Arunachal Pradesh
(2001 est. pop. 1.1 million). "The land of the dawn-lit mountains," Arunachal Pradesh became a state in northeastern India in 1987. From 1947 to 1972 it was known as the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), then in 1972 it became a union territory. Arunachal Pradesh stretches north to the main crest of the eastern Himalayas and east to an irregular line that passes through a series of lofty peaks that were known as "the Hump" during World War II, when supplies to China were airlifted over it. Arunachal Pradesh borders China and Tibet to the north and Bhutan to the west with verdant mountain ranges sloping down to the plains of Assam, India, to the south.
A narrow suspension foot bridge crosses over the forest in Arunachal Pradesh. (LINDSAY HEBBERD/CORBIS)According to legend, Parasurama, the sixth of the ten incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu, created a passage through the hills for the Brahmaputra River with a stroke of his axe at Brahma Kund (in eastern Arunachal Pradesh), now a popular pilgrimage destination. Arunachal Pradesh's recorded history dates only from the sixteenth century, when the Ahom kings began their rule in Assam. By 1826 the British had made Assam part of British India, and in 1882 a political adviser was appointed to bring the area under British administrative control. In general the indigenous peoples of the region, labeled "hill tribes," were left to themselves until World War II. After Independence, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) supported efforts to prepare the tribes for the impact of the modern world. Developments toward village democracy increased after China invaded Tawang (in western Arunachal Pradesh) in 1962. The river valleys, separated by forbidding north-south ridges, have enabled distinct microcultures to flourish in Arunachal Pradesh. The region has at least fifteen distinct tribal groups known collectively to outsiders as the Abor. Among the principal tribes, whose beliefs blend Buddhism and traditional religions, are the Apa Tanis, Aka, Dafla, and the Sherdukpen.
Arunachal Pradesh, one of the last wilderness areas in India, exhibits great biodiversity in flora and fauna, including over five hundred species of orchids, in settings ranging from glacial terrain to alpine meadows and subtropical rain forests. Namdapha National Park is home to the rare hoolock gibbon, the legendary snow leopard, tigers, bears, pandas, and elephants. The capital, Itanagar, features the Jawaharlal Nehru State Museum and a Buddhist temple consecrated by the Dalai Lama.
Further Reading
Bhattacharjee, Tarun Kumar. (1992) Enticing Frontiers. New Delhi: Omsans.
Elwin, Verrier. (1965) Democracy in NEFA. Shillong, Meghalaya, India: North-East Frontier Agency.
Fürer-Haimendorf, Christoph von. (1962) The Apa Tanis and Their Neighbours. New York: Free Press of Glencoe.
Mishra, Kiran. (1992) Women in a Tribal Community: A Study of Arunachal Pradesh. New Delhi: Vikas.
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