North-East India

Arunachal Pradesh  *

 

 

    As the name suggests – the land of dawn – is the Eastern-most State in India – a thin, sparsely populated strip of land surrounded on three sides by foreign countries (China, Bhutan and Myanmar). Two-third of the land is covered by forest and the population is 79 per cent tribal. The principal tribes are Adi, Nishi, Apatani and Monpa. Originally known as the North East Frontier Agency. It was administered by the Centre and was a union territory from 1972 to 1987, when it became a state. 80 percent of its population is engaged in agriculture, who practise the traditional Jhum cultivation. The development of small scale industries in the state has started recently. The large Buddhist monastery at Tawang is where the sixth Dalai Lama was born and is a major tourist attraction.