Arunachal Pradesh: Encyclopedia - Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh (अरुणाचल प्रदेश) is a region administered by India as a state. It is part of what are called the Seven Sister States of the Northeast of India. Arunachal Pradesh borders the state of Assam to the south and Nagaland to the south east. Myanmar lies to the east of the state, Bhutan to the west, while the McMahon Line separates it from the zone of control of the People's Republic of China to the north. Itanagar is the capital of the state.

Arunachal Pradesh is one of two main disputed regions between India and China, the other being Aksai Chin: the People's Republic of China does not recognize the state of Arunachal Pradesh, nor the McMahon Line, which it regards as an illegal line of occupation. Instead, China calls the area South Tibet (藏南 pinyin: Zàngnán), and splits the area nominally among six border counties of Tibet Autonomous Region: (from west to east) Cona, Lhünzê, Nang, Mainling, Mêdog, and Zayü. At the same time, both the PRC and India have defined a Line of Actual Control, and it is widely believed that this dispute is not likely to result in actual hostilities.

Arunachal Pradesh was administered as the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) until 1972, when it became the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh. It was given full statehood in November 1986 after taking into consideration the security situation in the east and Sino-Indian tensions.

"Arunachal Pradesh" means "land of the dawn-lit mountains" [1] or "land of the rising sun" [2]. ("Pradesh" means "state" or "region".)

Arunachal Pradesh - History

The first ancestors of the tribal groups migrated from Tibet during the pre-historic period, they were joined by Thai-Burmese counterparts later.

Except for the northwestern parts of the state, little is known about the history of Arunachal Pradesh, although the Apatani tribe had legendary knowledge of the history. Recorded history was only available in the Ahom chronicles during the 16th century. The tribal Monpa and Sherdukpen do keep historical records of the existence of local chiefdoms in the northwest as well. Northwestern parts of this area came under the control of the Monpa kingdom of Monyul, which flourished between 500 B.C. and 600 A.D. This region then came under the loose control of Tibet, especially in the Northern areas. The remaining parts of the state, especially those bordering Myanmar, came under the control of the Ahom and the Assamese until the annexation of India by the British in 1858.

Recent excavations of ruins of Hindu temples such as the 14th Malinithan at the foot of the Siang hills in West Siang shed new light on the ancient history of Arunachal Pradesh. Paintings of the Hindu gods and altars remained untouched for many years. They attracted many local pilgrims. Another notable heritage site, Bhismaknagar, suggested that the Idu Mishmi had a local civilisation. The third heritage site, the 400-year-old Tawang monastery in the Tawang district also provides historical evidence of the Buddhist tribal peoples.

In 1913-14, the British administrator, Sir Henry McMahon, drew up the 550-mile McMahon Line as the border between British India and Tibet during the Simla Conference, as Britain sought to advance its line of control and establish buffer zones around its colony in South Asia. The conference took part between Britain, Tibet, and China, which was acknowledged to have suzerainty over Tibet by Britain, and sovereignty over Tibet by China. The Tibetan and British representatives at the conference agreed to the line, which ceded Tawang and other Tibetan areas to British India; however the Chinese representative refused to accept the line owing to domestic pressures. The Chinese position since then has been that since China was sovereign over Tibet, the line was invalid without Chinese agreement. As a result, China has not accepted the validity of the McMahon Line and regards India's control of Arunachal Pradesh as an illegal occupation.

For the first two decades after the Simla Conference, the Survey of India did not show the McMahon Line as the border between British India and Tibet either; only in 1937 did they publish a map showing it as the official boundary; in 1938 the Survey of India published a map showing Tawang as a part of Tibet. In 1944, Britain established administrations in the area, from Dirang Dzong in the west to Walong in the east. The situation developed further as India became independent and the People's Republic of China was established in the late 1940s: with the PRC poised to take over Tibet, India unilaterally declared the McMahon Line to be the boundary in November 1950, and forced the Tibetan administration out of the Tawang area in 1951, despite Tibetan and PRC protests. [3][4] The NEFA (North East Frontier Agency) was created in 1954.

The issue was quiet during the next decade or so of cordial Sino-Indian relations, but erupted again during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The cause of the escalation into war is still disputed by both Chinese and Indian sources, please refer to Sino-Indian War for details [5]. During the war in 1962 PRC captured most of the NEFA. However, the PRC soon declared victory and voluntarily withdrew back to the McMahon Line and returned Indian prisoners of war in 1963.

Arunachal Pradesh was administered as the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) until 1972, when it became the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh. It was given full statehood in November 1986 after taking into consideration the security situation in the east and Sino-Indian tensions.

Arunachal Pradesh - Geography

Much of Arunachal Pradesh is covered by the Himalayas, although parts of Lohit, Changlang and Tirap are covered by the Patkai.

Arunachal Pradesh - Climate

The climate of Arunachal Pradesh varies with elevation. Areas with very high elevation in the Upper Himalayas near the Tibetan border enjoy an alpine or Tundra climate. Below the Upper Himalayas come the Middle Himalayas, where people experience a temperate climate. Fruits like apples, oranges, etc are grown. Areas at the sub-Himalayan and sea-level elevation experience a humid sub-tropical climate, with hot summers and mild winters.

The state receives heavy rainfall of 80 to 160 inches (2,000 to 4,000 mm) annually, most of it falling between May and September. The mountain slopes and hills are covered with alpine, temperate, and subtropical forests of dwarf rhododendron, oak, pine, maple, fir, and juniper; sal (Shorea) and teak are the main economic species.

Arunachal Pradesh - Sub-divisions

Arunachal Pradesh is divided into fifteen districts, each administered by a district collector, who see to the needs of the local people. Especially along the Tibetan border, the Indian army has considerable control over the territory due to the continuing concern about Chinese intentions. In the Northern areas and areas near the Indo-Burmese border and Nagaland, where Naga-Christian militant groups have been alleged of harassing the local people, special permits are needed to enter the area.

Districts of Arunachal Pradesh:

• Changlang
• East Kameng
• East Siang
• Kurung Kumey
• Lohit
• Lower Dibang Valley
• Lower Subansiri
• Papumpare
• Tawang
• Tirap
• Upper Dibang Valley
• Upper Subansiri
• Upper Siang
• West Kameng
• West Siang

Arunachal Pradesh - Demographics

Main Article: Demographics of Arunachal Pradesh

65% of the Arunachalis belong to 20 major-collective tribes and 82 tribes, who had a heritage of a diverse and rich culture, language and beliefs. Most of them are either of Tibetan or of Thai-Burmese origin. Another 35% of the population are immigrants, including 30,000 Bangladeshi and Chakma expartriates, and immigrants from other parts of India, notably Assam and Nagaland.

The most notable tribes include the Adi, Nishi Monpa and Apa Tani.

The literacy of the State rose to 54.74% from 41.59% in 1991. As of today, the number of literates is 487,796.

Recent statistics shows that 36% of Arunachal's population are Animist, who follow Animistic religions such as Donyi-Polo and Rangfrah. 37% claim to be Hindus, but this is somewhat disputed as the belief system of most tribal groups shows little or no Hindu influence, although many are members of immigrant groups. Hindu Revivalists, unlike Hindu traditionalists, agree that the so-called tribals of India are Hindus. Tribes who follow Hinduism include the Nocte and Miri. [6]

Another 13% of the population claim to be Buddhist. Tibetan Buddhism predominates in the districts of Tawang, West Kameng and isolated regions adjacent to Tibet, and Theravada Buddhism is practiced by tribal groups living near the Burmese border.

Christians, whose presence was first made after 1961, mostly Baptist, account for another 13% of the population, is widely practiced by several Naga tribes in Changlang and Tirap adjacent to Nagaland. The rapid growth of the Christian were made by fundamentalist, American missionaries who made mass conversions zealously from the 1980s onwards, although some of the Christian population includes foreign expritrates not belonging indigenious tribal groups. Though not common, a few tribal groups combine the Christian and Animist belief systems together.

Arunachal Pradesh - Economy

Agriculture is the primary driver of the economy. Jhum, the local word for shifting cultivation, which was widely practised among the tribal groups has come to be less practiced. The forest-products are the next most significant sector of the economy. Among the crops grown here are rice, maize, millet, wheat, pulses, sugarcane, ginger and oilseeds. Arunachal is also ideal for horticulture and fruit orchards.

Its major industries are sawmills, plywood (these two trades however have been stopped by law), rice mills, fruit preservation units and handloom handicrafts.

Arunachal Pradesh - Transport

The state's airports are located at Itanagar, Daparjio, Ziro, Along, Tezu, Pashigat. However, owing to the rough terrain, these airports are mostly small and cannot handle many flights.

Arunachal Pradesh - Tourism

The unspoiled environment of Arunachal Pradesh has attracted tourists from many parts of the world. There is also significant locally arranged tourism to see the cultural diversity of Arunachal Pradesh, places from Bomdila and Tawang to Tirap.

See also

• List of disputed or occupied territories
• List of Arunachalis
• Religion in Arunachal Pradesh
• Arunachal Dragon Force

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Arunachal Pradesh", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki