Andhra Pradesh State General Information

Arunachal Pradesh attained its statehood on 20th February 1987. It is situated in the North-Eastern part of India with 83743 sq. kms area  and has a long international border with Bhutan to the west (160 km), China to the north and north-east (1,080 km) and Myanmar to the east (440 km). It stretches from snow-capped mountains in the north to the plains of Brahmaputra valley in the south. Arunachal is the largest state area-wise in the north-east region, even larger than Assam which is the most populous.

History

On 15th August 1947 when India became an independent nation, North East Frontier Agency commonly known as NEFA became an integral part of the Union of India. It was administrated by the Ministry of External Affairs with the Governor of Assam acting as agent to the President of India. The administrative head was the Advisor to the Governor.

In 1972, the NEFA became a Union Territory when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister and acquired the name of Arunachal Pradesh. After 3 years, in 1975, it acquired a legislature. And finally, on 20th February 1987 Statehood was conferred on Arunachal Pradesh when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister and it became the 25th State of the Union of India.

Arunachal Pradesh, area-wise, is the largest state of the NE region of India. It forms a complex hill system of Shivalik and Himalayan origin and is criss-crossed by numerous rivers and streams. The state shares a total of 1630 kms of international boundary with neighboring countries; 1030 kms with China, 160 kms with Bhutan and 440 kms with Myammar. The McMohan line defines the international boundary between India and China. Administratively, the State is divided into fifteen districts. Capital of the State is Itanagar in Papum Pare district. Itanagar is named after Ita Fort meaning fort of bricks, built in 14th century AD.

Location

It is situated between latitude 26° 30' N  and 29° 30 ' N and longitude 91° 30' E and 97° 30' E. Itanagar is the capital of Arunachal Pradesh and located at an altitude of 530 meters above MSL. It is named after Itafort meaning fort of bricks built in 14th century A.D.

Administration

Arunachal Pradesh is not a linguistic state. It is an ethnic state inhabited by colourful tribal people of diverse culture and lifestyle. All of them have their own unique culture and traditions. They also have customary laws and a time tested dispute resolution mechanism. The disputes in tribal societies are resolved by a system of administration of justice founded on customs and customary laws of each tribes by the Village Council.

It is most gratifying to remember that the inhabitants of this tribal state have the spirit of democracy inherent in their traditional laws, which further strengthen by the above mentioned five fundamental principles given by Pt. Nehru for administration of tribal areas.

Though, there were no written rules for administration of tribal villages, but the customs and traditions were almost compatible with the modern concepts of jurisprudence. The tribal councils in NEFA were functioning on the lines of the system evolved for parliamentary democracy, which is in vogue now a days. This is well illustrated in the utterances of the leaders of the councils Kebang/Buliang/Mela/Abela of different communities in their traditional speeches, which they recite at the beginning of their meeting. " Villagers and brethren, let us strengthen our custom and our council, let us improve our relations, let us make the laws straight and equal for all, let our laws be uniform, let our customs be the same for all, let us be guided by the reason and see that justice is done and the compromise reached that is acceptable to both parties. Let us decide while the dispute is fresh, lest the small disputes grow big and continue for the long time. We have come together for a council meeting and let us speak in one voice and decide our verdict. So let us decide and mete out justice." The council derived their authority from the expression of the will and power of the people. They had the support of both social and supernatural. Thus the concept of parliamentary democracy is not new to the tribal society.

Political

Though, the history of the growth of political process in Arunachal Pradesh dates back to 1875 when the British-India Government started to define the administrative jurisdiction by drawing an Inner Line in relation to the frontier tribes inhabiting the North Frontier Tract, the area was kept outside the purview of regular laws of the country. Thereafter, the British followed the policy of gradual penetration to bring more areas under normal administration. By the year 1946, the North East Frontier Tracts were reorganized into four Frontier Tracts namely Sadiya, Lakhimpur, Tirap and Sela Sub Agency and Subansiri area and administrated by the Governor of Assam in his discretion. By virtue of the Indian Independence Act 1947, the Government of Assam assumed administrative jurisdiction over North East Frontier Tracts and the Governor of Assam was divested of his discretionary powers. The Government of Assam administered the North East Frontier Tracts during the period 15th August 1947 to 26th January 1950.

After independence, a sub-committee headed by Gopinath Bordoloi was appointed by the Constituent Assembly of India to recommend the future pattern of administration of the North Eastern Frontier Areas. The Bordoloi Committee recommended that since the administration has been satisfactorily established over a sufficiently wide area, the Government of Assam should take over that area by the strength of a notification.

However, for various considerations, particularly problem of communication and defiance, Government of India decided to administer North East Frontier Tracts as "Excluded Area" through Governor of Assam as an agent to the President of India. In the year 1950, the plain portions of these tracts namely, Balipara Frontier Tract, Tirap Frontier Tract, Abor Hill District and Mishimi Hills Districts were transferred to the Government of Assam. In 1951, the units of the tracts were reconstituted again and Tuensang Frontier Division was created which later merged with Nagaland. The remaining portion of the Tracts after the introduction of the North East Frontier (Administration) Regulation, 1954 was designated as the North East Frontier Agency, the NEFA. Thereafter, the administration was brought under the Ministry of External Affairs and in August 1965, it was brought under the supervision and control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It remained so till the attainment of Union Territory status by Arunachal Pradesh in 1972.

It was only in 1975 that the virtue of the enactment of 37th Constitutional Amendment Act 1975 that the Pradesh Council was constituted as a separate Legislative Assembly and Lt. Governor was appointed as the head of the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh. The Pradesh Council became provisional Legislative Assembly having 23 members during 1975 to 1978. The first elected Legislative Assembly consisting of 33 members (30 elected members and 3 nominated members) was formed on 4th March 1978, which lasted only for about 20 months. In November 1979, the Assembly was dissolved and President's Rule was imposed which continued till January 1980.

The Second General Election was held in January, 1980. The Third General Election for Legislative Assembly was held simultaneously with the General Election for the Eighth Lok Sabha in December, 1984 and the Assembly was constituted in January, 1986.

The Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh became full fledged State with effect from 20th February, 1987. On the persistent demand of the people of the State, the total membership in the Legislative Assembly was raised to sixty during the General Election in 1990 and thus, the First Legislative assembly of State of Arunachal Pradesh was constituted. Fourth Election to the Assembly was held in March, 1995; That was the Second Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh. The Second Legislative Assembly was dissolved by the Governor on 27th July 2000, ahead of schedule in March 2000. The third Legislative Assembly headed by Shri Mukut Mithi was constituted in October 1999. From August 3, 2003, the Government was led by Shri Gegong Apang. The fourth legislative Assembly was constituted in October 2004 which was also led by Shri Gegong Apang.  Sh Dorjee Khandu is the Chief Minister of the state of Arunachal Pradesh from April 9, 2007.

Tourism

Arunachal finds mention in the literature of Kalika Purana and Mahabharata. This place is supposed to be the Prabhu Mountains of the Puranas. It was here that sage Parashuram washed away his sin, sage Vyasa meditated, King Bhishmaka founded his kingdom and Lord Krishna married his consort Rukmini.


The widely scattered archeological remains at different places in Arunachal bears testimony to its rich cultural heritage. Arunachal Pradesh, a serene land tucked into the North Eastern tip of India, invites you to relax in its picturesque hills and valleys, enjoy its salubrious climate and meet its simple and hospitable people, with their glorious heritage of arts and crafts and colourful festivals that reflect their ancient faith in the inexorable power of nature.

The visitor has a wide variety of options to pick from. There are places of worship and piligrimage such as Parasuramkund and 400 years old Tawang Monastery, or the sites of archeological excavations like Malinithan and Itanagar, the serene beauty of lakes such as Ganga lake or Sela lake or the numerous variations of scenic beauty of the snowclad silver mountain peaks and lush green meadows where thousands of species of flora and fauna prosper.  In addition, the state provides abundant scope for angling, boating, rafting, trekking and hiking. Besides, there are a number of wild life sanctuaries and national parks where rare animals, birds and plants will fascinate the visitor.

Nature has provided the people with a deep sense of beauty which finds delightful expression in their songs, dances and crafts. The climate varies from hot and humid to heavy rainfall in the Shivalik range. It becomes progressively cold as one moves northwards to higher altitudes.  Trees of great size, plentiful climbers and abundance of cane and bamboo make Arunachal evergreen.

Arunachal Pradesh is considered to be the "nature's treasure trove"and home to orchids, known for their exquisitely beautiful blooms, from one of the dominant taxa with more than six hundred species, occurring in varying elevations and climatic conditions throughout the state.