Lohit district

Lohit district
District of Arunachal Pradesh

Location of Lohit district in Arunachal Pradesh
Country India
State Arunachal Pradesh
Headquarters Tezu
Government
 • District collector Danish Ashraf, IAS
Area
 • Total 2,402 km2 (927 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 145,538[1] (2,011)
Demographics
 • Literacy 69.9%[1]
 • Sex ratio 901[1]
Website Official website

Lohit (Pron: /ˈləʊhɪt/) is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The district headquarters are located at Tezu. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Arunachal Pradesh (out of 16), after Papum Pare and Changlang.[1]

Etymology

It was known earlier as the Mishmi Hills. The district is named after the Lohit River, from the Sanskrit Louhitya, reddish- or rust-coloured, and consists of the river valley and hills/mountains to the North and South.

History

During the medieval times, the present district was under the control of the rulers of the Sutiya Kingdom. The Sutiya rulers controlled the area from early 13th century to the 16th century and during the 19th century it became one of the last territories to be brought under British control after the punitive Abor and Mishmi Expedition in the first decade of 20th century.

In June 1980, Dibang Valley district was split from Lohit (and has since been bifurcated again to create the new Lower Dibang Valley district).[2] On 16 February 2004, Anjaw district was carved out from the northern part of Lohit district bordering Tibet and Myanmar, with its headquarters at Hawai. Anjaw was carved out under the Arunachal Pradesh Re-organization of Districts Amendment Bill.[2]

Geography

Namsai is an important sub-division of this district. It is a disyllabic word originated from the local dialect khampti: Nam means water and sai means sand. The place is so called because it is situated on the bank of the river Dihing, which is a tributary of Brahmaputra. Namsai, India connects with Tinsukia district of Assam. Lohit district occupies an area of 11,402 km² and has a population of 143,478 (as of 2001).

Divisions

There are four Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly constituencies located in this district: Tezu, Chowkham, Namsai, and Lekang. All of these are part of Arunachal East Lok Sabha constituency.[3]

Transport

The area is highly inaccessible, and it was only in 2004 that a permanent bridge has been made operational across the Lohit at the holy site of Parashuram Kund, giving round-the-year connection to Tezu. East of Tezu (about 100 km) lies the small town of Hayuliang, and this is slated to become the headquarters of a new district. The road along the Lohit runs right up to the small garrison town of Walong just south of the China border, site of the famous Battle of Walong in 1962.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Lohit district has a population of 145,538,[1] roughly equal to the nation of Saint Lucia.[4] This gives it a ranking of 601st in India (out of a total of 640).[1] The district has a population density of 28 inhabitants per square kilometre (73/sq mi) .[1] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 16.44%.[1] Lohit has a sex ratio of 901 females for every 1000 males,[1] and a literacy rate of 69.88%.[1]

Lohit is the home of the Adi, Zekhring, Khampti, Deori, Monpa, Memba, Ahom, Singpho, Chakma and Mishmi tribes. A small group of Tibetans have settled in Lohit since the 1960s. The Zekhring are Tibetan Buddhists; the Khampti,Chakmas and Singpho are Theravada Buddhists, and the Mishmi are mainly Animists.The Chakmas inhabit a land which is surrounded in all side by two mighty rivers, the Kamlang to the north and Guri Kamlang to the south. There is no proper bridge on Guri Kamlang which can connect the people to Chowkham. They have to walk on a swinging bridge on which its very difficult to carry goods. Every election time the people demand for a new permanent bridge over the Guri Kamlang but none of the elected MLAs sufficed to their demands. Ahoms are residing at Namsai and Mahadevpur circle of Lohit district. The Singphos are very few in numbers in comparison to the other tribes. The Singhpos do not make houses near each other and seeing houses in proximity to other houses are rare.

Languages

Languages spoken include Galo, an endangered Sino-Tibetan tongue with 30 000 speakers, spoken in the eastern part of the district.[5]

Flora and fauna

In 1989 Lohit district became home to the Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of 783 km2 (302.3 sq mi).[6] It is the home to some of the endangered flora and fauna. The district has been found to be an ideal place for Jatropha cultivation, which is used for bio-diesel making.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in.
  2. 1 2 Law, Gwillim (25 September 2011). "Districts of India". Statoids. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "Assembly Constituencies allocation w.r.t District and Parliamentary Constituencies". Chief Electoral Officer, Arunachal Pradesh website. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  4. ↑ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 1 October 2011. Saint Lucia 161,557 July 2011 est.
  5. ↑ M. Paul Lewis, ed. (2009). "Galo: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  6. ↑ Indian Ministry of Forests and Environment. "Protected areas: Arunachal Pradesh". Retrieved 25 September 2011.
 Lower Dibang Valley district China
Tinsukia district, Assam Anjaw district
   Lohit district  
Changlang district

Coordinates: 28°00′N 96°30′E / 28.000°N 96.500°E / 28.000; 96.500

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