Dibang Valley (Pron:/dɪˈbæŋ/) is a district 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 a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

named after the Dibang River or the Talon as the Mishmis call it. It is the least populated district in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and has an area of .

History

In June 1980, Dibang Valley district was created out of part of

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 ...

. On 16 December 2001, Dibang Valley district was bifurcated into Dibang Valley district and

Lower Dibang Valley district The Lower Dibang Valley district (Pron:/dɪˈbæŋ/) is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It is the tenth least populous district in the country. History In June 1980, the Dibang Valley district ...

Geography

The Dibang River originates in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh and flows through the length of the valley which is named after it. The Dibang has multiple tributaries and only once it debouches into the plains is it called by its name. Some of the major rivers of Dibang Valley District are: Ahui, Emra, Mathun, Dri, Tangon, Ithun, and Ange. The capital of this district,

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 ...

, is the northernmost district capital in

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. This district contains the northernmost point of

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

Transport

The proposed Mago-

Thingbu Thingbu is a settlement in Tawang district in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Location It is located on the proposed Mago-Thingbu to Vijaynagar Arunachal Pradesh Frontier Highway along the McMahon Line, alignment map ...

to Vijaynagar Arunachal Pradesh 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 r ...

, (will intersect with the proposed East-West Industrial Corridor Highway) will pass through this district, alignment map of which can be see
here
an
here

Divisions

There is only one

Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Arunachal Pradesh state in north-eastern India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Itanagar, the capital of the state. The Legislative Assembly comprise ...

constituency in this district- the Anini constituency. It is part of Arunachal East Lok Sabha constituency.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Dibang Valley district has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 7,948, roughly equal to the nation of

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in ...

. This gives it a ranking of 640th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of .With this, it is also the most sparsely populated district in India. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 9.3%. Dibang Valley has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

of 808

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 64.8%. The major population of this district consists of Mishmi (Idu). The Mishmis have a story narrating the first journeys undertaken in course of migration. The story conveys the names and location of the Cheethu-Huluni or the twelve rivers that the Mishmi (Idu) people came over in the region and settled around. The first accounts of the Mishmi (Idus) are found in the narrations given by the neighboring Ahoms. The Mishmis inhabited the deep jungles of what is now the Dibang valley.

Religion

About 40% of the district's population follows

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. The Mishmi(Idu) people here believes that Rukmini-Chief Consort of

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

belonged to their tribe. The plays and dances on ‘Rukmini haran’ are common. There is a legend that

asked the Mishmi people to cut their hair as a form of punishment for not allowing him to marry

Rukmini Rukmini ( sa, रुक्मिणी, , ) is a Hindu goddess and the first queen and chief wife of Krishna. In Vaishnava tradition, she is described as Krishna's principal queen in Dvaraka, as well as the chief of his wives. She is an in ...

. Due to this Idu-Mishmi people are also called "chulikata" (chuli-hair, kata- cut).

Languages

Languages spoken Idu Mishmi with approximately 25000 speakers, written in both Latin and Devanagric scripts.

Flora and fauna

The district is rich in wildlife. Rare mammals such as Mishmi takin, Red goral and Gongshan muntjac occurs while among birds there is the rare Sclater's Monal. A flying squirrel, new to science has been recently discovered from this district. It has been named as Mishmi Hills Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista mishmiensis.Choudhury, Anwaruddin (2009).One more new flying squirrel of the genus Petaurista Link, 1795 from Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India. The Newsletter and Journal of the RhinoFoundation for nat. in NE India 8: 26–34, plates. In 1991 Dibang Valley district became home to the Dibang

Wildlife Sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

, which has an area of .

Map

File:NH-46-16 Nizamghat India.jpg

References

External links

Official Website of Dibang Valley District Government
{{Authority control Districts of Arunachal Pradesh 1980 establishments in Arunachal Pradesh