Tattva

Recently, I had the great fortune of meeting two social workers from Arunachal Pradesh, Dr. Joram Begi and Shri Vijay Swami. They delivered a presentation explaining the economic, historical, social, and cultural situations of a state which has lagged in comparison to the rest of Bharat. They extensively spoke of the challenges faced by the inhabitants of the state when it comes to strengthening cultural identity. With the presentations, the speakers hoped that we become more aware of the conditions in Arunachal Pradesh and understand the strong need of cultural unity to bring the state as well as the nation together.

Shri Vijay Swami is currently the executive director of the Research Institute of World’s Ancient Traditions, Culture, and Heritage (RIWATCH). Along with writing several articles and making documentaries on the history, traditions, and challenges of Arunachal Pradesh, he has coordinated and organized many service projects on behalf of Vivekananda Kendra, (http://www.vkendra.org). Dr. Joram Begi currently holds the chairmanship of RIWATCH and has one of the most inspirational life stories. Though born in a remote village and brought up in a place where there was no school, he kept his focus on studies and became the first graduate from his tribe. He is a popular speaker and is proficient in five national languages and many local dialects of Arunachal Pradesh. The two speakers provided us with an overview of the state and explained in detail the threats and difficulties the people face. However, they also pointed out certain opportunities that would restore its world standing. Below is a summary of the key points in their presentations.

Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state in Northeast India, and is bordered by two other Indian states: Assam and Nagaland. Arunachal Pradesh is also surrounded by three countries: Myanmar, Bhutan, and Tibet. Despite its statehood, it has remained isolated for a long time from the rest of India because the British never administered the land when they ruled India. Therefore, many inhabitants remain ignorant of the history and culture of their country. The population in the state is very diverse with 25 major tribes and 87 sub-tribes. However, in spite of this diversity, many of the prehistoric artifacts and tools that are found in the area also confirm that this land once shared a common culture with the rest of Bharat. Many of the tourist sites, like the Parashuram Kund (the place where Sage Parashuram is said to have washed all his sins) also show the location’s links to Hinduism. The current demographics show that in terms of religion, the state is predominantly Buddhist, and the rest mostly practice either Hinduism or animism. Arunachal Pradesh also has the second largest Buddhist monastery in the world, Tawang, which houses about 500 monks.

However, this land faces many difficulties. One of the major challenges has been security.  With fences and mountains that can easily be crossed, the borders between Bangladesh and Assam are quite porous. Therefore, people from Bangladesh have been entering Arunachal Pradesh through Assam. Since Arunachal Pradesh is strategically located, it also faces security and cultural threats from its neighbors, like the Communists in Nepal, the military junta in Myanmar, and the Islamic groups in Bangladesh. Another major problem has been China’s claim that portions of the state belong to South Tibet. Ever since the 1962 Sino-Indian War, where India’s army was ill-equipped and therefore lost most of the NorthEast Frontier Agency (NEFA), Chinese aggression grew stronger. They have even started to develop naval bases in islands located in the Bay of Bengal.

Economic and social backwardness have impacted the state greatly, especially in areas like transportation and education. There is great difficulty in building quality road networks because of the rough topography of the land. Transportation through rivers is also difficult because the rivers constantly change course. Since 75 percent of the villages are not connected by road, the only reliable and dependable source of transportation is by air. Air droppings are extensively used for transportations of goods and medicines. There is also a plan to build a Trans-Arunachal Highway for the lower belts of the land to transport goods by land. Education and healthcare in the region are also relatively underdeveloped, but on the verge of improvement. Some other social problems involve the drug menace, especially from Myanmar, which has also hindered progress in the region.

Religious influence and pressures along with an identity crisis have also proven to be a big challenge to the inhabitants of Northeast India. This is due to many separatist movements, especially one which wants to create a Christian nation called Nagalim with parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Manipur. There have been big conversion forces which also disturb the area. Nagaland and Mizoram are the most disturbed states in the country due to tremendous conversions. At the same time, these men and women also face an identity crisis. Since their ancestors hail from places east of their inhabited land, many of the people of Arunachal Pradesh have features similar to East Asians. They always tend to get asked whether they are Chinese, Japanese, or Taiwanese, but never if they are Indian. In their own country they are often perceived as being “outsiders.” Therefore, the identity crisis leads to a sense of isolation from others and from the country itself.

Despite the geographical, political, economic, social, and religious challenges that face this state, Arunachal Pradesh does have many opportunities. The rivers in the region, due to their tumultuous activity, can be useful to produce hydroelectricity. Based on rough calculations, it is possible to accumulate 65,000 megawatts of hydroelectric power if it works successfully. That is enough to power the entirety of Asia! Another advantage is the biodiversity of the land, with its flora, fauna, scenic beauty, snowcapped mountains, and much more. There are many rare species and plants as well. Some plants are said to even have great medicinal value that can prevent cancer, reduce aging, or increase vitality. The scenery and beauty of the place makes it a great place of tourism as well. 

However, both speakers agreed that the most important solution to all of the problems and challenges is the patriotic education of the people. Education must not only help the youth modernize and get in touch with the real world, but must also instill patriotic fervor in them, so they consider India as their country and homeland. Ramakrishna Mission and the Vivekananda Kendra actively strive to promote such activities. At the same time, the youth must also not lose their indigenous culture. Along with English and the national language, schools promote the learning of Arunachali languages. Finding commonalities between cultures and traditions also helps to acquire a sense of patriotism. For example, a girl interested in dance researched to find commonalities between the traditional Arunachali dances and the ancient Indian dances. After her investigation, she found 52 Mudras and 110 steps in common between the two types of dances. Projects like this help develop the emotional integrity and pride greatly needed to unify the society. “Mobile science laboratories” with the teacher carrying all lab equipment in a backpack, have been organized to teach youth about modern science and technology. RIWATCH provides a platform for such activities to develop the individuals and the society. The end result of all these activities must be for the Arunachali inhabitant to feel like a proud Indian. 

Sai Tenneti is an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is studying Electrical and Computer Engineering. You can contact Sai at stenneti@student.umass.edu.
 

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 4:07 am and is filed under Hinduism, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.