Meghalaya’s rich cultural landscape—from indigenous festivals to traditional food and crafts—is now part of a nationwide digital archive, with 7,012 villages in the state mapped under the “Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar” (MGMD) programme.
The initiative, a key component of the National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM) under the Union Ministry of Culture, has so far documented cultural data from over 6.23 lakh villages across India, creating one of the largest repositories of grassroots heritage. Implemented by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, the mission aims to preserve India’s diverse cultural identity while exploring its potential to support rural livelihoods.
Through the MGMD portal, villages across Meghalaya are being profiled with detailed cultural portfolios. These include heritage sites and historical significance, fairs and festivals unique to tribal communities, traditional art and craft practices, indigenous food systems, traditional dress and ornaments, oral traditions, beliefs, and customs, profiles of prominent artists and personalities and geographic, demographic, and developmental data.