Fauna Of Arunachal Pradesh
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Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
in
Northeastern India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...
. It was formed from the erstwhile
North-East Frontier Agency The North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), originally known as the North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT), was one of the political divisions in British India, and later the Republic of India until 20 January 1972, when it became the Union Territory of ...
(NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and
Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
to the south. It shares international borders with
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
in the west,
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
in the east, and a disputed border with China in the north at the
McMahon Line The McMahon Line is the boundary between Tibet and British India as agreed in the maps and notes exchanged by the respective plenipotentiaries on 24–25 March 1914 at Delhi, as part of the 1914 Simla Convention. The line delimited the resp ...
.
Itanagar Itanagar () is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The seat of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the seat of government of Arunachal Pradesh, and the seat of Gauhati High Court permanent bench at Naharlag ...
is the state capital of Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh is the largest of the
Seven Sister States , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...
of
Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...
by area. Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,129 km border with
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
's
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
. As of the
2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
, Arunachal Pradesh has a population of 1,382,611 and an area of . It is an ethnically diverse state, with predominantly
Monpa people The Monpa or Mönpa () is a major tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. The Tawang Monpas have a migration history from Changrelung. The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally depend ...
in the west,
Tani people The Tani is a group of tribes from the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China which share common Tani languages and certain common beliefs, primarily in Abotani as their primeval ancestor (Father of ...
in the centre, Mishmi and
Tai people Tai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai, Thais, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, an ...
in the east, and
Naga people Nagas are various ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur and Naga Self-Administered ...
in the southeast of the state. About 26 major tribes and 100 sub-tribes live in the state. The main tribes of the state are Adi, Nyshi, Singpho, Galo, Tagin, Apatani, and so forth. The Mishmi tribe has three sub-tribes, namely Idu-Mishmi, Digaru-Mishmi and Miju-Mishmi. A major part of the state is claimed by both the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
as part of the region of
South Tibet South Tibet is a claimed area by China with the literal translation of the Chinese term '' (), which may refer to different geographic areas: * The southern part of Tibet, covering the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley between S ...
.


Toponymy

Arunachal Pradesh means ''Land of the Dawn-Lit Mountains'', which is the
sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...
for the state in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
.


History


Ancient and Medieval period

Northwestern parts of this area came under the control of the Monpa kingdom of Monyul, which flourished between 500 BCE and 600 CE. The
Monpa The Monpa or Mönpa () is a major tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. The Tawang Monpas have a migration history from Changrelung. The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally dependen ...
and
Sherdukpen The Sherdukpen are an ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. Their population of 9,663 is centered in West Kameng district in the villages of Rupa, Jigaon, Thongri, Shergaon, to the south of Bomdila. All of these are at elevations be ...
keep historical records of the existence of local chiefdoms in the northwest as well. The remaining parts of the state, especially the foothills and the plains, were under the control of the
Chutia The Chutia people (Pron: or ''Sutia'') are an ethnic group that are native to Assam and historically associated with the Chutia kingdom. However, after the kingdom was absorbed into the Ahom kingdom in 1523–24, the Chutia population was ...
kings of
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. Recent excavations of ruins of Hindu temples, such as the 14th-century Malinithan at the foot of the Siang hills in
West Siang West Siang (Pron:/ˈsjæŋ or ˈsɪæŋ/) is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. History In 1989, territory was given from West Siang to the East Siang district. Since 1999, this territory has been in the new ...
, indicate they were built during the
Chutia The Chutia people (Pron: or ''Sutia'') are an ethnic group that are native to Assam and historically associated with the Chutia kingdom. However, after the kingdom was absorbed into the Ahom kingdom in 1523–24, the Chutia population was ...
reign. Another notable heritage site, Bhismaknagar (built in the 8th century), has led to suggestions that the
Chutia people The Chutia people (Pron: or ''Sutia'') are an ethnic group that are native to Assam and historically associated with the Chutia kingdom. However, after the kingdom was absorbed into the Ahom kingdom in 1523–24, the Chutia population was ...
had an advanced culture and administration. The third heritage site, the 400-year-old
Tawang Monastery Tawang Monastery, located in Tawang city of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, is the largest monastery in India. It is situated in the valley of the Tawang Chu, near the small town of the same name in the northwestern p ...
in the extreme north-west of the state, provides some historical evidence of the Buddhist tribal people. The sixth
Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
Tsangyang Gyatso Tsangyang Gyatso (; born 1 March 1683, died after 1706) was the 6th Dalai Lama. He was an unconventional Dalai Lama that preferred the lifestyle of a crazy wisdom yogi to that of an ordained monk. His regent was killed before he was kidnapped ...
was born in
Tawang Tawang is a town and administrative headquarter of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The town was once the capital of the Tawang Tract, which is now divided into the Tawang district and the West Kameng district. Tawang c ...
. The main archaeological sites of the state include:


British India

In 1912–13, the
British Indian government British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
made agreements with the indigenous peoples of the Himalayas of northeastern India to establish the
North-East Frontier Tracts The North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), originally known as the North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT), was one of the political divisions in British India, and later the Republic of India until 20 January 1972, when it became the Union Territory of ...
. It was divided into three sections, which eventually came to be called the Ballipara Frontier Tract, Lakhimpur Frontier Tract and Sadiya Frontier Tract.


The McMahon line

In 1913–1914, representatives of the ''de facto'' independent state of Tibet and Britain met in India to define the borders of 'Outer Tibet' (with respect to China). British administrator Sir Henry McMahon drew the
McMahon Line The McMahon Line is the boundary between Tibet and British India as agreed in the maps and notes exchanged by the respective plenipotentiaries on 24–25 March 1914 at Delhi, as part of the 1914 Simla Convention. The line delimited the resp ...
as the border between
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
and Tibet, placing
Tawang Tawang is a town and administrative headquarter of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The town was once the capital of the Tawang Tract, which is now divided into the Tawang district and the West Kameng district. Tawang c ...
and other areas within British India. The Tibetan and British representatives devised the Simla Accord including the McMahon Line, but the Chinese representatives did not concur. The Simla Accord denies other benefits to China while it declines to assent to the Accord. The Chinese position was that Tibet was not independent from China and could not sign treaties, so the Accord was invalid, like the Anglo-Chinese (1906) and Anglo-Russian (1907) conventions. British records show that the condition for the Tibetan government to accept the new border was that China must accept the Simla Convention. As Britain was not able to get an acceptance from China, Tibetans considered the MacMahon line invalid. In the time that China did not exercise power in Tibet, the line had no serious challenges. In 1935, a Deputy Secretary in the Foreign Department,
Olaf Caroe Sir Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe, (15 November 1892 – 23 November 1981) was an administrator in British India, working for the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Political Service. He served as the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India ...
, "discovered" that the McMahon Line was not drawn on official maps. The
Survey of India The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of Cartography, mapping and surveying.
published a map showing the McMahon Line as the official boundary in 1937. In 1938, two decades after the Simla Conference, the British finally published the Simla Accord as a bilateral accord and the Survey of India published a detailed map showing the McMahon Line as a border of India. In 1944, Britain established administrations in the area, from Dirang Dzong in the west to
Walong Walong is an administrative town and the headquarters of eponymous tehsil, circle in the Anjaw district in eastern-most part of Arunachal Pradesh state in India. It also has a small cantonment of the Indian Army. Walong is on banks of Lohit Rive ...
in the east.


Sino-Indian War

India became independent in 1947 and the People's Republic of China (PRC) was established in 1949. The new Chinese government still considered the McMahon Line invalid. In November 1950, the PRC was poised to take over Tibet by force, and India supported Tibet. Journalist Sudha Ramachandran argued that China claimed Tawang on behalf of Tibetans, though Tibetans did not claim Tawang is in Tibet. What is now Arunachal Pradesh was established as the
North-East Frontier Agency The North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), originally known as the North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT), was one of the political divisions in British India, and later the Republic of India until 20 January 1972, when it became the Union Territory of ...
(NEFA) in 1954 and Sino-Indian relations were cordial until 1960. Resurgence of the border disagreement was a factor leading to the
Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tib ...
in 1962, during which China captured most of Arunachal Pradesh. During the
1962 Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibe ...
, most of Arunachal Pradesh was captured and temporarily controlled by the Chinese
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
. However, China soon declared victory, withdrew back to the
McMahon Line The McMahon Line is the boundary between Tibet and British India as agreed in the maps and notes exchanged by the respective plenipotentiaries on 24–25 March 1914 at Delhi, as part of the 1914 Simla Convention. The line delimited the resp ...
and returned Indian prisoners of war in 1963.A.G. Noorani, "", ''India's National Magazine'', 29 August 2003.Manoj Joshi, "Line of Defence", ''Times of India'', 21 October 2000 The war resulted in the termination of
barter trade In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists distingu ...
with Tibet, although since 2007 the Indian government has shown signs of wanting to resume barter trade.


Renaming and statehood

The North-East Frontier Agency was renamed Arunachal Pradesh by Bibhabasu Das Shastri, the Director of Research and K.A.A. Raja, the Chief Commissioner of Arunachal Pradesh on 20 January 1972, and it became a union territory. Arunachal Pradesh became a state on 20 February 1987.


Recent assertions

In January 2007, the Dalai Lama said that both Britain and Tibet had recognised the McMahon Line in 1914. In 2008, he said that "Arunchal Pradesh was a part of India under the
agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus, a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of law ** Meeting o ...
signed by Tibetan and British representatives". According to the Dalai Lama, "In 1962 during the India-China war, the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
(PLA) occupied all these areas (Arunachal Pradesh) but they announced a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew, accepting the current international boundary". In recent years, China has occasionally asserted its claims on
Tawang Tawang is a town and administrative headquarter of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The town was once the capital of the Tawang Tract, which is now divided into the Tawang district and the West Kameng district. Tawang c ...
. India has rebutted these claims and informed the Chinese government that Tawang is an integral part of India. India reiterated this to China when the two prime ministers met in Thailand in October 2009. A report that the
Chinese Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
had briefly invaded Arunachal Pradesh in 2016 was denied by India's Minister of State for Home Affairs,
Kiren Rijiju Kiren Rijiju (born 19 November 1971) is an Indian politician from Arunachal Pradesh who serves as the Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice in the Government of India. Early life Rijiju was born on 19 November 1971 at Nakhu near Nafra in West K ...
. In April 2017, China strongly objected to a visit to Tawang by the Dalai Lama, as it had to an earlier visit by the US ambassador to India. China had objected to the Dalai Lama's previous visits to the area.


Insurgency

Arunachal Pradesh has faced threats from insurgent groups, notably the
National Socialist Council of Nagaland The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is a Naga nationalist separatist group operating mainly in Northeast India, with minor activities in northwest Myanmar (Burma). The main aim of the organisation is to establish a sovereign Naga ...
(NSCN), who are believed to have base camps in the districts of
Changlang Changlang is a census town and headquarters of the Changlang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It has become one of the major districts in the area owing to the presence of crude oil, coal and mineral resources other than to ...
and
Tirap TIRAP is an adapter molecule associated with toll-like receptors. The innate immune system recognizes microbial pathogens through Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which identify pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Different TLRs recognize different ...
. These groups seek to decrease the influence of Indian government in the region and merge part of Arunachal Pradesh into
Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
. The
Indian army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
is present along the Tibetan border to thwart any Chinese incursion. Under the
Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order 1958 (India) The Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958 states that a Protected Area Permit (PAP) is required for non-Indian citizens to visit certain areas in India (mainly in the Northeast India). Certain requirements have to be fulfilled in order to ge ...
,
Inner Line Permit Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the concerned state government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those state ...
s (ILPs) are required to enter Arunachal Pradesh through any of its checkgates on the border with
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
.


Politics

Arunachal Pradesh suffered
political crisis Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
between April 2016 and December 2016. The
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
Chief Minister Nabam Tuki replaced
Jarbom Gamlin Jarbom Gamlin (16 April 1961 – 30 November 2014) was an Indian politician and a leader of the Indian National Congress political party in Arunachal Pradesh and briefly served as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. Early life Gamlin was b ...
as the
Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Arunachal Pradesh is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority ...
on 1 November 2011 and continued until January 2016. After a political crisis in 2016,
President's rule In India, President's rule is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct Union government rule in a state. Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional ...
was imposed ending his tenure as the chief minister. In February 2016,
Kalikho Pul Kalikho Pul (20 July 1969 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh for a brief time in 2016. He was elected five times from the Hayuliang Vidhan Sabha constituency re ...
became the Chief Minister when 14 disqualified MLAs were reinstated by the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. On 13 July 2016, the Supreme Court quashed the Arunachal Pradesh Governor J.P. Rajkhowa's order to advance the Assembly session from 14 January 2016 to 16 December 2015, which resulted in President's rule in Arunachal Pradesh. As a result, Nabam Tuki was reinstated as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 13 July 2016. But hours before floor test, he resigned as the chief minister on 16 July 2016. He was succeeded by
Pema Khandu Pema Khandu (born 21 August 1979) is an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He is son of former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Dorjee Khandu. Since assuming office of chief minister in July 2016, he and his govern ...
as the INC Chief Minister who later joined PPA in September 2016 along with majority of MLAs. Pema Khandu further joined BJP in December 2016 along with majority of MLAs. Arunachal Pradesh becomes 2nd NE state to achieve
ODF The Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF), also known as OpenDocument, is an open file format for word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations and graphics and using ZIP-compressed XML files. It was developed wi ...
status.


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 an area of . The highest peak in the state is
Kangto Kangto (also known as Kanggardo Rize) at is a mountain of the Eastern Himalayas located in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and it shares its border with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is the highest point in Arunachal Pradesh. T ...
, at . Nyegi Kangsang, the main Gorichen peak, and the Eastern Gorichen peak are other tall Himalaya peaks. The state's mountain ranges, in the extreme East of India, are described as "the place where the sun rises" in historical Indian texts and named the Aruna Mountains, which inspired the name of the state. The villages of Dong (more accessible by car, and with a lookout favoured by tourists) and Vijaynagar (on the edge of Myanmar) receive the first sunlight in all of India. Major rivers of Arunachal Pradesh include the Kameng, Subansiri, Siang (
Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
),
Dibang Dibang (Hindi: दिबांग) is a senior news anchor former host of daily prime-time show 'Jan Man' and weekly show 'Press Conference' on the Hindi news channel ABP News. A member of debate panels of the channel, he is rated among the ...
, Lohit and
Noa Dihing Dihing or Burhi Dihing (Dihong = wide river ) is a large tributary, about long, of the Brahmaputra River in Upper Assam in northeastern India. The river originates at above sea level in the Eastern Himalayas (the Patkai Hills) in Arunachal Pr ...
rivers. Subsurface flows and summer snow melt contribute to the volume of water. Mountains until the Siang river are classified as the Eastern Himalayas. Those between the Siang and Noa Dihing are classified as the
Mishmi Hills The Mishmi Hills are located at the northeastern tip of India, in northeastern Arunachal Pradesh. On the Chinese side, they form the southern parts of Nyingchi Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. These hills occur at the junction of Nor ...
that may be part of the Hengduan Mountains. Mountains south of the Noa Dihing in
Tirap TIRAP is an adapter molecule associated with toll-like receptors. The innate immune system recognizes microbial pathogens through Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which identify pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Different TLRs recognize different ...
and
Longding Longding district (Pron:/lɒŋˈdɪŋ/) is one of the 20 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It was carved out of the south-western portion of the Tirap District. The district shares its boundary to the south and ...
districts are part of the
Patkai The Pat-kai (Pron:pʌtˌkaɪ) or Patkai Bum ( Burmese: ''Kumon Taungdan'') are a series of mountains in the Indo-Myanmar border falling in the north-eastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Upper Burma region of Myanmar. They ...
Range.


Climate

The climate of Arunachal Pradesh varies with elevation. The low-altitude areas have a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
. High-altitude areas (3500–5500 m) have a
subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
and alpine climate. Arunachal Pradesh receives of rainfall annually, 70%–80% obtained between May and October.


Biodiversity

Arunachal Pradesh has among the highest diversity of mammals and birds in India. There are around 750 species of birds and more than 200 species of mammals in the state. Arunachal's forests account for one-third of habitat area within the Himalayan biodiversity hot-spot. In 2013, of Arunachal's forests were identified as part of a vast area of continuous forests (, including forests in Myanmar, China and Bhutan) known as
Intact forest landscape An intact forest landscape (IFL) is an unbroken natural landscape of a forest ecosystem and its habitat–plant community components, in an extant forest zone. An IFL is a natural environment with no signs of significant human activity or habitat f ...
s. There are three tiger reserves in the state: a reserve in
Namdapha National Park Namdapha National Park is a large protected area in Arunachal Pradesh of Northeast India. The park was established in 1983. With more than 1,000 floral and about 1,400 faunal species, it is a biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas. The ...
, Mouling National Park and
Pakke Tiger Reserve Pakke Tiger Reserve, also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve, is a Project Tiger reserve in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. The reserve is protected by the Department of Environment and Forest of Arunachal Pradesh. ...
.


Flora

In the year 2000 Arunachal Pradesh was covered with of tree cover (77% of its land area). It harbours over 5000 plants, about 85 terrestrial mammals, over 500 birds and many butterflies, insects and reptiles. At the lowest elevations, essentially at Arunachal Pradesh's border with
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, are
Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests The Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of Northeastern India and southern Bhutan. Location and description The ecoregion covers and encompasses the alluvial plain of the upper Brahmaputra Ri ...
. Much of the state, including the Himalayan foothills and the Patkai hills, are home to
Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests The Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests is a temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion found in the middle elevations of the eastern Himalayas, including parts of Nepal, India, and Bhutan. These forests have an outstanding richness of wildlife. Settin ...
. Toward the northern border with Tibet, with increasing elevation, come a mixture of
Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
and
Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests The Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle to upper elevations of the eastern Himalayas and southeast Tibetan Plateau. The ecoregion occurs in southeastern Tibet Autonomous Reg ...
followed by
Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows The Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal, which lies between the tree line and snow line in the eastern portion of the Himalaya Range. Setting T ...
and ultimately rock and ice on the highest peaks. It supports many medicinal plants and within Ziro valley of Lower Subansiri district 158 medicinal plants are being used by its inhabitants. The mountain slopes and hills are covered with alpine, temperate, and subtropical forests of dwarf
rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
,
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
,
maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
and
fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
. The state has Mouling and
Namdapha Namdapha National Park is a large protected area in Arunachal Pradesh of Northeast India. The park was established in 1983. With more than 1,000 floral and about 1,400 faunal species, it is a biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas. The ...
national parks.


Fauna

The major animal species are Tiger, Leopard, snow leopard, Asian elephant, Sambhar deer, Chital deer, Barking deer, Sloth bear, Mithuna (''Bos frontalis''), Gaur, Dhole, Giant squirrel, Marbled cat, Leopard cat. A new subspecies of hoolock gibbon has been described from the state which has been named as the Mishmi Hills hoolock gibbon (''H. h. mishmiensis''). Three new giant flying squirrels were also described from the state during the last one and half-decade. These were,
Mechuka giant flying squirrel The Mechuka giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista mechukaensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. First described in 2007 from East Himalayan forests at altitudes of in the region of Mechuka of north-central Arunachal Pradesh in I ...
,
Mishmi Hills giant flying squirrel The Mishmi giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista mishmiensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. First described in 2009 from East Himalayan forests at altitudes of in the Mishmi Hills of northeastern Arunachal Pradesh in India (it ...
, and Mebo giant flying squirrel.


Districts

Arunachal Pradesh comprises two divisions, namely, East and West, each headed by a divisional commissioner and twenty-five districts, each administered by a deputy commissioner. Arunachal Pradesh has a total of 25 districts, West Siang being the largest district in terms of area and Tawang being the smallest district. Papum is the largest district in terms of population and Diwang Valley is the smallest district.


Major towns

Below are the major towns in Arunachal Pradesh.


Municipal councils

* Itanagar Municipal Council * Pasighat Municipal Council


Municipal boards

*
Aalo Aalo, formerly Along, is a census town and headquarter of the West Siang district district of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located from Likabali, which is at the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It is also an Advance La ...
*
Seppa Seppa (formerly known as Sabpa) is the headquarters of the East Kameng district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. ''Sabpa'' means 'marshy' land in the local dialect. It lies on the bank of Kameng River and there is a helipad there. It ...
*
Tezu Tezu is a census town and the headquarters of Lohit District, Lohit district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is the fifth largest town in Arunachal Pradesh and one of its most developed. Tezu is on ...
*
Daporijo Daporijo is a census town in the Upper Subansiri district, Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast of India. Nomenclature Originally Dapo referred to "protection" or "the barrier" against the epidemic or evil spirits while Rijo stoo ...
* Namsai *
Ziro Ziro is a town and the district headquarters of the Lower Subansiri district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is included the Tentative List for UNESCO's World Heritage Site for the '' Apatani cultural landscape''. The part of the ...
*
Roing Roing is the district headquarter of Lower Dibang Valley district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is the last major township at the north-eastern frontier of India. Demographics As of 2011 India census, Roing had a population of ...
*
Tawang Tawang is a town and administrative headquarter of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The town was once the capital of the Tawang Tract, which is now divided into the Tawang district and the West Kameng district. Tawang c ...
*
Khonsa Khonsa is the headquarters of Tirap district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It also houses Ramakrishna Sarada Mission School, Christ The King ICSE School. The Noctes, a Wancho tribe, are the indigenous population, although the town i ...
*
Bomdila Bomdila is the headquarters of West Kameng district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Bomdila is one of the 60 constituencies of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Geography and Climate Bomdila is located at . It has an average elevati ...
*
Pasighat Pasighat is the headquarters of East Siang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Situated at the eastern foothills of the Himalayas at above mean sea level, Pasighat is Arunachal's oldest town. The Government of India included Pa ...


Towns

*
Jairampur Jairampur is a census town in Changlang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Demographics Jairampur is an ADC HQ of Changlang district (situated in the southeastern part of Arunachal Pradesh, North East India). A small hilly tow ...
*
Deomali Deomali is a census town in Tirap district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The small sub-divisional town has scenic beauty and is surrounded by hills, tea gardens, forests and rivers. Geography Deomali is located at 27.15857'N 95. ...
*
Aalo Aalo, formerly Along, is a census town and headquarter of the West Siang district district of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located from Likabali, which is at the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It is also an Advance La ...
*
Yingkiong Yingkiong is a town in and the administrative headquarters of Upper Siang district in the Northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located north of Itanagar, the capital of the state, and east of the River Siang. According to the ...
*
Changlang Changlang is a census town and headquarters of the Changlang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It has become one of the major districts in the area owing to the presence of crude oil, coal and mineral resources other than to ...
*
Miao Miao may refer to: * Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China * Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages * Miao (Unicode ...
* Basar *
Dirang Dirang is a village in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. West Kameng is the name of the district that contains village Dirang. Dirang is one of the 60 constituencies of Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh. Name of current MLA (August ...
*
Anini Anini is the headquarters of the Dibang Valley district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. Anini was also the district headquarters of the undivided Dibang Valley district. Most of this location's population consists of the I ...
*
Koloriang Koloriang is a hilly district headquarters town of Kurung Kumey district in Arunachal Pradesh, India, bordering Tibet. It has an altitude of Rupa Rupa may refer to: Places *Rupa, Croatia, a town in northwest Croatia *Rupa, Arunachal Pradesh, a town of Arunachal Pradesh *Rupa gold mine, an artisanal mine in Uganda *Rupa Lake, a freshwater lake in Nepal Science * ''Rupa'' (beetle), a beetl ...
* Boleng * Hawai *
Sagalee Sagalee is a town in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Papum Pare is the name of the district that contains village Sagalee. Sagalee is located 25 km towards West from District headquarters, Yupia. It is one of the 60 constituencies o ...
* Yupia *
Doimukh Doimukh is a small town in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, in the Papum Pare district. It is located 18 km south of Yupia, the district headquarters. Its PIN code is 791112. It is one of the 60 constituencies of the Legislative Assem ...
* Gumto *
Longding Longding district (Pron:/lɒŋˈdɪŋ/) is one of the 20 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It was carved out of the south-western portion of the Tirap District. The district shares its boundary to the south and ...
* Pangin * Likabali * Malinithan *
Bhalukpong Bhalukpung is a small town located along the southern reaches of the Himalayas in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The town is located at 213m above sea level, 100 km from Bomdila, 52 km from Tezpur and 5 km fr ...
*
Nampong Nampong is a census town in the Changlang District in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located close to the Pangsau Pass, being the last town on the Indian side, at an elevation of 308 metres. Nampong is one of the 60 constitue ...
*
Hayuliang Hayuliang is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous subdivision in the Anjaw district in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, India.Palin The surname Palin is a name of British origin, either English or Welsh. Possible derivations include an anglicization of the Welsh patronymic ''ap Heilyn'' ("son of Heilyn") or a reference to the English placenames Poling, West Sussex or Sea Pallin ...
* Jamin * Bhismaknagar *
Akshiganga Akshiganga is a small town in the West Siang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became ...
* Mechukha *
Pasighat Pasighat is the headquarters of East Siang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Situated at the eastern foothills of the Himalayas at above mean sea level, Pasighat is Arunachal's oldest town. The Government of India included Pa ...
*
Ziro Ziro is a town and the district headquarters of the Lower Subansiri district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is included the Tentative List for UNESCO's World Heritage Site for the '' Apatani cultural landscape''. The part of the ...


Economy

The chart below displays the trend of the gross state domestic product of Arunachal Pradesh at market prices by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in billions of Indian Rupees. Arunachal Pradesh's
gross state domestic product Gross regional domestic product (GRDP), gross domestic product of region (GDPR), or gross state product (GSP) is a statistic that measures the size of a region's economy. It is the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer unit ...
was estimated at US$706 million at current prices in 2004 and US$1.75 billion at current prices in 2012. Agriculture primarily drives the economy. Jhum, the local term used for shifting cultivation is being widely practised among the tribal groups, though owing to the gradual growth of other sources of income in the recent years, it is not being practised as prominently as it was earlier. Arunachal Pradesh has close to 61,000 km2 of forests, and 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 rice mills, fruit preservation and processing units, and handloom handicrafts.
Sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
s and plywood trades are prohibited under law. There are many saw mills in the state. Arunachal Pradesh accounts for a large percentage share of India's untapped hydroelectric potential. In 2008, the government of Arunachal Pradesh signed numerous memorandum of understanding with various companies planning some 42 hydroelectric schemes that will produce electricity in excess of 27,000 MW. Construction of the Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project, which is expected to generate between 10,000 and 12,000 MW, began in April 2009.


Demographics

Arunachal Pradesh can be roughly divided into a set of semi-distinct cultural spheres, on the basis of tribal identity, language, religion and material culture: the
Tibetic The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descended from Old Tibetan (7th to 9th centuries).Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptiv ...
-speaking
Monpa The Monpa or Mönpa () is a major tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. The Tawang Monpas have a migration history from Changrelung. The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally dependen ...
area bordering
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
in the west, the Tani area in the centre of the state, the Mishmi area to the east of the Tani area, the
Tai Tai or TAI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain *Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film ''Clueless'' *Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon'' Businesses and organisations ...
/ Singpho/
Tangsa The Tangsa or Tangshang in India and Myanmar (Burma) respectively, is a tribe native to Changlang District of Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Tinsukia District of Assam, in north-eastern India, and across the border in Sagaing Region, parts of K ...
area bordering Myanmar, and the
Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...
area to the south, which also borders Myanmar. In between there are transition zones, such as the
Aka Aka, AKA or a.k.a. may refer to: * "Also known as", used to introduce an alternative name Languages * Aka language (Sudan) * Aka language, in the Central African Republic * Hruso language, in India, also referred to as Aka * a prefix in the n ...
/ Hruso/ Miji/
Sherdukpen The Sherdukpen are an ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. Their population of 9,663 is centered in West Kameng district in the villages of Rupa, Jigaon, Thongri, Shergaon, to the south of Bomdila. All of these are at elevations be ...
area, between the Tibetan Buddhist tribes and the animist Tani hill tribes. In addition, there are isolated peoples scattered throughout the state, such as the Sulung. Within each of these cultural spheres, one finds populations of related tribes speaking related languages and sharing similar traditions. In the Tibetic area, one finds large numbers of Monpa tribespeople, with several subtribes speaking closely related but mutually incomprehensible languages, and also large numbers of Tibetan refugees. Within the Tani area, major tribes include the
Nyishi The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. In Nyishi, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom docu ...
. Apatani also live among the
Nyishi The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. In Nyishi, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom docu ...
, but are distinct. In the centre, one finds predominantly
Galo people Galo may refer to: People * Galo Blanco (born 1976), Spanish tennis player * Galo Chiriboga, Ecuadorian lawyer, politician and administrator * Galo Galecio (1906–1993), Ecuadorian painter, sculptor, caricaturist and printmaker * Galo Ocampo (191 ...
, with the major sub-groups of Karka, Lodu, Bogum, Lare and Pugo among others, extending to the Ramo and Pailibo areas (which are close in many ways to Galo). In the east, one finds the
Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chie ...
with many subtribes including
Padam Padam may refer to: *''Padam... Padam...'', a song by Édith Piaf *Padam, Ladakh, India *Padam people, of India *Padam (musical composition), in Carnatic music *Southern Command (Israel) (''Pikud Darom'') {{disambiguation ...
, Pasi, Minyong and
Bokar Lhoba (English translation: ; ; bo, ལྷོ་པ།) is any of a diverse amalgamation of Sino-Tibetan-speaking tribespeople living in and around Pemako, a region in southeastern Tibet including Mainling, Medog and Zayü counties of Nying ...
, among others.
Milang Milang ( ) is a town and locality located in the Australian state of South Australia on the west coast of Lake Alexandrina (South Australia), Lake Alexandrina about south-east of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide and about nor ...
, while also falling within the general Adi sphere, are in many ways quite distinct. Moving east, the Idu, Miju and
Digaru Digaru is a river originating in the Garo-Khasi hills of Meghalaya state in India, flowing towards the northeast and then meeting the Kopili river and then merging with the Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows th ...
make up the Mishmi cultural-linguistic area. Moving southeast, the
Tai Tai or TAI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain *Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film ''Clueless'' *Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon'' Businesses and organisations ...
Khamti are linguistically distinct from their neighbours and culturally distinct from the majority of other Arunachalese tribes. They follow the
Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
sect of Buddhism. They also exhibit considerable convergence with the Singpho and
Tangsa The Tangsa or Tangshang in India and Myanmar (Burma) respectively, is a tribe native to Changlang District of Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Tinsukia District of Assam, in north-eastern India, and across the border in Sagaing Region, parts of K ...
Naga tribes of the same area, all of which are also found in Burma. They are one of the most recent people group migrated to Arunachal region from Burma. The
Nocte The Nocte are an ethnic Naga people, Naga tribe primarily living in Arunachal. They number about 111,679 (Census 2011), mainly found in the Patkai hills of Tirap District, Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Ethnically related to the Kon ...
Naga and Wancho Naga are another two major ethnic tribes. Both the tribes exhibit very much cultural similarities. Finally, the Deori tribe is also a major community in the state, with their own distinctive identity. They are the descendants of the priestly class of
Chutia people The Chutia people (Pron: or ''Sutia'') are an ethnic group that are native to Assam and historically associated with the Chutia kingdom. However, after the kingdom was absorbed into the Ahom kingdom in 1523–24, the Chutia population was ...
who were allowed to continue their livelihood after the defeat of the Chutias. Deoris are one of the only Arunachal tribes in the historical records – which shows they are among the first ethnic groups to inhabit the Himalayas of the districts of Dibang Valley and Lohit, before the arrival of many other tribes in the region between 1600 and 1900. Literacy has risen in official figures to 66.95% in 2011 from 54.74% in 2001. The literate population is said to number 789,943. The number of literate males is 454,532 (73.69%) and the number of literate females is 335,411 (59.57%).


Religion

The religious landscape of Arunachal Pradesh is diverse with no single religious group representing the majority of the population. A relatively large percentage of Arunachal's population are nature worshippers (
indigenous religions Indigenous religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being "indigenous". This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the "world religions" and "new re ...
), and follow their own distinct traditional institutions like the Nyedar Namlo by the
Nyishi The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. In Nyishi, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom docu ...
, the Rangfrah by the
Tangsa The Tangsa or Tangshang in India and Myanmar (Burma) respectively, is a tribe native to Changlang District of Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Tinsukia District of Assam, in north-eastern India, and across the border in Sagaing Region, parts of K ...
&
Nocte The Nocte are an ethnic Naga people, Naga tribe primarily living in Arunachal. They number about 111,679 (Census 2011), mainly found in the Patkai hills of Tirap District, Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Ethnically related to the Kon ...
, Medar Nelo by the Apatani, the Kargu Gamgi by the
Galo Galo may refer to: People * Galo Blanco (born 1976), Spanish tennis player * Galo Chiriboga, Ecuadorian lawyer, politician and administrator * Galo Galecio (1906–1993), Ecuadorian painter, sculptor, caricaturist and printmaker * Galo Ocampo (19 ...
and Donyi-Polo Dere by the
Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chie ...
under the umbrella of the indigenous religion the Donyi-Polo. A small number of Arunachali people have traditionally identified as
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
s, although the number may grow as animist traditions are absorbed into Hinduism.
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
predominates in the districts of
Tawang Tawang is a town and administrative headquarter of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The town was once the capital of the Tawang Tract, which is now divided into the Tawang district and the West Kameng district. Tawang c ...
,
West Kameng West Kameng (pronounced ) is a district of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It accounts for 8.86% of the total area of the state. The name is derived from the Kameng river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, that flows through the district ...
, and isolated regions adjacent to
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
.
Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
is practised by groups living near the
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
border. Around 30% of the population are Christians. Buddhism arrived in Arunachal Pradesh in 8th century CE from Tibet. According to the 2011 Indian Census, the religions of Arunachal Pradesh break down as follows: *
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
: 418,732 (30.26%) *
Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
: 401,876 (29.04%) * Others: 362,553 (26.20%) *
Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
: 162,815 (11.77%) *
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
: 27,045 (1.95%) *
Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...
: 3,287 (0.24%) *
Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
: 771 (0.06%) In 1971, the percentage of Christians in the state was 0.79%. This increased to 10.3% by 1991 and by 2011 it had crossed 30%.


Languages

The speakers of major languages of the state according to the 2011 census are
Nyishi The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. In Nyishi, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom docu ...
(20.74%),
Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chie ...
(17.35%, includes Adi and Gallong), Nepali (6.89%), Tagin (4.54%), Bhotia (4.51%), Wancho (4.23%), Assamese (3.9%),
Bangla Bangla (Bengali: বাংলা) may refer to: *Bengali language, an eastern Indo-Aryan language *The endonym of Bengal, a geographical and ethno-linguistic region in South Asia *''Bangla-'', a prefix indicating Bangladesh Businesses and organ ...
(3.65%),
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
(3.45%), Chakma (3.40%), Apatani (3.21%), Mishmi (3.04%), Tangsa (2.64%), Nocte (2.19%),
Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...
(2.04%) and
Sadri Sadri is a municipality in the Pali district of Rajasthan, India. It is considered the gateway to Marwar from Mewar. Sadri is one of the main places of worship for the Jain community. Ranakpur Temple and Shri Parshuram Mahadev Mandir are locate ...
(1.03%). Modern-day Arunachal Pradesh is one of the linguistically richest and most diverse regions in all of Asia, being home to at least 30 and possibly as many as 50 distinct languages in addition to innumerable dialects and subdialects thereof. Boundaries between languages very often correlate with tribal divisions—for example, the Apatani and
Nyishi The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. In Nyishi, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom docu ...
are tribally and linguistically distinct—but shifts in tribal identity and alignment over time have also ensured that a certain amount of complication enters into the picture—for example, the
Galo language The Galo language is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Tani group, spoken by the Galo people. Its precise position within Tani is not yet certain, primarily because of its central location in the Tani area and the strong effects of intra-Tani con ...
is and has seemingly always been linguistically distinct from
Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chie ...
, whereas the earlier tribal alignment of Galo with Adi (i.e., "Adi Gallong") has only recently been essentially dissolved. The vast majority of languages indigenous to modern-day Arunachal Pradesh belong to the Tibeto-Burman family. The majority of these in turn belong to a single branch of Tibeto-Burman, namely Abo-Tani language. Almost all
Tani languages Tani (alternatively Miric, ''Adi–Galo–Mising–Nishi-Tagin'' (Bradley 1997), or ''Abor–Miri–Dafla'' (Matisoff 2003)), is a branch of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken mostly in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and neighboring regions. Background Th ...
are indigenous to central Arunachal Pradesh, including (moving from west to east) the
Nyishi The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. In Nyishi, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom docu ...
, the Apatani, the Tagin, the
Galo Galo may refer to: People * Galo Blanco (born 1976), Spanish tennis player * Galo Chiriboga, Ecuadorian lawyer, politician and administrator * Galo Galecio (1906–1993), Ecuadorian painter, sculptor, caricaturist and printmaker * Galo Ocampo (19 ...
, the
Bokar Lhoba (English translation: ; ; bo, ལྷོ་པ།) is any of a diverse amalgamation of Sino-Tibetan-speaking tribespeople living in and around Pemako, a region in southeastern Tibet including Mainling, Medog and Zayü counties of Nying ...
, the
Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chie ...
, the
Padam Padam may refer to: *''Padam... Padam...'', a song by Édith Piaf *Padam, Ladakh, India *Padam people, of India *Padam (musical composition), in Carnatic music *Southern Command (Israel) (''Pikud Darom'') {{disambiguation ...
, the Pasi, and the Minyong. The Tani languages are noticeably characterised by an overall relative uniformity, suggesting relatively recent origin and dispersal within their present-day area of concentration. Most of the
Tani languages Tani (alternatively Miric, ''Adi–Galo–Mising–Nishi-Tagin'' (Bradley 1997), or ''Abor–Miri–Dafla'' (Matisoff 2003)), is a branch of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken mostly in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and neighboring regions. Background Th ...
are mutually intelligible with at least one other Tani language, meaning that the area constitutes a
dialect chain A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
, as was once found in much of Europe; only Apatani and
Milang Milang ( ) is a town and locality located in the Australian state of South Australia on the west coast of Lake Alexandrina (South Australia), Lake Alexandrina about south-east of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide and about nor ...
stand out as relatively unusual in the Tani context. Tani languages are among the better-studied languages of the region. To the east of the Tani area lie three virtually undescribed and highly endangered languages of the " Mishmi" group of Tibeto-Burman: Idu,
Digaru Digaru is a river originating in the Garo-Khasi hills of Meghalaya state in India, flowing towards the northeast and then meeting the Kopili river and then merging with the Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows th ...
and Miju. A number of speakers of these languages are also found in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. The relationships of these languages, both amongst one another and to other area languages, are as yet uncertain. Further south, one finds the Singpho (Kachin) language, which is primarily spoken by large populations in
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
's
Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...
, and the
Nocte The Nocte are an ethnic Naga people, Naga tribe primarily living in Arunachal. They number about 111,679 (Census 2011), mainly found in the Patkai hills of Tirap District, Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Ethnically related to the Kon ...
and
Wancho language Wancho is a Konyak language of north-eastern India. Wancho is spoken in 36 villages of southeastern Longding district, Tirap district, Arunachal Pradesh, as well as in Assam and Nagaland (''Ethnologue''). Alternate names include Banpara Nag ...
s, which show affiliations to certain
Naga languages The Naga languages are a geographic and ethnic grouping of languages under the Kuki-Chin-Naga languages, spoken mostly by Naga peoples. Northern Naga languages do not fall within the group, in spite of being spoken by Naga groups; instead, th ...
spoken to the south in modern-day
Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
. To the west and north of the Tani area are found at least one and possibly as many as four
Bodic languages The Tibeto-Kanauri languages, also called Bodic, Bodish–Himalayish, and Western Tibeto-Burman, are a proposed intermediate level of classification of the Sino-Tibetan languages, centered on the Tibetic languages and the Kinnauri dialect cluste ...
, including Dakpa and
Tshangla language Tshangla is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Bodish branch closely related to the Tibetic languages. Tshangla is primarily spoken in Eastern Bhutan and acts as a lingua franca in the region; it is also spoken in the adjoining Tawang tract in the I ...
; within modern-day India, these languages go by the cognate but, in usage, distinct designations Monpa and
Memba The Memba are a people of Arunachal Pradesh. The Memba population is currently around four to five thousand. They mainly live in the districts of Shi Yomi, West Siang and Upper Siang. Some also in nearby Tibet. The religious life of the Memba r ...
. Most speakers of these languages or closely related Bodic languages are found in neighbouring
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
and
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, and Monpa and Memba populations remain closely adjacent to these border regions. Between the Bodic and Tani areas lie many almost completely undescribed and unclassified languages, which, speculatively considered Tibeto-Burman, exhibit many unique structural and lexical properties that probably reflect both a long history in the region and a complex history of language contact with neighbouring populations. Among them are
Sherdukpen The Sherdukpen are an ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. Their population of 9,663 is centered in West Kameng district in the villages of Rupa, Jigaon, Thongri, Shergaon, to the south of Bomdila. All of these are at elevations be ...
,
Bugun The Buguns (formerly Khowa) are one of the earliest recognized schedule tribe of India, majority of them, inhabiting the Singchung Sub-Division of West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. Their total population is approximately 3000. The notab ...
, Hruso,
Koro Koro may refer to: Geography *Koro Island, a Fijian island * Koro Sea, in the Pacific Ocean * Koro, Ivory Coast *Koro, Mali * Koro, Wisconsin, United States, an unincorporated community Languages *Koro language (India), an endangered language spo ...
, Miji, Bangru and Puroik/
Sulung The Puroik language, sometimes known as Sulung, is a language spoken by the Puroik people of Arunachal Pradesh in India and of Lhünzê County, Tibet, in China. Besides their own language, the Puroik also use Nishi, Hindi, and Assamese. Lit ...
. The high linguistic significance these languages is belied by the extreme paucity of documentation and description of them, even in view of their highly endangered status. Puroik, in particular, is perhaps one of the most culturally and linguistically unique and significant populations in all of Asia from proto-historical and anthropological-linguistic perspectives, and yet virtually no information of any real reliability regarding their culture or language can be found in print. Finally, other than the Bodic and Tani groups, there are also certain migratory languages that are largely spoken by migratory and central government employees serving in the state in different departments and institutions in modern-day Arunachal Pradesh. They are classified as Non-Tribal as per the provisions of the
Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
. Outside of Tibeto-Burman, one finds in Arunachal Pradesh a single representative of the Tai family, spoken by Tai Khamti tribe, which is closely affiliated to the
Shan language The Shan language (written Shan: , , spoken Shan: , or , ; my, ရှမ်းဘာသာ, ; th, ภาษาไทใหญ่, ) is the native language of the Shan people and is mostly spoken in Shan State, Myanmar. It is also spoken in p ...
of
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
's
Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...
. Seemingly, Khampti is a recent arrival in Arunachal Pradesh whose presence dates to 18th and/or early 19th-century migrations from northern
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
. In addition to these non-
Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
, the Indo-European languages Assamese,
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, English, Nepali and especially
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
are making strong inroads into Arunachal Pradesh. Primarily as a result of the primary education system—in which classes are generally taught by Hindi-speaking migrant teachers from
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
and other Hindi-speaking parts of northern India, a large and growing section of the population now speaks a semi- creolised variety of Hindi as a mother tongue. Hindi acts as a lingua franca for most of the people in the state. Despite, or perhaps because of, the linguistic diversity of the region, English is the only official language recognised in the state.


Transport


Air

Itanagar Airport Itanagar Airport (IATA: HGI, ICAO: VEHO), also known as Hollongi Airport and officially named as Donyi Polo Airport, is a domestic airport serving Itanagar, the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is located at Hollongi, situated sou ...
, a
Greenfield project In many disciplines, a greenfield project is one that lacks constraints imposed by prior work. The analogy is to that of construction on greenfield land where there is no need to work within the constraints of existing buildings or infrastructure ...
serving Itanagar is being constructed at Holongi at a cost of 6.5 billion. Alliance Air operates the only scheduled flights to the state flying from
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
via
Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
to
Pasighat Airport Pasighat Airport is a regional airport serving Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, India. History The airstrip was laid down during the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and saw little use after the war until the Indian Air Force signed a Memorandum of U ...
. This route commenced in May 2018 under the Government's Regional Connectivity Scheme
UDAN ''Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik'' (Hindi for "Let the common citizens of the country fly"), known by its acronym ''UDAN'' (Hindi for "flight") is a regional airport development program of the Government of India and part of the Regional Connectivi ...
following the completion of a passenger terminal at Pasighat Airport in 2017. State-owned Daporijo Airport,
Ziro Airport Zero AirportZero Airport
official name as per Airports Authority of India
or Ziro Airport is located at Zi ...
,
Along Airport Along Airport also known as Aalo Airport is located at Along in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The Government of Arunachal Pradesh handed over the airstrip to the Ministry of Defence in June 2009. The government has proposed to oper ...
, and
Tezu Airport Tezu Airport is a regional airport serving Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which upgraded it to handle ATR 72, ATR-72 aircraft with night-landing facility. Prime Minister of India, Prime ...
are small and not in operation, but the government has proposed to develop them. Before the state was connected by roads, these airstrips were used to distribute food.


Roads

The main highway of Arunachal Pradesh is the
Trans-Arunachal Highway The Trans-Arunachal Highway (TAH), which includes an existing route comprising NH-13 () and parts of NH-15 (), NH-215 () and SH-25, is an under-construction 2-lane more than long highway passing through 16 districts in Arunachal Pradesh sta ...
, National Highway 13 (; formerly NH-229 and NH-52). It originates in
Tawang Tawang is a town and administrative headquarter of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The town was once the capital of the Tawang Tract, which is now divided into the Tawang district and the West Kameng district. Tawang c ...
and spans most of the width of Arunachal Pradesh, then crosses south into
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and ends at
Wakro Wakro (Wakro H.Q.) is a village in Wakro circle of the Lohit district in Arunachal Pradesh state of India. The PIN code of Wakro is 792102. Wakro is connected by two national highways, National Highway 13 and National Highway 15 Demographics ...
. The project was announced by then Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
in 2008 for completion by 2015–16, but only became operational in 2018. NH-15 through Assam follows the southern border of Arunachal Pradesh. Access to central Arunachal Pradesh has been facilitated by the
Bogibeel Bridge The Bogibeel Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the Brahmaputra River in the northeastern Indian state of Assam between Dhemaji district and Dibrugarh district, which was started in the year 2002 and took a total of 200 months to ...
, an earthquake-resistant rail and road bridge over the
Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
in Assam, opened for public use on 25 December 2018 by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
. A spur highway numbered NH-415 services Itanagar. State-owned
Arunachal Pradesh State Transport Services Arunachal Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (or APSRTC) is the state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Its headquarters are located at APST Bus Station of Itanagar. APSTS is running daily bus se ...
(APSTS) runs daily bus service from
Itanagar Itanagar () is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The seat of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the seat of government of Arunachal Pradesh, and the seat of Gauhati High Court permanent bench at Naharlag ...
to most district headquarters including
Tezpur Tezpur () is a city and urban agglomeration in Sonitpur district, Assam state, India. Tezpur is located on the banks of the river Brahmaputra, northeast of Guwahati, and is the largest of the north bank cities with a population exceeding 100, ...
,
Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
in Assam,
Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...
in Meghalaya, and
Dimapur Dimapur () is the largest city in the Indian state of Nagaland. As of 2011, the municipality had a population of 122,834. The city is the main gateway and commercial centre of Nagaland. Located near the border with Assam along the banks of the ...
in Nagaland. , every village is connected by road, thanks to funding provided by the central government. Every small town has its own bus station with daily bus service. Connections to
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
have increased commerce. In 2014, two additional east–west highways were proposed: an Industrial Corridor Highway in the lower foothills, and a Frontier Highway along the
McMahon Line The McMahon Line is the boundary between Tibet and British India as agreed in the maps and notes exchanged by the respective plenipotentiaries on 24–25 March 1914 at Delhi, as part of the 1914 Simla Convention. The line delimited the resp ...
. The proposed alignment of the Frontier Highway has been published.


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
broad-gauge railway A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
line was completed in 2012, and the link became operational after the gauge conversion of the main line from Assam. 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 Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
reached
Naharlagun railway station Naharlagun railway station is a railway station located in Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh. It is about to the state capital Itanagar Itanagar () is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The seat of ...
, 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 Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
. India plans to eventually extend the railway to
Tawang Tawang is a town and administrative headquarter of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The town was once the capital of the Tawang Tract, which is now divided into the Tawang district and the West Kameng district. Tawang c ...
, near the border with China.


Education

The state government is expanding the relatively underdeveloped education system with the assistance of NGOs like
Vivekananda Kendra __NOTOC__ Vivekananda Kendra is a Hindu nationalist social service and "nation-building" organisation, claiming to represent the heritage of Swami Vivekananda. Closely affiliated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the organisation is based near th ...
, leading to a sharp improvement in the state's literacy rate. The main universities are the
Rajiv Gandhi University Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) (formerly Arunachal University) is the oldest university in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located at Rono Hills in Doimukh town, about nine miles from the state capital, Itanagar. The foundation ston ...
(formerly known as Arunachal University), under which come 36 institutions offering regular undergraduate courses as well as teacher education and health sciences and nursing degrees, both under governmental and private managements,
Indira Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University Indira Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University (IGTAMSU), is a private university located in Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh providing higher education in nursing, yoga, paramedical, physiotherapy, management, law. The University was estab ...
and
Himalayan University Himalayan University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India, is a non-profit university recognized by University Grant Commission, Government of India under section of 2f of UGC act 1956. The university was established to develop and uplift the e ...
as well. The first college, Jawaharlal Nehru College, Pasighat, was established in 1964. The First Technical University is Established in 2014 namely North East Frontier Technical University (NEFTU). In Aalo, West Siang District by The Automobile Society India, New Delhi. There is also a deemed university, the
North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (or NERIST) is a science and technology oriented higher education institute in Nirjuli, Itanagar, Papum Pare district, in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Established in 1984, it ...
as well as the
National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
, established on 18 August 2010, is located in Yupia (headquarter of Itanagar). NERIST plays an important role in technical and management higher education. The directorate of technical education conducts examinations yearly so that students who qualify can continue on to higher studies in other states. Of the above institutions, only the following institutions are accredited by NAAC (
National Assessment and Accreditation Council The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is a government organisation in India that assesses and accredits Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is an autonomous body funded by the University Grants Commission and headquarte ...
), in the order of their grade:
Jawaharlal Nehru College Jawaharlal Nehru College is located in Pasighat Township in the East Siang district, in the North-Eastern part of Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhi ...
, Pasighat (Grade A),
St Claret College, Ziro Saint Claret College, Ziro (SCCZ) is a Catholic undergraduate college established in the Himalayan foothills at Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Founded in 2003, SCCZ is served by Claretian Missionaries, a Roman Catholic Order founded by St. An ...
(Grade A), Indira Gandhi Govt. College, Tezu (Grade B++),
Rajiv Gandhi University Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) (formerly Arunachal University) is the oldest university in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located at Rono Hills in Doimukh town, about nine miles from the state capital, Itanagar. The foundation ston ...
(Grade B),
National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
(Grade B), Dera Natung Government College, Itanagar (Grade B), Govt. College, Bomdila (Grade B), Donyi Polo Govt. College, Kamki (Grade B), and Rang Frah Govt. College, Changeling (Grade C). There are also trust institutes, like Pali Vidyapith, run by Buddhists. They teach Pali and Khamti scripts in addition to typical education subjects. Khamti is the only tribe in Arunachal Pradesh that has its own script. Libraries of scriptures are in a number of places in
Lohit district Lohit () is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezu. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Arunachal Pradesh, after Papum Pare and Changlang. Etymology I ...
, the largest one being in
Chowkham Chowkham is a Tehsil in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Lohit is the name of the district that contains Tehsil Chowkham. Chowkham is located 20 km towards West of District headquarters Tezu. It is 286 km from State capital Itana ...
. The state has two polytechnic institutes:
Rajiv Gandhi Government Polytechnic Rajiv Gandhi Government Polytechnic (previously known as Arunachal Pradesh Polytechnic) is a multi-speciality, technology-oriented college located at Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. It is also the first polytechnic college in Arunachal Pradesh un ...
in Itanagar established in 2002 and Tomi Polytechnic College in Basar established in 2006. There are two law colleges, namely, the private-owned Arunachal Law Academy at Itanagar and the government-owned Jarbom Gamlin Government Law College at Jote, Itanagar. The College of Horticulture and Forestry is affiliated to the
Central Agricultural University Central Agricultural University is an agricultural university at Lamphelpat, Imphal in the Indian state of Manipur. The Central Agricultural University was established by an act of Parliament, the Central Agricultural University Act 1992 (No.4 ...
,
Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...
.


State symbols


See also

*
Cuisine of Arunachal Pradesh The type of the dishes of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh vary within the region, according to tribal influence (with the influence of Apatanis, Chuki, adi and Nishi) ''Apong'' or rice beer made from fermented rice or millet is a popular ...
*
Arunachal Scouts The Arunachal Scouts is an infantry regiment of Indian army based in Arunachal Pradesh. Specialising in mountain warfare the regiment was established with the purpose of defending the Indian-Chinese border in Arunachal Pradesh. A large proportion ...
*
Arunachal Pradesh Police The Arunachal Pradesh Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the Republic of India after all it is a law enforcement agency but it also is involved in anti insurgency operations in the state of Arunachal Prad ...
*
List of institutions of higher education in Arunachal Pradesh This is a list of institutions of higher education in Arunachal Pradesh: As of 27 october 2022, Arunachal Pradesh has one central university, one state university, one deemed university, seven private universities and one state private Open Uni ...
*
List of people from Arunachal Pradesh This is a list of people who were born in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Mountaineers * Tapi Mra – mountaineer from India and the first person from Arunachal Pradesh to scale Everest *Anshu Jamsenpa – Everester 4 times *Tine Mena ...
*
Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is a Government of India ministry, established in September 2001, which functions as the nodal Department of the Central Government to deal with matters related to the socio-economic developm ...
*
Religion in Arunachal Pradesh Owing to its ethnic and cultural diversity, religion in Arunachal Pradesh has been a spot for the syncretism of different traditional religions. Much of the native Tani populations follow an indigenous belief which has been systematised under ...
*
Sino-Indian border dispute The Sino-Indian border dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute over the sovereignty of two relatively large, and several smaller, separated pieces of territory between China and India. The first of the territories, Aksai Chin, is administe ...
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2014 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, 2014 took place on 9 April 2014 along with the parliamentary election 2014. The votes were counted on 16 May 2014. The election was held in the state for all 60 seats of the Arunachal Pradesh ...
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2009 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election of 2009 took place in October 2009, concurrently with the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. The elections were held in the state for all 60 Assembly seats on 2009-10-13. The results ...
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South Tibet South Tibet is a claimed area by China with the literal translation of the Chinese term '' (), which may refer to different geographic areas: * The southern part of Tibet, covering the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley between S ...


References


Bibliography

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External links


Government


Official Site of the government of Arunachal Pradesh

Official Tourism Site of Arunachal Pradesh, India


General information

* * {{Authority control Northeast India States and union territories of India English-speaking countries and territories Territorial disputes of China Territorial disputes of India Tibet States and territories established in 1987 1987 establishments in India