Shillong locality honours first West Bengal CM as one of Meghalaya’s trailblazers

GUWAHATI

A 100-year-old locality in Shillong has honoured Bidhan Chandra Roy, a physician and West Bengal’s first Chief Minister, as one of Meghalaya’s trailblazers.

The Rilbong locality, established after the British regime allotted land for settlement in 1925, also honoured 24 other luminaries who helped shape Shillong and the northeastern region beyond through their contributions to literature, education, healthcare, journalism, politics, culture, sports and public service.

They include James Joy Mohon Nichols-Roy, a pioneer of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which helped establish autonomous tribal councils; four-time Meghalaya Chief Minister Brington Buhai Lyngdoh, regarded as the father of coalition politics and the MLA Scheme in the country; and Neil Nongkynrih, founder of the Shillong Chamber Choir.

“Dr. Bidhan Roy was an iconic physician and Chief Minister of West Bengal. What many Indians may not know was his connection with Shillong, where he founded the Shillong Hydro Electric Company and introduced the first electric lights in the city in October 1923,” Manas Chaudhuri, the president of the Rilbong Centenary Celebration Committee, told The Hindu on Saturday (October 17, 2026).

A hydropower project Dr. Roy pioneered using the Bishop Beadon Falls in Shillong laid the groundwork for what later became the Meghalaya State Electricity Board and the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL).

Dr. Roy also owned two properties in Shillong that were donated to the government. One, Ray Villa in the city’s Laban area, is now the Circuit House. The other, now an MeECL property, retained his name—BC House.

Ray Villa faced legal debate over proposed developments and demolition plans. In June, the High Court of Meghalaya closed a Public Interest Litigation regarding the site after the Public Works Department agreed to install a commemorative bust, garden plaque, and Dr Roy’s historical exhibits at the Circuit House.

Political pioneers

Nichols-Roy became the first tribal representative on the Assam Governor’s Council in 1921, and became a strong advocate for tribal rights. He was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly in 1937.

At his behest, former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru created the Khasi Jaintia National Federation State Conference (KJNFSC), a regional party in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills of undivided Assam Province. These hills, along with those dominated by the Garo community, became Meghalaya in 1972.

The KJNFSC sought to secure autonomy for tribal people across the northeastern region. Nichols-Roy emphasised tribal rights and the need for autonomy after he was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Assam in 1946. He became the key architect of the Sixth Schedule, which the Constituent Assembly adopted on September 7, 1949, and came into effect when the Constitution of India commenced on January 26, 1950.

Lyngdoh pioneered the 50-50 formula of governance, which proposed dividing an Assembly term equally between two political parties, with a coin toss to decide who would rule first. However, the experiment to split terms between his United Democratic Party and Congress was short-lived.

“The concept was seen as a pragmatic solution to a political stalemate between regional and national parties in Meghalaya. B.B. Lyngdoh’s contribution to governance in India includes the MLA Scheme he pioneered and his theory that Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers should be elected directly, and not be at the mercy of the MPs or MLAs,” Mr Chaudhuri said. EOM