Itanagar () is the capital and largest town of the

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 ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

. The seat of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the seat of government of Arunachal Pradesh, and the seat of

Gauhati High Court The Gauhati High Court was promulgated by governor general of India on 1 March 1948 after the ''Government of India Act 1935'' was passed. Establishing the High Court of Assam with effect from 5 April 1948, for the then Province of Assam. It ...

permanent bench at

Naharlagun Naharlagun is a town situated in the foothills of Himalayas in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It falls and is administered as a part of Itanagar Capital Complex. Geography It is at an altitude of 155 metres from sea level. Surrounded ...

are all in Itanagar. Being the hub of all the major economic bases, Itanagar along with the adjacent town of Naharlagun comprising the administrative region of Itanagar Capital Complex Region stretching from the Itanagar Municipal limit at Chandranagar Town extended till Nirjuli Town, is a major junction of Cultural, economic, fashion, education and recreational activities.

Geography

Itanagar is located at . It has an average elevation of 320 metres.

Climate

Itanagar features a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

( Köppen: ''Cwa''), with dry, warm winters and hot, unpleasantly humid and wet summers.

Culture

People Itanagar is inhabited by a number of tribes viz.,

Nyishi The Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India. In Nyishi, ''Nyi'' refers to "a human" and the word ''shi'' denotes "highland".The Nyishis are mentioned as the Daflas in the contemporary Ahom docu ...

, Adi, Apatani, Tagin, Galo, Nyishis are the aborigines of the city.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Itanagar had a population of 59,490 . Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Itanagar has an average literacy rate of 66.95%, lower than the national average of 74.4%: male literacy is 73.69%, and female literacy is 59.57%. In Itanagar, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Religion

The majority of the Tribes are worshipers of the nature with Tani Tribes being descendants of the Forefather Abotani are followers of Donyi-Polo Way-Of-Life . According to the 2011 census, 40.94% of the population is

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 29.51%

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

, 21.17%

Donyi Polo Donyi-Polo (also Donyi-Poloism) is the designation given to the indigenous religion, of animistic and shamanic type, of the Tani and other Tibeto-Burman peoples of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in Northeast India. The name "Donyi-Polo" means "S ...

, 4.52%

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and 2.88%

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

but these figures are disputed.

Languages

According to 2011 census, Nishi was the most spoken language in Itanagar with 17,896 speakers followed by Bengali at 8,125, Adi at 8,102, Apatani at 4,256, Nepali at 3,721, Hindi at 3,641, Assamese at 3,538 and Bhojpuri at 1,987.

Education

Universities and colleges

* Dera Natung Government College * Don Bosco College *

Himalayan University Himalayan University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India, is a non-profit university recognized by University Grant Commission, Government of India under section of 2f of UGC act 1956. The university was established to develop and uplift the e ...

NERIST North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (or NERIST) is a science and technology oriented higher education institute in Nirjuli, Itanagar, Papum Pare district, in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Established in 1984 ...

National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Rajiv Gandhi Government Polytechnic Rajiv Gandhi Government Polytechnic (previously known as Arunachal Pradesh Polytechnic) is a multi-speciality, technology-oriented college located at Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. It is also the first polytechnic college in Arunachal Pradesh u ...

Rajiv Gandhi University Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) (formerly Arunachal University) is the oldest university in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located at Rono Hills in Doimukh town, about nine miles from the state capital, Itanagar. The foundation sto ...

* Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences

Media and communications

Television

DD Arunprabha is the state-owned television broadcaster of Arunachal Pradesh.

Radio

Radio stations of Itanagar are -

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

, RadioCity Itanagar - Arunachal Pradesh's first community radio and Big FM 92.7 - India's largest national radio network .

Newspapers

* The Arunachal Times * Echo of Arunachal * Dawnlit post

Places of interest

* Ita Fort, one of the most important historical sites in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The name literally means "Fort of bricks"( brick being called "Ita" in the

Assamese language Assamese (), also Asamiya ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the north-east Indian state of Assam, where it is an official language, and it serves as a '' lingua franca'' of the wider region. The easternmost Indo-Iranian langua ...

). The Ita Fort was built as early as the 14th or the 15th century. The fort has an irregular shape, built mainly with bricks dating back to the 14th-15th Century. The total brickwork is of 16,200 cubic meter lengths which have been identified by some scholars with the

Chutiya kingdom The Chutia Kingdom (also Sadiya) was a late medieval state that developed around Sadiya in present Assam and adjoining areas in Arunachal Pradesh."(T)he Chutiyas seem to have assumed political power in Sadiya and contiguous areas falling ...

. The fort has three different entrances at three different sides, which are western, eastern, and southern sides. * Jawaharlal Nehru Museum, Itanagar is also known for showcasing the rich tribal culture of the state. * Gekar sinyi (Ganga Lake) is a beautiful natural lake which literally means ''confined lake'' in the

dialect. It is surrounded by a landmass of hard rock. Primeval vegetation, orchids masses on tall trees and tree ferns contribute to its popularity as a hot picnic spot and recreation hub. Boating facilities and a swimming pool are available at the site. * Buddhist monastery ompa mandir

Transport

Air

Regular

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

service is available from

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

(Itanagar). Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

laid the foundation stone for the greenfield

Itanagar Airport Itanagar Airport (IATA: HGI, ICAO: VEHO), also known as Hollongi Airport and officially named as Donyi Polo Airport, is a domestic airport serving Itanagar, the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is located at Hollongi, situated sou ...

at Hollongi on 9 February 2019. It has been named Donyi Polo Airport and was inaugurated on 19 November 2022 by prime minister, Narendra Modi.

Railway

Naharlagun railway station Naharlagun railway station is a railway station located in Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh. It is about to the state capital Itanagar Itanagar () is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The seat of ...

is the nearest railway station, which is nearly 15 km away from the city. Taxi and bus services are easily available from the railway station to Itanagar. Donyi Polo Express can be availed which runs on all days of a week from

and Shatabdi Express is available thrice a week from

. The

Arunachal AC Superfast Express The 22411/22412 Naharlagun–Anand Vihar Terminal ''Arunachal AC Express'' is an AC Express train connecting Delhi and Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh. This is the first fully air conditioned train connecting Arunachal Pradesh to Delhi and ...

runs between Naharlagun and Anand Vihar Terminal twice a week which is the only direct train that connects Arunachal Pradesh with the Capital of Nation.

Road

National Highway 415 connects Itanagar to Arunachal Pradesh and the rest of the country. Regular bus and taxi services are available from

and Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Papum Pare district Indian capital cities Hill stations in Arunachal Pradesh Tourism in Northeast India