tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/arunachal-pradesh-31549/articlesarunachal pradesh – The Conversation2018-06-17T18:53:58Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/971732018-06-17T18:53:58Z2018-06-17T18:53:58ZChina and India’s border dispute is a slow-moving environmental disaster<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223302/original/file-20180615-32307-1p57oni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Development is peaking in the high country between India and China.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India-china_border_and_nathula_peak.jpg">Vinay Vaars/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Chinese and Indian competition on their shared Himalayan border is more likely to create a slow-moving environmental catastrophe than a quick military or nuclear disaster. </p>
<p>The Himalayan plateau plays a crucial role in Asia. It generates the monsoonal rains and seasonal ice-melts that feed rivers and deliver nutrients to South, Southeast and East Asia. Almost <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/07/map-more-than-half-of-humanity-lives-within-this-circle/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ab1ac6b83208">half the world’s population</a> and <a href="http://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/GDP.pdf">20% of its economy</a> depend on these rivers, and they are already threatened by <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/double-threat-for-tibet-1.15738">climate change</a>. China and India’s competition for their headwaters increases this threat. </p>
<p>Until the mid-20th century, the Himalaya’s high altitude prevented its large-scale development and conserved its environment. But after the Republic of India and the People’s Republic of China were created in the late 1940s, these two new states began competing for high ground in the western and eastern Himalayas. They fought a <a href="https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/forgotten-war-himalayas">war over their unresolved border in 1962</a>, and have scuffled ever since. The most recent clash was in 2017, when China built a road into <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-the-doklam-pass-how-little-bhutan-faced-down-china-over-a-border-dispute-84158">Doklam</a>, an area claimed by Bhutan and protected by India. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-the-doklam-pass-how-little-bhutan-faced-down-china-over-a-border-dispute-84158">Lessons from the Doklam Pass: how little Bhutan faced down China over a border dispute</a>
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<p>Tensions rose again last week when China unveiled a new mine in Lhunze, near the de facto border with India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, east of Bhutan. The mine sits on a <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2146296/how-chinese-mining-himalayas-may-create-new-military-flashpoint">deposit of gold, silver and other precious metals worth up to US$60 billion</a>. </p>
<p>Most analysis of the Sino-Indian border dispute has focused on the potential for <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/asias-cold-peace-china-and-indias-delicate-diplomatic-dance/">another war between these two nuclear-armed neighbours</a>. The environmental impacts of their continued entrenchment are rarely mentioned, despite the fact that they are significant and growing.</p>
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<span class="caption">The various tracts of the disputed Sino-Indian border are host to many new development projects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>All of this development along the border is built on the world’s third-largest ice-pack or in biodiversity hotspots. The region was militarised during the 1962 war, and has since been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09584930903108911?journalCode=ccsa20">inundated by troops, roads, airports, barracks and hospitals</a>. These have caused deforestation, landslides, and – if a <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1659/0276-4741(2002)022%5B0316:ASPPTS%5D2.0.CO%3B2">study on troop movements on other glaciers</a> is any guide – possibly even glacial retreat. </p>
<p>The buildup of troops on the border has displaced local ethnic groups, and they have been encouraged to give up their land to make way for <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248903596_Agriculture_in_central_Tibet_an_assessment_of_climate_farming_systems_and_strategies_to_boost_production">intensive farming</a>. Animal habitats have decreased and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjhs-themes/article/studying-the-snow-leopard-reconceptualizing-conservation-across-the-chinaindia-border/992F367FE853AA276EB4B229FE71A716">clashes with tigers and snow leopards have increased</a>. Population transfers and agricultural intensification have even heightened the risk that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-antibiotic-pollution-of-waterways-creates-superbugs-38046">antibiotic-resistant superbugs and other toxic pollutants</a> will seep into the world’s most diffused watershed.</p>
<p>During the past 20 years, first China and then India have increased this degradation by building large-scale mines and hydroelectric dams in this sensitive region. These projects have <a href="https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4509-Tibet-s-mining-menace-">not been profitable or environmentally sound</a>, but they have solidified state control by entrenching populations, upgrading transport networks, and integrating these fringes into national economies. The tightening of state control along the border has been further complicated by calls from the Tibetans and other ethnic groups for greater autonomy.</p>
<p>Many of the projects have been developed within the transnational Brahmaputra River basin. This river’s headwaters are in China, but most of its catchment is in Arunachal Pradesh, which is controlled by India but claimed by China. It then flows through Assam and Bangladesh, where it joins the Ganges River. Some 630 million people live in the Ganges-Brahmaputra River catchment.</p>
<p>China and India’s geopolitical resources rush threatens the safety of this entire river system. The new Lhunze mine’s position among the Brahmaputra’s headwaters is so precarious that its owner, Hua Yu Mining, was only allowed to mine there under strict environmental conditions. To its credit, Hua Yu has agreed to be a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=EeBprffFbic">“green” miner, limiting emissions, water use and minimising “grassland disturbance”</a>. But even if the company does not inadvertently leak acid and arsenic into the environment like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/tibetans-in-anguish-as-chinese-mines-pollute-their-sacred-grasslands/2016/12/25/bb6aad06-63bc-11e6-b4d8-33e931b5a26d_story.html?utm_term=.d260cc80defa">other mines in Tibet</a>, the mine is still liable to be damaged by the region’s frequent earthquakes. Any toxic leak from Lhunze will flow straight into the Brahmaputra and then into the lower Ganges.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-growing-footprint-on-the-globe-threatens-to-trample-the-natural-world-88312">China’s growing footprint on the globe threatens to trample the natural world</a>
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<p>On its side of the border, India has concentrated on dams rather than mines. Between 2000 and 2016, the Arunachal Pradesh government approved the <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2016/02/25/private-dam-builders-back-out-of-brahmaputra-dams/">construction of 153 dams</a>, before realising that it had overextended itself. </p>
<p>So far only one dam is complete, and all the other projects have stalled. One of these stalled dams is on the Subansiri River, the same river from which the Lhunze mine draws water. India is racing to build these dams <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-and-indias-race-to-dam-the-brahmaputra-river-puts-the-himalayas-at-risk-65496">without community consultation or environmental studies</a> because it sees itself as competing with China for the region’s water. China has already built four dams in the upper Brahmaputra River basin. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4799-Fighting-India-s-mega-dams">Indian strategists argue</a> that they can stop China building more dams by building hydroelectric projects whose need for water will be recognised under international law. Given China’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/13/china-damns-international-court-after-south-china-sea-slapdown">dismissal of previous rulings by the International Court of Justice</a>, and its <a href="https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2018/05/17/china-resumes-sharing-brahmaputra-water-flow-data-with-india/">recent refusal to share water-flow data</a> with India after the Doklam incident (data that India needs to plan flood controls), this strategy seems unlikely to succeed. </p>
<p>Even if it does, it is hard to see how building large hydropower projects in an earthquake-probne region will ultimately help India. It won’t stop China developing the borderland, and it could cause more problems than it solves. </p>
<p>To keep Asia’s major rivers flowing and relatively non-toxic, both nations need to stop competing and start collaborating. Their leaders understand that neither nation would win a nuclear war. Now they need to realise that no one will benefit from destroying a shared watershed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Gamble does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For decades, China and India have clashed over their disputed Himalayan border. This clash is also playing out via a development boom that threatens the health of one of the world’s biggest river catchments.Ruth Gamble, David Myers Research Fellow, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/786362017-06-06T05:25:40Z2017-06-06T05:25:40ZBridges and roads in north-east India may drive small tribes away from development<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171669/original/file-20170531-25676-gep86.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Eze or Deopani river, near Roing. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kherepe Meme gestures with her hand animatedly. She vividly remembers and describes the Great Assam Earthquake of 1950. The epicentre of this 8.6 magnitude earthquake <a href="http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=may0115/at057">was in eastern Tibet</a> along the Sino-Indian border, a few hundred kilometres from Kebali, Meme’s home for about 80 years, the whole of her life.</p>
<p>Kebali is one of the many remote villages located near Roing, the main city of the Lower Dibang Valley district in eastern Arunachal Pradesh, about 2,500 km from New Delhi, and the furthest of India’s north-eastern states. </p>
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<span class="caption">Location of Roing in Eastern Arunachal Pradesh, India.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Roing,+Arunachal+Pradesh+792110,+India/@26.2664666,83.0261332,6z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x373e49bbeb471a07:0x70244a2ad8a1a89!8m2!3d28.1428773!4d95.8431495">Google Maps</a></span>
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<p>Kherepe Meme was a young girl at the time of the earthquake, but still recalls how the earth shook violently, as if it was the end of the world.</p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-21753-6_19">The disaster</a> devastated landscapes and villages in the Eastern Himalayas killing about 5,000 people, leading to flash floods in the Subansiri, Siang, Dibang and Lohit rivers of Arunachal Pradesh, and rise of the riverbed of the Brahmaputra in the plains of Upper Assam. </p>
<p>Meme lives very close to a river, known in her Idu language as Ephe, a tributary of the Dibang. During the peak monsoon season, the sounds of the river remind her of what she heard during the earthquake.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171675/original/file-20170531-25684-l5mdyv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171675/original/file-20170531-25684-l5mdyv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171675/original/file-20170531-25684-l5mdyv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171675/original/file-20170531-25684-l5mdyv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171675/original/file-20170531-25684-l5mdyv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171675/original/file-20170531-25684-l5mdyv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171675/original/file-20170531-25684-l5mdyv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Kherepe Meme looks in the direction of the river Ephe from her home in Kebali village.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman</span></span>
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<p>The Idus, along with the Miju and the Digaru communities, comprise the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2844036?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">larger Mishmi tribe</a>. They have a symbiotic relationship with the various tributaries of the Dibang and the Lohit rivers, which meander and tumble down from the Mishmi Hills. The rivers are often described by locals as mad, thunderous and impassable during the rainy season.</p>
<p>For many old women like Kherepe Meme, crossing rivers during the monsoon, even in their youth, required tremendous strength and courage, sometimes using suspended bamboo bridges built by locals. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171997/original/file-20170602-18788-czxaxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171997/original/file-20170602-18788-czxaxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171997/original/file-20170602-18788-czxaxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171997/original/file-20170602-18788-czxaxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171997/original/file-20170602-18788-czxaxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171997/original/file-20170602-18788-czxaxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171997/original/file-20170602-18788-czxaxk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">This typical bamboo bridge connects remote villages over rivers in Arunachal Pradesh.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman</span></span>
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<p>In other times, they simply stay away from the ferocious river, letting it have its peace of mind. Kherepe Meme has never ventured out beyond Roing. She cannot comprehend the new bridge built over the Lohit river about 70 kms from her home, now connecting Arunachal Pradesh and its neighbouring state, Assam.</p>
<h2>A geopolitical connection</h2>
<p>On May 26 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/dhola-sadiya-bridge-indias-longest-river-bridge-inaugurated-by-pm-modi/article18582249.ece">inaugurated India’s longest river</a> bridge, named after the legendary Assamese singer Bhupen Hazarika and connecting just over 9 km between Dhola and Sadiya towns in Assam. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2_ByfPJngWQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Bhupen Hazarika composed many songs on the Brahmaputra and other rivers.</span></figcaption>
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<p>With work starting in 2009, the bridge offers an important <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/dhola-sadiya-bridge-will-trigger-economic-revolution-in-assam-northeast-pm-narendra-modib-4674532">connectivity link</a> within Assam and between Assam and <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/sadia-dhola-bridge-10-facts-about-indias-longest-bridge-on-the-brahmaputra-4672683">eastern Arunachal Pradesh</a>.</p>
<p>Several <a href="http://www.mdoner.gov.in/node/1269">infrastructure projects</a> undertaken by New Delhi in this state have picked up pace <a href="http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/india-puts-china-border-roads-on-the-fast-track---------/16044">in the past decade</a>, more so after the current BJP government <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/nitin-gadkari-promises-more-roads-worth-rs-50000-crore-to-arunachal-pradesh-4474491">came to power in 2014</a> and <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=114241">has fast-tracked</a> the work.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171672/original/file-20170531-25676-1hsx942.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171672/original/file-20170531-25676-1hsx942.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171672/original/file-20170531-25676-1hsx942.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171672/original/file-20170531-25676-1hsx942.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171672/original/file-20170531-25676-1hsx942.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171672/original/file-20170531-25676-1hsx942.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171672/original/file-20170531-25676-1hsx942.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Bhupen Hazarika Bridge, connecting Dhola and Sadiya in Assam, about to be inaugurated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The development of roads and bridges have been seen <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/india-china-border-idINKBN0HA03U20140915">as a concerted effort</a> to strengthen the war preparedness of the Indian armed forces given that China contests India’s <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09700161.2011.591248?src=recsys&journalCode=rsan20">claim over the territory of Arunachal Pradesh</a>. In April, Beijing <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/china-renames-6-places-in-arunachal-pradesh-on-its-official-map-retaliates-against-dalai-lama-visit/story-GopcxKWUJsOQ7Cys3nOcsK.html">even renamed six places</a> on its official map, stating that Arunachal Pradesh belongs to South Tibet, triggering New Delhi’s anger.</p>
<p>To match China’s infrastructure in Tibet, New Delhi has simultaneously invested in road-building constructions, directed at enabling better conditions to carry heavy machinery, <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/map-of-dams-in-arunachal-pradesh-7590">including turbines</a> to <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/map-of-dams-in-arunachal-pradesh-7590">dam project sites</a>. These are part of India’s ambitions to stake its riparian rights <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-and-indias-race-to-dam-the-brahmaputra-river-puts-the-himalayas-at-risk-65496">over trans-boundary river water conflicts with China over the Brahmaputra</a>. </p>
<p>The central government of India is also claiming that these projects will address the <a href="https://in.boell.org/2014/11/10/hydropower-development-arunachal-pradesh-new-narrative-natural-resource-politics">huge developmental gap</a> that the various <a href="http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_st_arunachal.pdf">tribes of Arunachal Pradesh</a> <a href="http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/DamsinArunachalPradesh_mbisht_010210">live with</a>. </p>
<p>But when asked about it, local inhabitants seem doubtful.</p>
<h2>A bridge feared by the local community</h2>
<p>Jibi Pulu, a 45-year-old Idu Mishmi local leader involved in conservation activities in Roing, told me that these projects will have many implications for his community. Because of their very small population (about <a href="http://roing.nic.in/idu_mishmi.htm">12,000 to 14,000</a>), the Idu Mishmis fear a demographic change as infrastructure work – such as those planned for the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/india-untamed/2014/oct/22/indias-largest-dam-given-clearance-but-still-faces-flood-of-opposition">Dibang dam project</a> – will bring in more labourers and engineers who usually hail from different parts of India. </p>
<p>The Idu Mishmis speculate that the migrants will easily outnumber them and that this will lead to a loss of cultural and linguistic identity.</p>
<p>At the same time, they also hope for positive changes such as greater market access, health care, education and jobs. The Mishmis have missed out on various economic benefits in the region since the 1950s.</p>
<p>Sadiya, in Assam, was at the beginning of the 20th century an important river port for the British economy (aimed mainly at tea and oil exports inthis region) to maintain control over eastern Assam and the Mishmi Hills, then <a href="http://www.ide.go.jp/library/English/Publish/Download/Jrp/pdf/133_5.pdf">known as the Sadiya Frontier Tracts</a>. </p>
<p>But after the earthquake, the riverbed of the Lohit and the Brahmaputra moved up. And this reduced the navigability of the river, making this region <a href="https://books.google.fr/books?id=4LZN5ewzQ8AC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=mishmi+hills+development&source=bl&ots=jsw3B3szwg&sig=xjkMvQ1koodC5qdKus84GdaIfAA&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=mishmi%20hills%20development&f=false">lag behind in overall development</a>. </p>
<h2>Failed connectivity</h2>
<p>Roads have also been a major priority of the Indian government. <a href="http://archivepmo.nic.in/drmanmohansingh/press-details.php?nodeid=706">The Trans-Arunachal Highway Project</a>, announced by the previous government in 2008, aims to internally connect the districts in eastern Arunachal Pradesh and has seen some <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/arunachal-governor-for-early-completion-of-1800-km-frontier-highway-along-china-border">stretches of excellent roads being built</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172002/original/file-20170602-18788-5c0kf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172002/original/file-20170602-18788-5c0kf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172002/original/file-20170602-18788-5c0kf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172002/original/file-20170602-18788-5c0kf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172002/original/file-20170602-18788-5c0kf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172002/original/file-20170602-18788-5c0kf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172002/original/file-20170602-18788-5c0kf0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stretches of roads built between Tezu and Roing are unused due to the unfinished Dipu Nallah bridge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But because some critical bridges have not been completed yet, these roads are not that usable. From May onwards, during the monsoons, the river is high so people cannot cross below these half-built bridges. They then have to take the old roads back through Assam, for instance through Sadiya.</p>
<p>This is the case for the bridge going over the Dipu Nallah, connecting Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district with Tezu in Lohit district, both inhabited by Idu Mishmis. This bridge is only about a tenth of the length of the Bhupen Hazarika bridge. But while its construction started at the same time, it is yet to be completed. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171999/original/file-20170602-18763-c5pf7g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171999/original/file-20170602-18763-c5pf7g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171999/original/file-20170602-18763-c5pf7g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171999/original/file-20170602-18763-c5pf7g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171999/original/file-20170602-18763-c5pf7g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171999/original/file-20170602-18763-c5pf7g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171999/original/file-20170602-18763-c5pf7g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Idu lady looks at the unfinished Dipu Nallah bridge, with Tezu on the other side.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the rainy season, residents and goods need to travel 400-500 km downstream from major towns of eastern Arunachal Pradesh like Roing, on the north bank of the river, and all the way through parts of Assam on the south bank, in order to cross the Brahmaputra river at Tezpur to reach again Arunachal via its state capital Itanagar by land. The entire journey by bus from Roing to Itanagar in this circuitous manner can take 16-18 hours.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172007/original/file-20170602-18813-1ccd4uq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172007/original/file-20170602-18813-1ccd4uq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172007/original/file-20170602-18813-1ccd4uq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172007/original/file-20170602-18813-1ccd4uq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172007/original/file-20170602-18813-1ccd4uq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172007/original/file-20170602-18813-1ccd4uq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172007/original/file-20170602-18813-1ccd4uq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Makeshift wooden plank bridges for motorbikes to cross parts of the braided Dipu Nallah river in the dry season.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Locals left out</h2>
<p>The bridges and roads that are supposed to help connect this region have actually been priorities for military and hydropower projects over local needs.</p>
<p>And, as Jibi Pulu laments, the Idu Mishis – as well as other small tribal communities such as the Tai-Khamtis, the Singphos, the Meyors – cannot contribute. They lack the knowledge, the education and the formal training of engineers or semi-skilled technicians needed for these infrastructure projects.</p>
<p>They also lack the information to take a stance over majority decisions that are eventually imposed upon them. Often, they are consulted only when there is a problem due to land acquisition aspects of <a href="http://www.icsin.org/uploads/2015/04/12/dc44619f98243f09109da6867923a56a.pdf">such infrastructure development</a>. </p>
<p>While India looks at these mega-bridges, roads and hydropower projects for strategic reasons, it needs to develop an inclusive model for the local inhabitants too. Otherwise, tribal communities will be left behind as doubly marginalised under the weight of such fast-paced development goals. </p>
<p>In the meantime, Kherepe Meme still listens to the river flowing beside Kebali. Whatever India’s ambitions, she knows that the waters cannot be tamed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman is affiliated with the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam, India.</span></em></p>As India opens up a new bridge in its north-eastern region, local tribal communities feel left out of the development picture.Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, Researcher in International Relations and Politics, Development Studies and Borders, Indian Institute of Technology GuwahatiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/654962016-09-26T06:47:41Z2016-09-26T06:47:41ZChina and India’s race to dam the Brahmaputra river puts the Himalayas at risk<p>The mighty Himalayas act as the water tower of the South and Southeast Asian region. More than ten major rivers originate from the <a href="http://www.meltdownintibet.com/f_riverbyriver.htm">Tibetan Autonomous Region</a> of China. And for the past decade, India and China, the two biggest geopolitical forces in the region, have engaged in a <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2015/04/water-wars-china-india-and-the-great-dam-rush">hydro-power race</a> to harness this power.</p>
<p>The waters that flow from the Himalayas know no borders. These rivers include the Brahmaputra, the Yangtze, the Mekong, the Sutlej, the Indus, the Salween, and the Huang Ho, which is also known as the Yellow River. </p>
<p>The Brahmaputra has a total length of <a href="http://www.india-wris.nrsc.gov.in/wrpinfo/index.php?title=Brahmaputra">2,880 kilometres with a total drainage area of 5,73,394 square kilometres</a>. It is shared by China, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The river is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in China, the Siang and the Brahmaputra in India and the Jamuna in Bangladesh. The Brahmaputra is the lifeline for communities living along its banks.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138977/original/image-20160923-29882-1ippmek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138977/original/image-20160923-29882-1ippmek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138977/original/image-20160923-29882-1ippmek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138977/original/image-20160923-29882-1ippmek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138977/original/image-20160923-29882-1ippmek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138977/original/image-20160923-29882-1ippmek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138977/original/image-20160923-29882-1ippmek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers cross borders in the Himalayas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rivers_Inter-link#/media/File:Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna_basins.jpg">Pfly</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The path of the Brahmaputra has sculpted the natural and human landscape of two north-eastern Indian states, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The river nourishes the young and fragile ecology of the Eastern Himalayas and the <a href="http://brahmaputra.ceh.vjf.cnrs.fr/uk/presentation.htm">rich diversity</a> of people and languages in this frontier space. </p>
<p>In recent years, the central governments of India and China have decided to tame the Brahmaputra, by building hydropower dams. Among them are the <a href="http://www.power-technology.com/projects/lower-subansiri-hydroelectric-power-project/">Lower Subansiri Project</a> and the <a href="http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-05-20/news/62413460_1_nhpc-ltd-environmental-clearance-dibang-multipurpose-project">Dibang Valley project</a>. As many as 168 memoranda of understanding have been signed between the Arunachal Pradesh state government and <a href="http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/three-hydro-power-projects-at-construction-stage-nhpc_7501721.html">private and public dam-building companies</a> to build medium and <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/assams-dam-crisis-1978">large dams</a> in the state.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138995/original/image-20160923-29916-4kgmss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138995/original/image-20160923-29916-4kgmss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138995/original/image-20160923-29916-4kgmss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138995/original/image-20160923-29916-4kgmss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138995/original/image-20160923-29916-4kgmss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138995/original/image-20160923-29916-4kgmss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138995/original/image-20160923-29916-4kgmss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam offers a rich biosphere, yet to be fully explored and studied.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The legendary 20th century Assamese singer and composer, Bhupen Hazarika, mentions the Brahmaputra river in one of his popular compositions <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gABBkvGVJXg"><em>Bistirno Parore</em></a>. He was influenced by the American standard, Ol’ Man River (Show Boat, 1936), sung by African-American artist Paul Leroy Robeson, who was involved in the American civil rights movement. </p>
<p>In his song, Hazarika asks the mighty Brahmaputra the reason for its quiet and unbounded flow, amid the suffering and pain of the people living by its banks. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gABBkvGVJXg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Today, the song can be reinterpreted to reflect the great uncertainty and fear among the communities living in the Brahmaputra <a href="http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-0913/ijsrp-p2133.pdf">river basin</a>, exhorting the river to answer back and not keep quietly flowing amid all the dam building. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1015369313873">upstream</a> Arunachal Pradesh, and downstream communities of Assam and Bangladesh, concern is widespread about plans to construct mega-dams by both China and India and <a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/opinion/article427335.ece">water diversion infrastructure projects</a> by China along the river system. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138973/original/image-20160923-29886-1jmjidj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138973/original/image-20160923-29886-1jmjidj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138973/original/image-20160923-29886-1jmjidj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138973/original/image-20160923-29886-1jmjidj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138973/original/image-20160923-29886-1jmjidj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138973/original/image-20160923-29886-1jmjidj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138973/original/image-20160923-29886-1jmjidj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of India’s proposed dams.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The size and scale of proposed infrastructure developments on this river, and the wider region, is <a href="http://www.financialexpress.com/archive/hydro-power-can-help-northeast-generate-rs-679-cr-annually/1222887">unprecedented in the development history</a> of northeast India. <a href="http://www.icsin.org/uploads/2015/04/12/dc44619f98243f09109da6867923a56a.pdf">Indigenous communities</a> of the region are worried they will face tremendous social and economic upheaval if the projects go ahead. </p>
<p>This may not go down well with Beijing. India’s policy of pursuing hydropower development in Arunachal Pradesh could have a negative impact on bilateral relations. New Delhi is essentially using this critical biodiversity hotspot to legitimise its <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/ADC/Publications/IndoPac/Richards%20final%20IPSD%20paper.pdf">sovereignty claims</a> over Arunachal Pradesh by building <a href="http://www.hydroworld.com/articles/2014/03/rushydro-to-design-india-s-3-750-mw-upper-siang-hydropower-plant.html">mega</a> hydroelectricity <a href="http://www.northeasttoday.in/arunachal-cm-seeks-centres-intervention-in-subansiri-project/">projects</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139003/original/image-20160923-29886-19n1dvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139003/original/image-20160923-29886-19n1dvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139003/original/image-20160923-29886-19n1dvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139003/original/image-20160923-29886-19n1dvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139003/original/image-20160923-29886-19n1dvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139003/original/image-20160923-29886-19n1dvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139003/original/image-20160923-29886-19n1dvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Local communities leaders are wary of the impact of upstream Chinese dams. But what about Indian dams?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Indian government’s hydropower obsession has led to <a href="http://thenortheasttoday.com/arunachal-pradesh-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-controversial-subansiri-dam/">great fear</a> among local communities in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, for the first time <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/activists-in-arunachal-pradesh-oppose-centres-plans-to-build-dams-on-siang-river/articleshow/47642482.cms">significantly overriding existing concerns</a> about upstream dam building projects by China.</p>
<p>Recently, local people have taken to the streets in <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/With-anti-dam-mantra-on-lips-Tawang-monks-hit-the-streets/articleshow/18842465.cms">large-scale protests</a> to voice their dissatisfaction.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/downstream-concerns-on-the-brahmaputra/article7834154.ece">conversations</a> around the Brahmaputra have been dominated by the Indian state, and this sits at odds with how the local communities think about the role the river plays in their own lives. India has to balance its strategic development interests with local community interests. Instead of its current aggressive approach, the government could assume a leadership role to initiate a basin-wide dialogue involving all the riparian stakeholder countries.</p>
<p>The way forward must be to highlight the Himalayan environment as an area of cooperation between all the South and Southeast Asian countries that share the transborder water resources in the region.</p>
<p>The only way to understand the Brahmaputra better is through a mix of modern research methods and traditional community-based knowledge systems. This approach should be central to any dialogue between and within the countries served by the river. </p>
<p>An emphasis on multilateral cooperation will dispel the prevailing sense of conflict on this crucial river. The Brahmaputra, meanwhile, meanders along ceaselessly, shifting between its moods of ferocious rampage and eternal quiet flow.</p>
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<p><em>This is the first instalment of our ongoing series about water conflicts.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65496/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman works as a Senior Research Fellow for Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam, India. He receives funding from Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam, India.</span></em></p>At the heart of the Himalayas, the ongoing conflict between China and India for the hydro-power race will affect the whole region.Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, Researcher in anthropology and political sciences, Indian Institute of Technology GuwahatiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.