidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Anhingidae, Falconidae, Accipitridae, Otididae, Rallidae, Heliornithidae, Gruidae, Turnicidae, Burhinidae, Charadriidae, Glareolidae, Scolopacidae, Jacanidae, Columbidae, Psittacidae, Cuculidae, Strigidae, Caprimulgidae, Apodidae, Alcedinidae, Bucerotidae, Ramphastidae, Picidae, Campephagidae, Dicruridae, Corvidae, Hirundinidae, Cisticolidae, Pycnonotidae, Sylviidae, Timaliidae, Sittidae, Sturnidae, Turdidae, Nectariniidae and Muscicapidae.[24] Each of these families have many species. The great Indian hornbill is the largest bird in Meghalaya. Other regional birds found include the grey peacock pheasant, the large Indian parakeet, the common green pigeon and the blue jay.[31] Meghalaya is also home to over 250 species of butterflies, nearly a quarter of all butterfly species found in India.Meghalaya is one of three states in India to have a Christian majority. About 75% of the population practices Christianity, with Presbyterians, Baptists and Catholics the more common denominations.[33] .The religion of the people in Meghalaya is closely related to their ethnicity. Close to 90% of the Garo tribe and nearly 80% of the Khasi are Christian, while more than 97% of the Hajong, 98.53% of the Koch, and 94.60% of the Rabha tribes are Hindu.[citation needed]Hindus are the largest religious minority in Meghalaya with 11.52% of the total state's population as of 2011 census[33]Hindus are concentrated mainly in West Garo Hills, East Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi with 19.11 percent, 17.55 percent and 11.96 percent respectively.The Nartiang Durga Temple in Meghalaya is a famous Hindu temple and it is one of the 51 Shakti peethas on Earth.[34]Muslims constitute 4.39% of the population[33] The Muslims are concentrated mainly in West Garo Hills with 16.60 percent.[35]Conversion from indigenous to Christianity began in the 19th century under the British era. In the 1830s, American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society had become active in Northeast to convert indigenous tribes to Christianity.[36] Later, they were offered to expand and reach into Cherrapunji Meghalaya, but they lacked the resources to do so and declined. Welsh Presbyterian Mission took the offer and they began work at the Cherrapunji mission field. By the early 1900s, other Protestant denominations of Christianity were active in Meghalaya. The outbreak of World Wars forced the preachers to return home to Europe and America. It is during this period that Catholicism took root in Meghalaya and neighbouring region. In the 20th century, Union Christian College started operations at Barapani, Shillong. Currently, Presbyterians and Catholics are two most common Christian denominations found in Meghalaya.[37]State government EditThe Meghalaya Legislative Assembly has 60 members at present. Meghalaya has two representatives in the Lok Sabha, one each from Shillong and Tura. It also has one representative in the Rajya Sabha.Since the creation of the state the Gauhati High Court has jurisdiction in Meghalaya. A Circuit Bench of the Guwahati High Court has been functioning at Shillong since 1974. However recently in March 2013 the Meghalaya High Court was separated from the Gauhati High Court and now the state has its own High Court.Local self-government EditNE Autonomous divisions of India.svgTo provide local self-governance machinery to the rural population of the country, provisions were made in the Constitution of India; accordingly, the Panchayati Raj institutions were set up. However, on account of the distinct customs and traditions prevailing in the northeast region, it was felt necessary to have a separate political and administrative structure in the region.[citation needed] Some of the tribal communities in the region had their own traditional political systems, and it was felt that Panchayati Raj institutions may come into conflict with these traditional systems. The Sixth Schedule was appended to the Constitution on the recommendations of a subcommittee formed under the leadership of Gopinath Bordoloi, and the constitution of Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) is provided in certain rural areas of the northeast including areas in Meghalaya. The ADCs in Meghalaya are the Khasi Hills Autonomous District CouncilGaro Hills Autonomous District CouncilJaintia Hills Autonomous District CouncilEconomy Urban areas Culture and society EditThe main tribes in Meghalaya are the Khasis, the Garos, and the Jaintias. Each tribe has its own culture, traditions, dress, and language.

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