Silverine Swer

Silverine Swer
Born	12 November 1910 Shillong,Eastern Bengal and Assam,India
Died	1 February 2014 Riatsamthiah, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
Resting place	Mawkhar Presbyterian Church Cemetery 25°34′47″N91°52′38″E
Other names	Kong Sil
Occupation(s)	Social activist Academic Civil servant
Awards	Padma Shri Patogan Sangma Award Silver Elephant Medal of theBharat Scouts and GuidesAward Kaisar-i-Hind Medal RG Buruah Smriti Rakhya Samiti

Silverine Swer(1910–2014), popularly known asKong Sil(Kong meansElder sisterinKhasi language), 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 ofMeghalaya,and was a recipient of theSilver Elephant Medal ofthe Bharat Scouts and GuidesAwardandKaisar-i-Hind Medal.TheGovernment of Indiaawarded her the fourth highest civilian award ofPadma Shriin 1990,making her the first recipient of the award from the state ofMeghalaya.

Biography

Silverine Swer was born on 12 November 1910 in aKhasiChristian family inShillong,the capital of the Northeast Indian state ofMeghalaya.After passing her matriculation from the Welsh Mission Girls School, Shillong, she graduated (BA) fromScottish Church College,under theUniversity of Calcutta,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 theBritish Indianregions of Assam, Mizoram andEast Pakistan(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 theNorth East Frontier Agency(NEFA) with office atPasighat.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 theGood Will Movementof theMoral Re-Armament(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 theNorth Eastern Hill University.

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 ofKaiser-i-Hind Medalfrom the British Government.She received the Silver Elephant Medal of theBharat Scouts and Guidesin 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 thePadma Shriin 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
• Moral Re-Armament