Tirap district (Pron:/tɪˈɹæp/) is a district located in the southeastern part of the state of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

in India. It shares a state border with

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, an international border with

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and a district border with Changlang and Longding.

History

Since time immemorial, Tirap has been inhabited by the indigenous tribes. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the troops of Indian National Army, led by

Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

and assisted by Japanese troops, liberated the area for a brief period in 1945, until the collapse of the Japanese Empire. The British colonial

Allies of World War II The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international Coalition#Military, military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Four Policeme ...

had their Transit Camp at the Silombhu War Cave.Trekkers stumble upon WWII stone cave near Arunachal-Myanmar border
Times of India, 11 Feb 2024. On 14 November 1987, Tirap was bifurcated to create the new

Changlang district Changlang district (Pron:/tʃæŋˈlæŋ/) is located in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, located south of Lohit District, Lohit district and north of Tirap District, Tirap district. Naga people reside here . As of 2011 it is the second ...

. In 2013 Tirap was again split to create

Longding district Longding district (Pron:/lɒŋˈdɪŋ/) is one of the 20 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It was carved out of the south-western portion of the Tirap District. The district shares its boundary to the south an ...

. Recently, Tirap has also been a major target for the NSCN, a Naga rebel group that aims for the creation of Greater

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

, using military force.

Geography

Tirap district occupies an area of , comparatively equivalent to Canada's Cornwall Island. The elevation ranges from 200 meters in the northwest to 4,000 meters in the

Patkai The Pat-kai (Pron:pʌtˌkaɪ) or Patkai Bum ( Burmese: ''Patkaing Taungdan'') are a series of mountains on the Indo-Myanmar border falling in the northeastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Upper Burma region of Myanmar. I ...

Hills. After bifurcation the district occupied an area of 1,170 square km.

Divisions

There are four Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly constituencies located in this district: Namsang, Khonsa East, Khonsa-West, Borduria-Bogapani. All of these are part of Arunachal East Lok Sabha constituency.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Tirap district has a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 111,975, roughly equal to the nation of

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

. This gives it a ranking of 613th in India (out of a total of

640 Year 640 ( DCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming y ...

). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 11.63%. Tirap has a

sex ratio A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...

of 931 females for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

of 52.23%.

Language

Much of the tribal population consists of the Naga related Nocte, Konyak, and Wancho, who traditionally followed Animism, although most of them have converted to Christianity. Smaller communities of two other Naga tribes, Tutsa and Tangsa, besides non-Naga Singhpo can be found in the district as well. Festive fairs and festivals such as the Loku of the Nocte, Oriya, or Ojiyele of the Wancho and the Pongtu festival of the Tutsa are celebrated in full flair. Along with these festivals, Durga Puja is also celebrated here.

Religion

Education

Most of the educational institutions in Tirap district are located in Deomali. • Wangcha Rajkumar Government College, Deomali. It is the sole college in Tirap & Longding districts. • Ramakrishna Mission School, Narottam Nagar, Deomali. • St. George School, Deomali. • Ramakrishna Sarada Mission School

Tourism

Tirap District Museum, is the museum of history of the area.Tirap
accessed 12 Feb 2024. Khonsa Museum in Khonsa shows the history of local tribal bamboo and cane artifacts. Khonsa Waterfall lies near Khonsa in the forested hills. Silombhu War Cave, south of Khonsa and 7 km from Thinsa village via forested hills, on the 2,119 metre-high (6,952ft) "Longpongka" hilltop (locally known as the " Silombhu" hilltop) near the India-Myanmar border was used as a transit camp by the colonial British forces during the World war II, remnants of which can still be seen. Military supplies were brought from Assam and stored here.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Districts of Arunachal Pradesh Minority concentrated districts in India