Arunachal Pradesh

"Arunachal" redirects here. For the hill at Thiruvannamalai, see Arunachala.

Arunachal Pradesh /ˌɑːrəˌnɑːtʃəl prəˈdɛʃ/ is one of the twenty-nine states of India. Located in northeast India, it holds the most north-eastern position among the states in the north-east region of India. Arunachal Pradesh borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Bhutan in the west, Myanmar in the east and China in the north. Itanagar is the capital of the state. Arunachal Pradesh has territorial disputes with both the PRC and ROC due to its cultural, ethnic and geographic proximity to Tibet.

A major part of the state, formerly called the North-East Frontier Agency, is disputed by China as the legality of the Simla Accord is not recognized by it. China claims most of the state as South Tibet. The state is seen to have major potential for hydropower development.

Arunachal Pradesh, whose name means Land of the Dawn-Lit Mountains in Sanskrit, is also known as the Orchid State of India or the Paradise of the Botanists. Geographically, it is the largest among the North-east Indian states commonly known as the Seven Sister States. As in other parts of Northeast India, the people native to the state trace their origins to the Tibeto-Burman people. In recent times, large number of migrants from various parts of India and other lands have built extensive economic and cultural ties with the state's population.

No reliable population count of the migrant population exists, and the percentage estimating the total actual population accordingly, vary. Arunachal Pradesh has the highest number of regional languages in the Indian subcontinent, enriched with diverse culture and traditions.

History

Prehistory

Neolithic tools found in Arunachal Pradesh indicate that people have been living in the Himalayan region for at least eleven thousand years. The earliest inhabitants of Bhutan and adjoining Himalayan areas of South Asia were the people from Indus Valley Civilisation, whose history predates the onset of Bronze Age in South Asia around 3300BC before the coming of other ethnic groups from Tibet and South China some 2,000 years ago.

Early history

The history of pre-modern Arunachal Pradesh is unclear. Oral histories possessed to this day by many Arunachali tribes of Tibeto-Burman stock are much richer and point unambiguously to a northern origin in modern-day Tibet. Again corroboration remains difficult. From the point of view of material culture it is clear that most indigenous Arunachali groups align with Burma-area hill tribals, a fact that could either be explainable in terms of a northern Burmese origin or from westward cultural diffusion.

According to the Arunachal Pradesh government, the Hindu texts Kalika Purana and Mahabharata mention the region as the Prabhu Mountains of the Puranas, and where sage Parashuram washed away sins, the sage Vyasa meditated, King Bhishmaka founded his kingdom, and Lord Krishna married his consort Rukmini.

Recorded history from an outside perspective only became available in the Ahom and Sutiya chronicles. The 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 and Bhutan, especially in the Northern areas. The remaining parts of the state, especially those bordering Myanmar, were under the control of the Sutiya Kings until the Ahom-Sutiya battle in the 16th century. The Ahoms held the areas until the annexation of India by the British in 1858. However, most Arunachali tribes remained in practice largely autonomous up until Indian independence and the formalisation of indigenous administration in 1947.

Recent excavations of ruins of Hindu temples such as the 14th century Malinithan at the foot of the Siang hills in West Siang were built during the Sutiya reign. Another notable heritage site, Bhismaknagar, has led to suggestions that the Idu (Mishmi) had an advanced culture and administration in prehistoric times. Again, however, no evidence directly associates Bhismaknagar with this or any other known culture but the Sutiya rulers held the areas around Bhismaknagar from the 12th to 16th century. The third heritage site, the 400-year-old Tawang Monastery in the extreme north-west of the state, provides some historical evidence of the Buddhist tribal people. The sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso was born in Tawang.

Drawing of McMahon line

In 1913–1914 representatives of China, Tibet and Britain met in India ending with the Simla Accord. However, the Chinese representatives refused the territory negotiation. This treaty's objective was to define the borders between Inner and Outer Tibet as well as between Outer Tibet and British India. British administrator, Sir Henry McMahon, drew up the 550 miles (890 km) McMahon Line as the border between British India and Outer Tibet during the Simla Conference. The Tibetan and British representatives at the conference agreed to the line, and Tibet ceded Tawang and other Tibetan areas to the British Empire. Thus, the Chinese representative refused to accept the agreement and walked out.

The Tibetan and British governments went ahead with the Simla Agreement and declared that the benefits of other articles of this treaty would not be bestowed on China as long as it stays out of the purview. The Chinese position was that Tibet was not independent from China: Tibet could not have independently signed treaties, and per the Anglo-Chinese (1906) and Anglo-Russian (1907) conventions, any such agreement was invalid without Chinese assent.

Simla was initially rejected by the Government of India as incompatible with the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention. This agreement (Anglo-Russian Convention) was renounced by Russia and Britain jointly in 1921. However, with the collapse of Chinese power in Tibet, the line had no serious challenges as Tibet had signed the convention. Therefore, it was forgotten to the extent that no new maps were published until 1935, when civil service officer Olaf Caroe called attention to this issue. The Survey of India published a map showing the McMahon Line as the official boundary in 1937.

In 1938, the British finally published the Simla Convention as a bilateral accord two decades after the Simla Conference; in 1938 the Survey of India published a detailed map showing Tawang as part of North-East Frontier Agency. In 1944 Britain established administrations in the area from Dirang Dzong in the west to Walong in the east. Tibet altered its position on the McMahon Line in late 1947 when the Tibetan government wrote a note presented to the newly independent Indian Ministry of External Affairs laying claims to Tawang south of the McMahon Line.

The situation developed further as India became independent in 1947 and the People's Republic of China (PRC) was established in 1949. In November 1950, with the PRC poised to take over Tibet, India unilaterally declared that the McMahon Line is the boundary — and, in 1951, forced the last remnants of Tibetan administration out of the Tawang area. The PRC has never recognised the McMahon Line and claims Tawang on behalf of Tibetans. The 14th Dalai Lama, who led the Tibetan government from 1950 to 1959, was quoted in 2003 as saying that Tawang was "actually part of the Tibetan administration" before the Simla Accord. He clarified his position in 2008, saying that as far as Tibet was concerned "Tawang is part of India". According to the Dalai Lama, "In 1962 during the India-China war, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) already occupied all these areas (Arunachal Pradesh) but they announced a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew, accepting the current international boundary".

Sino-Indian War

The NEFA (North-East Frontier Agency) was created in 1954. The issue was quiet for nearly a decade, a period of cordial Sino-Indian relations, but the re-emergence of the issue was a major cause of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The cause of the escalation into war is still disputed by both Chinese and Indian sources. During the war in 1962, the PRC captured most area of Arunachal Pradesh. However, China soon declared victory, voluntarily withdrew back to the McMahon Line and returned Indian prisoners of war in 1963. The war resulted in the termination of barter trade with Tibet, although in 2007 the state government has shown signs to resume barter trade with Tibet.

Tawang

In recent years, China has occasionally made statements in conjunction with its claims on Tawang. India has rebutted these claims by the Chinese government and the Indian Prime Minister has informed the Chinese government that Tawang is an integral part of India. India reiterated this to the Chinese prime minister when the two prime ministers met in Thailand in October 2009. It was reported that during 2016, the Chinese Army had briefly invaded Arunachal Pradesh. This was refuted by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju.

China objected to the visit of the Dalai Lama to Tawang in November 2009 though the Dalai Lama had previously visited Tawang several times since he fled from Tibet in 1959. India rejected the Chinese objection and said that the Dalai Lama is an honoured guest in India and could visit any place in India. The Dalai Lama visited Tawang on 8 November 2009. About 30,000 people including those from neighbouring countries, Nepal and Bhutan, attended his religious discourse.

He was received and welcomed by the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh and the people of Arunachal Pradesh. The residents of Tawang painted their houses and decorated the town.

Current name

NEFA was renamed as Arunachal Pradesh by Late Sri Bibhabasu Das Shastri, then the director of research, on 20 January 1972 and it became a Union Territory. Arunachal Pradesh became a state on 20 February 1987.

More recently, Arunachal Pradesh has come to face threats from certain insurgent groups, notably the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), who are believed to have base camps in the districts of Changlang and Tirap. There are occasional reports of these groups harassing local people and extorting protection money.

Especially along the Tibetan border, the Indian army has a considerable presence due to concerns about Chinese intentions in the region. Special permits called Inner Line Permits (ILP) are required to enter Arunachal Pradesh through any of its checkgates on the border with Assam.

Geography

Arunachal Pradesh is located between 26.28° N and 29.30° N latitude and 91.20° E and 97.30° E longitude and has 83,743 square kilometre area.

Most of Arunachal Pradesh is covered by the Himalayas. However, parts of Lohit, Changlang and Tirap are covered by the Patkai hills. Kangto, Nyegi Kangsang, the main Gorichen peak and the Eastern Gorichen peak are some of the highest peaks in this region of the Himalayas. The land is mostly mountainous with the Himalayan ranges running north south. These divide the state into five river valleys: the Kameng, the Subansiri, the Siang, the Lohit and the Tirap. All these are fed by snow from the Himalayas and countless rivers and rivulets. The mightiest of these rivers is Siang, called the Tsangpo in Tibet, which becomes the Brahmaputra after it is joined by the Dibang and the Lohit in the plains of Assam.

The Himalayan ranges that extend up to the eastern Arunachal separate it from Tibet. The ranges extend toward Nagaland, and form a boundary between India and Burma in Changlang and Tirap district, acting as a natural barrier called Patkai Bum Hills. They are low mountains compared to the Greater Himalayas.

Biodiversity

Bio-geographically it lies in the Eastern Himalayan province, the richest biogeographical province of the Himalayan zone which is also classified as the biodiversity hotspot. Arunachal Pradesh is endowed with diverse forests and magnificent wildlife. It harbors over 5000 plants, about 85 terrestrial mammals, over 500 birds and a large number of butterflies, insects and reptiles. At the lowest elevations, essentially at Arunachal Pradesh's border with Assam, are Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests. Much of the state, including the Himalayan foothills and the Patkai hills, are home to Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests. Toward the northern border with Tibet, with increasing elevation, come a mixture of Eastern and Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests followed by Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows and ultimately rock and ice on the highest peaks. It supports a large number of medicinal plants and within Ziro valley of Lower Subansiri district 158 medicinal plants are being used by its inhabitants.

Tourism

The state, on account of its unrivalled aesthetics and diverse cultural heritage possesses a great tourism potential. Popular tourist attractions include Tawang (a town with a Buddhist monastery) at 3000 m elevation, Ziro (which holds cultural festivals),Yomcha (limestone caves called 'tapen uru'), the Namdapha tiger project in Changlang district and Sela lake near Bomdila with its bamboo bridges overhanging the river. Religious places of interest include Malinithan in Lekhabali, Rukhmininagar near Roing (the place as per the popular Hindu mythology, Rukmini, Lord Krishna's wife, said to have lived), and Parshuram Kund in Lohit district as Puranas is the lake where sage Parshuram washed away his sins, The Ganga lake(Gyaker sinyi or Gekar Sinyi)and various other tourist hot spots.

The state provides abundant scope for angling, boating, rafting, trekking and hiking. Rafting and trekking are common activities. Some suggested routes for travel or trekking are

• Tezpur–Tipi–Bomdila-Tawang-se la pass
• Tinsukia–Tezu-Parasuramkund
• Margherita–Miao-Namdapha
• Itanagar–Ziro-Daporijo–Along (or Aalo)-pandighat.
• Aalo – Yomcha (52 km)

Over the years, the Jawaharlal Nehru Museum, Itanagar has become an important tourist destination in the state capital.

The Golden Pagoda Monastery at Namsai is another tourist attraction.

The state is rich in wildlife and has a number of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks with rare animals, birds and plants. Perhaps the highest diversity of mammals in India is in Arunachal Pradesh (200+ species). The diversity of birds is also very high, 700+ and is second only to Assam.

Transport

Air

Itanagar Airport, a Greenfield project serving Itanagar is being planned at Holongi at a cost of Rs. 6.50 billion. The existing state owned Daporijo Airport, Ziro Airport, Along Airport, Tezu Airport and Pasighat Airport are small and are not in operation. The government has proposed to operationalise these airports. Before the state was connected by roads, these airstrips were originally used for the transportation of food.

Roads

Arunachal Pradesh has two highways: the 336 km National Highway 52, completed in 1998, which connects Jonai with Dirak, and another highway, which connects Tezpur in Assam with Tawang. As of 2007, every village has been connected by road thanks to funding provided by the central government. Every small town has its own bus station and daily bus services are available. All places are connected to Assam, which has increased trading activity. An additional National Highway is being constructed following the Stillwell Ledo Road, which connects Ledo in Assam to Jairampur in Arunachal. Work on the ambitious 2,400 km two-lane Trans-Arunachal Highway Project announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 31 January 2008 on his maiden visit to the state, was scheduled to be completed by 2015–16 but now due to political and social reasons it may take another decade.

In 2014, two major highways were proposed to be built in the state: East-West Industrial Corridor Highway, Arunachal Pradesh in the lower foot hills of the state and 2,000-kilometre-long (1,200 mi) Mago-Thingbu to Vijaynagar Arunachal Pradesh Frontier Highway along the McMahon Line, alignment map of which can be seen here and here.

Railway

Arunachal Pradesh got its first railway line in late 2013 with the opening of the new link line from Harmuti on the main Rangpara North-Murkongselak railway line to Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh. The construction of the 33 kilometre 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge railway line was completed in 2012, and the link became operational after the gauge conversion of the main line under Project Unigauge. The state capital Itanagar was added to the Indian railway map on 12 April 2014 via the newly built 20 kilometre Harmuti-Naharlagun railway line, when a train from Dekargaon in Assam reached Naharlagun railway station, 10 kilometres from the centre of Itanagar, a total distance of 181 kilometres.

On 20 February 2015 the first through train was run from New Delhi to Naharlagun, flagged off from the capital by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. India plans to eventually extend the railway to Tawang, near the border with China.