Arunachal Pradesh (pop. 1,383,727) is a state in northeastern India. It stretches from the ridge of the eastern Himalaya to the foothills bordering the Brahmaputra River. Arunachal Pradesh shares a border of about 500 miles (800 kilometers) with China and is one of India’s most isolated and inaccessible regions. For many years, the state was closed to foreign visitors because of its strategic location bordering Bhutan, Myanmar, and China. Arunachal Pradesh was granted full statehood in 1987. The state’s capital is Itanagar.
People and government.
The population of Arunachal Pradesh is scattered very sparsely in comparison with other parts of India. The population density is about 43 people per square mile (17 people per square kilometer). The tribal people of northeast India have diverse origins. There are about 20 major tribal groups in the state. They each possess very distinct cultures, with a variety of dance, music, and folk traditions. The tribes of the extreme northeast speak a mixture of Sino-Tibetan and Burmese-Tibetan languages, especially Khamti. Their religions have animist, Buddhist, and Hindu backgrounds (see Animism). Many people believe in a form of Buddhism, but there are others who are worshippers of the sun and moon. Highly developed tribal dances range from war dances to the religious dance-drama of the Buddhist tribes.
Arunachal Pradesh elects two members to the Lok Sabha (lower house) of the Indian national parliament. The president of India nominates the state’s one representative in the Rajya Sabha (upper house). The state legislative assembly has 60 members.
Economy.
Agriculture is the most important economic activity in the state. Rice is the main crop. Other important crops include corn, oilseeds, potatoes, pulses (crops yielding pods of edible seeds, such as beans and lentils), and sugar cane. Cherries, peaches, pears, pineapples, and plums are also grown.
There is no large-scale manufacturing industry in Arunachal Pradesh. Weaving is the major craft industry. The weavers, mostly women, produce highly colored fabric. Other craft industries include the production of baskets, candles, carpets, fruit preserving, and woodworking. Sericulture (the rearing of silkworms for silk production) is a developing business. Forest-based industries produce plywood, tea chests, and veneers.
The state has rich deposits of coal, dolomite, limestone, and oil. Some coal is mined. There is much potential for hydroelectric power in the state.
Arunachal Pradesh has limited connections by commercial transport with the rest of India. Access to the state from Kolkata is through Dibrugarh in the neighboring state of Assam. Roads connect Itanagar with other small towns, and there is a road from Tezpur to Bomdilla and Tawang. Air services run from Along, Daparizo, Pasighat, Tezu, and Xiro.
Land and climate.
The state has a variety of terrain, ranging from the snow-capped mountains of the Himalaya, some of which rise to more than 19,700 feet (6,000 meters), to the steamy plains of the Brahmaputra Valley. The Brahmaputra flows from north to south through the mountains in the eastern end of the state. Short streams run in torrents down the slopes of the eastern Himalaya to join the Brahmaputra in Assam.
The climate varies greatly according to altitude. The high mountain ranges in the north are permanently under snow. At the edge of the plains, temperatures are mild. May and August are the two hottest months. Itanagar receives more than 100 inches (260 centimeters) of rain each year, most of which falls during the monsoon season, which occurs between June and September.
Arunachal Pradesh has a great variety of forests, ranging from the alpine to the subtropical. Plants range from rhododendrons to cacti and bamboo. More than 550 different kinds of orchid grow in the area. The wildlife includes clouded leopard, elephant, Himalayan black bear, musk deer, red panda, sloth, snow leopard, and tiger. The Miao wildlife sanctuary is in the Tirap district on the Indo-Burmese border. The state is famous for the Parasuram Kund, a lake near Tezu.
History.
The early history of Arunachal Pradesh is not known, but the area is mentioned in the body of Indian writings known as the Puranas. The ruins of a palace in the Dibang valley may date from the 1100’s, and Itanagar has a fort that was built in the 1300’s. By then, records show that the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh were trading with the neighboring state of Assam, and often came into conflict with Assam’s Ahom rulers. Arunachal Pradesh has many Buddhist monasteries. The Tawang monastery, the largest in India, dates from the 1600’s.
In 1826, the East India Company annexed Assam and slowly extended British influence into the northeast region of India. In 1912, the region now called Arunachal Pradesh became an administrative unit within Assam, called the North Eastern Frontier Tract. British missionaries converted many tribal people to Christianity.
In 1954, the area became known as the North East Frontier Agency. In 1967, the region received Indian voting rights for the first time. Arunachal Pradesh became a Union Territory in 1972 and a state in 1987. For many years, the state was mostly closed to foreign tourists, in part because of a border dispute between India and China. In 2008, India’s government relaxed tourist restrictions on the state.
See also India.
