Arunachal Pradesh - Demographics

Demographics

Arunachal Pradesh can be roughly divided into a set of semi-distinct cultural spheres, on the basis of tribal identity, language, religion, and material culture: the Tibetic area bordering Bhutan in the west, the Tani area in the centre of the state, the Mishmi area to the east of the Tani area, the Tai/Singpho/Tangsa area bordering Burma, and the "Naga" area to the south, which also borders Burma. In between there are transition zones, such as the Aka/Hruso/Miji/Sherdukpen area, which provides a "buffer" of sorts between the Tibetic Buddhist tribes and the animist Tani hill tribes. In addition, there are isolated peoples scattered throughout the state, such as the Sulung.

Within each of these cultural spheres, one finds populations of related tribes speaking related languages and sharing similar traditions. In the Tibetic area, one finds large numbers of Monpa tribespeople, with several subtribes speaking closely related but mutually incomprehensible languages, and also large numbers of Tibetan refugees. Within the Tani area, major tribes include Nishi, which has recently come to be used by many people to encompass Bangni, Tagin and even Hills Miri. Apatani also live among the Nishi, but are distinct. In the centre, one finds predominantly Galo people, with the major sub-groups of Lare and Pugo among others, extending to the Ramo and Pailibo areas (which are close in many ways to Galo). In the east, one finds the Adi, with many subtribes including Padam, Pasi, Minyong, and Bokar, among others. Milang, while also falling within the general "Adi" sphere, are in many ways quite distinct. Moving east, the Idu, Miju and Digaru make up the "Mishmi" cultural-linguistic area, which may or may not form a coherent historical grouping.

Moving southeast, the Tai Khamti are linguistically distinct from their neighbours and culturally distinct from the majority of other Arunachali tribes; they are religiously similar to the Chakmas who have migrated from erstwhile East Pakistan. They follow the same Theraveda sect of Buddhism. The Chakmas consist of the majority of the tribal population. Districts of Lohit, Changlang, Dibang and Papumpare have a considerable number of Chakmas. They speak a linguistic variant derived from Assamese and Bengali. Assam also have a large population of Chakmas who reside in the district of Karbi Anglong, Nagaon and Kachar. They also exhibit considerable convergence with the Singpho and Tangsa tribes of the same area, all of which are also found in Burma. Finally, the Nocte and Wancho exhibit cultural and possibly also linguistic affinities to the tribes of Nagaland, which they border.

In addition, there are large numbers of migrants from diverse areas of India and Bangladesh, who, while legally not entitled to settle permanently, in practice stay indefinitely, progressively altering the traditional demographic makeup of the state. Finally, populations of "Nepalis" (in fact, usually Tibeto-Burman tribespeople whose tribes predominate in areas of Nepal, but who do not have tribal status in India) and Chakmas are distributed in different areas of the state (although reliable figures are hard to come by).

Literacy has risen in official figures to 66.95% in 2011 from 54.74% in 2001. The literate population is said to number 789,943. Number of literate males are 454,532 (73.69%) and number of literate females are 335,411 (59.57%).

An uncertain but relatively large percentage of Arunachal's population are animist, and follow shamanistic-animistic religious traditions such as Donyi-Polo (in the Tani area) and Rangfrah (further east). A small number of Arunachali peoples have traditionally identified as Hindus, although the number is growing as animist traditions are merged with Hindu traditions. Tibetan Buddhism predominates in the districts of Tawang, West Kameng, and isolated regions adjacent to Tibet. Theravada Buddhism is practiced by groups living near the Burmese border. Around 19% of the population are said to be followers of the Christian faith, and this percentage is probably growing due to Christian missionary activities in the area.

According to the 2001 Indian Census, the religions of Arunachal Pradesh break down as follows:

• Hindu: 379,935 (34.6%)
• Others (mostly Donyi-Polo): 337,399 (30.7%)
• Christian: 205,548 (18.7%)
• Buddhist: 143,028 (13.0%)
• Muslim: 20,675 (1.9%)
• Sikh: 1,865 (0.1%)
• Jain: 216 (<0.1%)

A law has been enacted to protect the indigenous religions (e.g., Donyi-Poloism, Buddhism) in Arunanchal Pradesh against the spread of other religions, though no comparable law exists to protect the other religions.

Out of the 705,158 tribals living in Arunachal, 333,102 are Animist (47.24%), 186,617 are Christian (26.46%), 92,577 are Hindu (13.13%), and 82,634 are Budhhist (11.72%).

Out of the 101 recognized tribes, 37 are having an animist majority (Nissi, Adi Gallong, Tagin, Adi Minyong, Adi, Apatani.etc.), 23 are having a Christian majority (Wancho, Dafla, Mossang Tangsa, Bori, Yobin.etc.), 15 are having a Hindu majority (Mishmi, Mishing/Miri, Deori, Aka, Longchang Tangsa.etc.), and 17 are having a Buddhist majority (Monpa, Khampti, Tawang Monpa, Momba, Singpho, Sherdukpen.etc.). The remaining 8 tribes are multi-faith, i.e. doesn't have a dominant religion (Nocte, Tangsa, Naga.etc.).