©IF DMM ARUNACHAL PRADESH ARUNACHAL PRADESH STATE GAZETTEER OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH VOLUME-1 GOVERNMENT OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH GAZEHEERS DEPARTMENT GAZETTEER OF INDIA ARUNACHAL PRADESH STATE GAZETTEER OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH Volume - 1 GOVERNMENT OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH GAZETTEERS DEPARTMENT ARUNACHAL PRADESH GAZETTEERS STATE GAZETTEER OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH (VOLUME-I) b y SOKHEPKRI Editor GOVERNMENT OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH 2 0 10 Government of Arunachal Pradesh Price : Rs. ISBN -978-81906587-3-7 (Volume-I) Compiled by Shri Hage Nobin, Sr. Compiler (Gazetteers), Shri C.S. Namchoom, Compiler (Gazetteers) and Shri Duyu Tale, Research Assistant (Gazetteers) Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Chimpu, Itanagar Published by the State Editor (Gazetteers), Gazetteers Department, Government of Arunachal Pradesh Chimpu, Itanagar. Cover-design and Art-work by : Bablu Kr Dey Printed b y : Himalayan Publishers, Legi Shopping Complex, BankTinali, PostBoxNo. 177, Itanagar-791 111 Arunachal Pradesh-New Delhi. RAJ BHAWAN ITANAGAR-791111 TEL ; +91 360 2212432 FAX ; +91 360.2212442 genj]slngh@rediff mall.com GENERAL J.J. SINGH PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd) Governor Arunachal Pradesh FOREWORD It gives me immense pleasure to know that the first State Gazetteer of Arunachal Pradesh (Volume-I) is going to be published very soon. The State Gazetteer is a compendium, depicting a fairly comprehen­ sive picture of this frontier State, its physical and geographical aspects, the indigenous populace, their socio-cultural traditions, rich heritage and vibrant economy. The Gazetteer also highlights the proud history and tremendous de­ velopment of the Stale since independence. In the multi-faceted scenario of North Eastern India, Arunachal Pradesh, comprising of 16 districts is a unique and enchanting entity. The hills and val­ leys of Arunachal are indeed a rare spectacle inhabited by number of brave and peace loving tribes belonging to different ethnic and cultural traditions, who have been living for centuries in their cloistered seclusion and following diverse ways of life, yet in hannonious relationship and mutual dependence on one another. Nevertheless, the barriers of their age old isolation no longer exist and today they in unison, are moving forward towards integration with the national mainstream. 1 commend the compendium with the hope that it would be a valuable referral document for policy makers, administrators, academicians, research scholars, social scientists and general readers. I trust, it will be extensively used by all and I appreciate the efforts put in by all the officials in bringing out this compilation. .General J J. Singh PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd) PREFACE Etymologically a gazetteer means a geographical dictionary which en­ folds many more subject matters than mere geography. It presents in a sche­ matic manner factual, objective and well-documented accounts of different facets of peoples’ life and indicates the trend of socio-economic and cultural developments that take place in a region. In short gazetteer is a storehouse of valuable and worth knowing information relating to a dishict or a State for which it is written. It is a dependable source of information for the administra­ tors and research workers, for the readers at large, and the explorers and tourists seeking knowledge of people and place. Arunachal Pradesh had to go through series of constitutional process and development to acquire the present status, which may be traced back to early second decade of 20th Century. In 1914, this province was known as North East Frontier Tract. In 1919, the North East Frontier Tract was divided into three divisions namely, Balipara Frontier Tract, Sadiya Frontier Tract and Lakhimpur Frontier Tract. In 1937, these three frontier tracts came to be known collectively as the Excluded Areas of the Province of Assam under the provision of Section91(l)of the Government ofIndiaAct, 1935. In 1943,a new administrative unit called the Tirap Frontier Tract comprising certain areas of the Lakhimpur Frontier Tract and the Sadiya Frontier Tract came into exist­ ence. During the same year, a post of Adviser was also created to administer these divisions. In 1954, all these frontier tracts excluding some plains portion which were transferred to the administrative jurisdiction of the Government of Assam constituted th^ North East Frontier Tract (or NEFT). From 1948, it was placed under direct administration of the Union Government and was again divided into Sadiya Frontier Tract, Lakhimpur Frontier Tract, Tirap Fron­ tier Tract, Se La Sub- Agency, Subansiri Frontier Tract and TUensang Frontier Tract. Each of these region was administered by a Political Officer. In 1950, this territory was included in the 6th Schedule. Constitutionally it was a part of Assam, and specially administered by the Governor of Assam, who acted as an agent of the President of India. The Governor had an Adviser. The Secretariat of the Adviser was situated in Shillong (Meghalaya). In 1954, North East Frontier Tract (NEFT) was renamed as North East Frontier Agency (NEFA). Tn 1957, the Tuensang Frontier Division was excluded from NEFA to join Nagaland. The remaining five divisions were con­ verted into district in 1964. In 1965, Union Home Ministry took over NEFA Administration. On 20th January, 1972, NEFA was named as Arunachal Pradesh by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India and granted the status of Union Territory. Till 1980, Arunachal Pradesh consisted of only five districts have now sixteen districts. On 20th February, 1987, Arunachal Pradesh got its Statehood and became 24th State of Union of India. The present volume is the sixth in the series of gazetteer published so far and the first in the series of Arunachal Pradesh State Gazetteer, which is the first of its kind. The department is publishing the State Gazetteer in two volumes. The present volume is the first one, carrying seven chapters viz. General, History, Agriculture, Industries, Economic Trends, Communication and Banking Trade and Commerce. The old volumes of the Assam District Gazet­ teer, namely B.C Allen’s Lakhimpur District Gazetteer published in 1905 and the Sadiya and Balipara Frontier Track Gazetteers brought out in 1928 besides our already published district gazetteers are, however, our important sources. We have tried within our limited means to give in this volume every possible information on the chapters included. The account is based on available mate­ rial, and hence we make no claim that this covers all facets of life in the state in every detail. It needs to be mentioned in this context that in former times the term ‘Dafla’ was mistakenly or derogatorily used to address the Nyishis. This erro­ neous use of the term ‘Dafla’ had been modified as ‘Nyishi’ through the Con­ stitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Act, 2008. As such the term occurring in passages which have been quoted in this volume has been changed into Nyishi, by which name the tribe is known and should be properly called. The word Dafla or its variants, however, appear only in quotations of passages from some old documents, particularly of the 19th Century only are retained. The draft gazetteer was seen by the Members of Screening Board. The preliminary draft gazetteer which was prepared decade ago by the prede­ cessors had to be reconstructed and in many cases it has been re-written, for some of ihe’information incorporated have lost its relevance. The present vol­ ume comprises statistical data up to the year 2005-06, and a good deal of important information ranging from early times to the recent past has been incorporated in it. However, some additional statistical and census figures con- ceming developmental activities of the Government Department have also been appended up to the year 2008. I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my deep gratitude to General J.J; Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd) Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, who has kindly written the foreword of this Gazetteer. My heartfelt gratitude is due to Shri Doijee Khandu, Chief Minister, and the Chief Secretary to the Government of Arunachal Pradesh for their support. I am particularly grateful to Shri Y. D Thongchi, Commissioner (Gaz­ etteers) who has been quite perennial in extending worthy support and encour­ agement during the compilation of the gazetteer. It would not have been easy for us to get over multitude of problems and publish this gazetteer without the help, guidance and.support given by him as the Commissioner/ Secretary-in- Charge of the Gazetteers Department. I am grateftil to the Members of Screening Board for Arunachal Pradesh Gazetteer; Shri Tage Tada, Director (Research) and Dr. D. K Duarah, Assis­ tant Director (Culture), Rtd for their valuable suggestions and comments. My sincere thanks are due to all the connected organizations, including Govern­ ment departments and private institutions and to all the officers of the Govern­ ment of Arunachal Pradesh for their help and active co-operation. For the valuable and important reports on geology, flora, fauna and climatology, I am thankful to the officers-in-charge, Arunachal Pradesh Field Stations, Geological Survey of India, Botanical Survey of India and Zoological Survey of India and to the India Meteorological Department respectfully for support and help. My special gratitude is due Dr. Ramakrishna, Director, Zoo­ logical Survey of India, Kolkata; Dr. G. Maheswaran, Scientist-C and Officer- in-Charge, APFS, ZSI, Itanagar and to Dr. Anil Kumar of APFS, ZSI, Itanagar for taking keen interest on contributing comprehensive report on vertebrate and invertebrate fauna of Arunachal Pradesh for this gazetteer. I am also thankful to the Director (Information and Public Relations), Government of Arunachal Pradesh for providing photographs for this gazetteer. The original draft volume of the Gazetteer was prepared by my prede­ cessors Shri S- Dutta Chowdhury, Late R.N Baghchi and Late C.K Shyam, State Editors (Gazetteers) Retd and Shri K. Ghosh, Compiler (Gazetteers), Retd. However, some of the chapters had to be written afresh to conform to the recent changes and development.