Tirap district (Pron:/tɪˈɹæp/) is a district located in the southeastern part of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. It shares a state border with Assam, an international border with Myanmar and a district border with Changlang and Longding.

History[edit]

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

During the World War II the troops of Indian National Army, led by Subhash Chandra Bose 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 had their Transit Camp at the Silombhu War Cave.^[1] After their collapse, Suman Gope came to power.

On 14 November 1987, Tirap was bifurcated to create the new Changlang district. In 2013 Tirap was again split to create Longding district.^[2]

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

Geography[edit]

Tirap district occupies an area of 2,362 square kilometres (912 sq mi),^[3] comparatively equivalent to Canada's Cornwall Island.^[4] The elevation ranges from 200 meters in the northwest to 4,000 meters in the Patkai Hills. After bifurcation the district occupied an area of 1,170 square km.

Divisions[edit]

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.^[5]

Demographics[edit]

According to the 2011 census Tirap district has a population of 111,975,^{[citation needed]} roughly equal to the nation of Grenada.^[6] This gives it a ranking of 613th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 47 inhabitants per square kilometre (120/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 11.63%. Tirap has a sex ratio of 931 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 52.23%.^{[citation needed]}

Language[edit]

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.^[7]

Languages of Tirap (2011)^[7]

Nocte (48.00%)

Tangsa (10.90%)

Garo (10.62%)

Hindi (7.30%)

Wancho (5.26%)

Bengali (3.77%)

Nepali (3.00%)

Assamese (2.36%)

Chang (1.37%)

Phom (1.16%)

Adi (1.11%)

Nyishi (1.07%)

Others (4.08%)

Religion[edit]

Religion in Tirap district (2011)^[8]

Religion

Per cent

56.30%

31.65%

9.7%

1.38%

0.97%

Education[edit]

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[edit]

Tirap District Museum, is the museum of history of the area.^[9]

Khonsa Museum in Khonsa shows the history of local tribal bamboo and cane artifacts.^[9]

Khonsa Waterfall lies near Khonsa in the forested hills.^[9]

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.^[1]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b Trekkers stumble upon WWII stone cave near Arunachal-Myanmar border, Times of India, 11 Feb 2024.

^ Law, Gwillim (25 September 2011). "Districts of India". Statoids. Retrieved 11 October 2011.

^ Srivastava, Dayawanti et al. (ed.) (2010). "States and Union Territories: Arunachal Pradesh: Government". India 2010: A Reference Annual (54th ed.). New Delhi, India: Additional Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Government of India. p. 1113. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)

^ "Island Directory Tables: Islands by Land Area". United Nations Environment Program. 18 February 1998. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2011. Cornwall Island 2,358km2

^ "Assembly Constituencies allocation w.r.t District and Parliamentary Constituencies". Chief Electoral Officer, Arunachal Pradesh website. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.

^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Grenada 108,419 July 2011 est.

^ ^a ^b "C-16 population by mother tongue". Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022.

^ "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.^{[dead link]}